Patterico's Pontifications

7/14/2008

A Little Double Standard at the L.A. Times on the Use of Profanity

Filed under: Dog Trainer,General — Patterico @ 1:40 am



When is using the word “dick” OK at the L.A. Times?

Well, it depends.

If you’re using the word to insult a guy who just died, you can get your comment approved — at least until an annoying blogger points it out.

But if you use the term to describe people who are mocking the man who just died, apparently that violates their standards.

You think I’m kidding? The first comment left in the L.A. Times‘s blog post was by a fellow named Alessandro, who said: “You picked a nice picture for your tribute.” A subsequent commenter left a comment — approved by a moderator — that I memorialized in this post:

Yes Alessandro I agree. The one of him with the horns made him look like a total dick.

Posted by: Chad | July 12, 2008 at 04:28 PM

Several other commenters left comments saying they hoped Snow had suffered (see here for details), prompting me to leave this comment:

Anyone who would say they hope Tony Snow suffered is a dick.

That comment, oddly enough, was never approved.

Oh, I can’t end the post without the irony. Andrew Malcolm — the guy who defended the decision to approve these comments — later accused me of . . . hypocrisy!

This came on the heels of Marc Cooper calling the commenters at my site “bitter” and “angry.”

Guys, there’s only so much irony I can take in one weekend. Enough already!

Thanks to Jim.

P.S. They have removed the post by Chad.

UPDATE: Malcolm comments and says that he was accusing the commenter of hypocrisy, and not me.

36 Responses to “A Little Double Standard at the L.A. Times on the Use of Profanity”

  1. Dick spelled backwards is Chad.

    Vermont Neighbor (31ccb6)

  2. Oh, I can’t end the post without the irony. Andrew Malcolm — the guy who defended the decision to approve these comments — later accused me of . . . hypocrisy!

    This came on the heels of Marc Cooper calling the commenters at my site “bitter” and “angry.”

    Guys, there’s only so much irony I can take in one weekend. Enough already!

    Sounds like subjective idealism, or burying one’s head like an ostrich to blatantly ignore facts (objective realism). Truth suffers greatly today thanks to pusillanimous ‘subjective idealist’ pissants in the media, like those you deservedly pointed out.

    RickZ (8df857)

  3. Patterico,

    Maybe ban the liberals for a week. Give them a taste of their own medicine while we mock their deaths.

    PCD (5c49b0)

  4. It simply means that, as a conservative, you are held to a higher standard than are liberals. After all, no one really expects liberals to display any class, so the standards are, quite naturally, lower for them.

    Please make a note of it.

    Dana R Pico (3e4784)

  5. Guys, there’s only so much irony I can take in one weekend. Enough already!

    That much irony is bad for your blood.

    Rob Crawford (6c262f)

  6. After all, were liberals held to the same standards as conservatives, they’d never get anything past the moderation queue, and the Los Angeles Times would, therefore, be accused of a conservative bias, which can’t possibly be tolerated.

    Without the Times’ version of Affirmative Action here, liberals would be seriously under-represented.

    Dana R Pico (3e4784)

  7. You should ask Cooper to clarify what he meant about your commenters. The way I read it, the “bitter, angry and delusional” line applied to specific people whose comments he quoted, not to all of the Patteristas.

    But perhaps I’m delusional too.

    Bradley J Fikes (0ea407)

  8. FWIW: Andrew Malcolm claims in a comment on that thread that he wasn’t calling you — Patterico — a hypocrite — but rather another commenter.

    aunursa (09c81f)

  9. I see that you were updating the posts while I was leaving comment #8.

    aunursa (09c81f)

  10. You’re not talking about liberals, you’re talking about children. Snarky brats at that, old enough — legally — to be out on their own, but not old enough — emotionally — to have much sense. Sophomore sensibility as channeled through a third rate humanities course.

    And naive enough to think no one could ever hold them accountable for what they say. Given the will and the tools most anybody could learn their location and identity, following up with publicity regarding their actions. Maybe providing anti-recommendations for future enployers.

    Interviewer: According to this report, Mr. Jones, you once claimed that a poster to a forum you once frequented crucified cats and drank their blood. This despite the fact you knew full well that the person in question owned three cats, and was Jewish.

    Alan Kellogg (887854)

  11. Jesus Christ, how many posts about Tony Snow do we need?

    Levi (74ca1f)

  12. 11, Levi, how many posts do we need by lying Democrats? How many posts about the false concept of Man Made Global Warming do we need? How many posts denying the bias of the media do we need?

    Finally, HOW MANY CRAP POSTS OF YOURS DO WE NEED?

    PCD (5c49b0)

  13. Levi, how many posts do we need by lying Democrats? How many posts about the false concept of Man Made Global Warming do we need? How many posts denying the bias of the media do we need?

    There’s rarely ever any posts about any of that shit.

    Finally, HOW MANY CRAP POSTS OF YOURS DO WE NEED?

    More.

    Levi (74ca1f)

  14. Jesus Christ, how many posts about Tony Snow do we need?

    All of them. You don’t like it, don’t come around.

    Rob Crawford (6c262f)

  15. Since the Times took actual steps to provide approval of those comments, I can’t help but wonder if they approve — privately, of course — of the Phelps clan’s intention to protest protest Snow’s funeral?

