Being outraged, it seems, is very fashionable.
The Twitterspere was all aghast because Sarah Palin used a word that isn’t really a word – “refudiate”. To witness the instantaneous and sustained outrage over this minor gaffe was amazing to me.
I know what drives this kind of piling on – her detractors simply do not like or respect her. I’m no fan of Mrs. Palin either, but I’d feel extremely petty if I raked her over the coals for this type of thing. There are other, more substantive, reasons for my non-support.
The Mel Gibson saga is another example of an unhinged crowd mentality revving folks up in order to crush a person. Mel Gibson messed up. There’s no doubt about this. But as I tweeted the other day:
How can this be legal? Oksana Grigorieva was not about to lose her cool when she knew that she was recording these exchanges. He, on the other hand, was venting – believing that she was the only one listening. Of course he’s going to come off looking like a boob. And maybe he is one, but that’s beside the point.
If you’re reading this and you can say that you have never lost your temper and said something stupid, please raise your hand.
If you raised your hand, I’m going to call you a liar.
People are getting away with bad behavior all over:
- A mistress stores text messages from a married lover and releases them when the tryst is uncovered;
- A woebegone actress is offered $500,000.00 to tell her pre and post jail stories after a 2nd DUI conviction;
- A whistleblower is sentenced to more time in prison than the wealthy tax evaders on whom he blew the whistle;
- A grass roots organization that has helped the poor for years is driven out of business by a doctored video.
These behaviors have led to a distinct list of winners and losers:
| Winners | Losers |
| Joslyn James | Tiger Woods |
| Lindsay Lohan | MADD and anyone who buys the resulting book |
| Millionaire Tax Evaders | Bradley Birkenfeld (whistleblower) |
| No One | ACORN and the people whom they helped |
There’s plenty of bad behavior going on by almost everyone involved, the accusers as well as the accused, so why are some wrongdoers profitting while others are being bashed?
People are getting away with bad behavior all over…
… and it’s a crying shame.
Ray } – 
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Irregardless of her attempts to refudiate her misundestimations, Sarah Palin has no substance. Criticism of her should.
Ha Alicia, yes, your first line sums up the kinds of barbs that I’ve seen a lot of over the last couple of days.
Absolutely, “criticism of her should have substance”, because if this was the worst thing that Palin has done, I’d have a much better opinion of her. Ray
Exactly.
She really is a political force to be reckoned with, and those who oppose her policies and mindset need to be prepared to deliver more concrete objections than the jokes and cheap shots flooding the Twitterverse.