    Pat R. (9828c0)

  16. Apparently Levi’s using religious imagery now in order to make his point – strange times we live in.

    Dmac (416471)

  17. Levi: Jesus Christ, how many posts about Tony Snow do we need?

    You’re certainly free to start your own blog and decide which issues to discuss and how often you wish to discuss them.

    aunursa (1b5bad)

  18. Jesus Christ, how many posts about Tony Snow do we need?

    Comment by Levi — 7/14/2008 @ 7:46 am

    I know the answer, but I’m not telling.

    Jesus Christ (1f5ddb)

  19. Patterico never did put up a post on why peanut butter and jelly sandwiches always fall sticky side down.

    nk (8eafa0)

  20. Whenever we wonder what it looks like when someone with no character, and no thoughts nonetheless has a runny mouth … along comes Levi.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  21. re Levi. The story isn’t about Tony Snow. The timeline displays the thinking and emotions from the Left.

    Vermont Neighbor (31ccb6)

  22. Patterico, you should have replaced is a dick with the more generally accepted looks like a total dick.

    Wesson (f6c982)

  23. Other possible replacements:

    … made him look like a total Levi

    … made him look like a total jharp

    Icy Truth (b19925)

  24. Yo Patrick… let’s keep things here on the straight and narrow. I did NOT say your commenters were angry, bitter and delusional. I said some of them are. When you wrote me and asked me about mine I said some of them certainly were. As are many on the HuffPost, the LATimes and just about on every blog.

    Wjat I found absolutely absurd and intellectually dishinest is to even suggest that political preference has anything to do with one or another group’s level of civility. Rudeness, crassness and ignorance is neither side’s monopoly. There are an indeed an abundant number of Patterico commenters who are ANGRY about so many Mexicans living amongst them, BITTER that the US govt does little to stem their entrance and DELUSIONAL in thinking that the corporate capitalists who run the Times are covert commies. Those are just facts, man.

    On the other side of the spectrum there are pots full of commenters who are ANGRY at George W. Bush, BITTER about what they see as the destructive role of US foreign policy and DELUSIONAL in thinking this is all the fault of Fox News.
    So let’s just keep these things in context and start climbing down from these rhetorical and disngenenuous hobby horses.

    Marc Cooper (636161)

  25. Racists.

    Just JD (5f0e11)

  26. Because as Phil has often told us, it is racist to want to enforce immigration law.

    JD (75f5c3)

  27. A Chicago barrister wrote:

    Patterico never did put up a post on why peanut butter and jelly sandwiches always fall sticky side down.

    nk: Only incompleted peanut butter and jelly sandwiches fall sticky-side down. According to the recipe, you’re supposed to have bread on both sides of the sandwich. 🙂

    Dana R Pico (3e4784)

  28. Jesus Christ, how many posts about Tony Snow do we need?

    Well, we could be hanging out at you’re Wright/Obama debate with DRJ. But then, you’d actually have to participate.

    Pablo (99243e)

  29. Well, we could be hanging out at you’re Wright/Obama debate with DRJ. But then, you’d actually have to participate.

    Comment by Pablo — 7/15/2008 @ 7:09 am

    Yeah, whatever happened to that? Was kinda looking forward to that. Patterico mentioned something IIRC the other day about getting back to that. Patterico?

    no one you know (1f5ddb)

  30. Andrew Malcolm is a dick.

    selinag (2c68f6)

  31. Shorter Marc Cooper: “Some of Patterico’s commenters are angry, bitter, and delusional, but that’s true of some commenters at any web site. So why did I make a special point of noting this about his commenters? For the life of me, I can’t remember why. But I know it wasn’t to try to discredit his site!”

    Patterico (ff37da)

  32. He just wanted to point out that you are a racist if you support enforcement of our laws, Pat. Nuance, and all that …

    JD (75f5c3)

  33. With all those typos in Marc Cooper’s comment, he seems to be missing his four layers of editors at the LA Times.

    daleyrocks (d9ec17)

  34. There are an indeed an abundant number of Patterico commenters who are ANGRY about so many Mexicans living amongst them, BITTER that the US govt does little to stem their entrance…

    Wrong. I haven’t seen anyone who comments here regularly express any anger about Mexicans who come here legally. Most realize that we need the help, we love the people, the food and many Mexican women are hawt!

    Cooper is engaging in the tired, dishonest ploy of ignoring the illegality of illegal immigration and imputing racism where it doesn’t exist. Screw you, you xenophobic bigot!

    (Why am I calling Marc Cooper a bigot? Well, that’s how you win an argument, right, Marc?)

    Pablo (99243e)

  35. Marc Cooper suggested on Day Five that the LA Times would flourish if it hired more reporters such as himself?

    Somehow I’m thinking that dog don’t hunt.

    daleyrocks (d9ec17)

  36. I’m angry with the vast Mexican crime empire in Los Angeles. I’m angry more with the Mayor and the rest of the Latino leadership in the state who treat these Latino crime gangs like they’re a cute cultural tradition that should be respected.

    As for the million of LEGAL Latino residents and citizens – who cares. They have as much a right as anyone else to run their businesses and families without interference from idiots in government.

    Pretty complicated, huh?

    Wesson (f6c982)


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