Arkady
President
One front in the right-wing commentariate's defense of Rush Limbaugh has been the assertion that liberals are hypocrites because they attack Limbaugh for using misogynist rhetoric while giving liberals a free pass for similar rhetoric. So, with that line of argument being the quasi-official battle plan from the top, I've seen a number of obedient ditto-heads here repeat it, alleging there's a double standard.
First, let me admit that, human nature being what it is, of course there's going to be some double standard. It's almost impossible not to be at least a little rougher on those you thoroughly despise than on those you find yourself agreeing with on many topics. When attacking someone she regards as an unredeemable blot on humanity, like Limbaugh, a liberal feminist is likely to be harsher than when attacking someone whom she has some respect for on some topics, like Bill Maher. Only someone with the most naive grasp of human nature would expect people to suppress that tendency entirely.
The point I want people to consider, though, is how hilariously inane and hypocritical accusations of a double standard are when coming from a conservative. Whatever evidence one can find of a double standard on the left, there is a staggeringly larger one on the right. Here's a challenge for you. Search for examples of well-established liberal commentators openly and aggressively attacking people like Maher, Keith Olbermann, Michael Moore, etc. for misogynistic rhetoric directed at conservative women. I'm talking about real criticism, not a grudging admission of wrongdoing as an opening gambit in an article mainly written as an apologia for the accused or a counter-attack on conservatives. It's easy to find such examples, but if your Googling skills are lousy, let me know and I'll share some examples. Now, here's the challenge: do the same for conservative columnists attacking conservative-leaning commentators who've directed misogynistic rhetoric at liberal women.
If you honestly try this, you'll be left with an unavoidable conclusion: whatever the double-standard on the left, it is negligible in the context of the double-standard on the right. Many of the liberals who've attacked Limbaugh also have a track record of taking liberals to task for similar rhetoric. None of the conservatives, that I've seen, have any comparable track record of taking Limbaugh to task for his language.
So, unless you're the exceedingly rare conservative who can point to a track record of taking on conservative commentators for their misogynistic rhetoric (or something similar), please spare us your sanctimonious blather about liberal double standards. You and your whole side of the political spectrum simply lack the moral standing to make that criticism. Whatever our sins on this front, yours are much worse.
First, let me admit that, human nature being what it is, of course there's going to be some double standard. It's almost impossible not to be at least a little rougher on those you thoroughly despise than on those you find yourself agreeing with on many topics. When attacking someone she regards as an unredeemable blot on humanity, like Limbaugh, a liberal feminist is likely to be harsher than when attacking someone whom she has some respect for on some topics, like Bill Maher. Only someone with the most naive grasp of human nature would expect people to suppress that tendency entirely.
The point I want people to consider, though, is how hilariously inane and hypocritical accusations of a double standard are when coming from a conservative. Whatever evidence one can find of a double standard on the left, there is a staggeringly larger one on the right. Here's a challenge for you. Search for examples of well-established liberal commentators openly and aggressively attacking people like Maher, Keith Olbermann, Michael Moore, etc. for misogynistic rhetoric directed at conservative women. I'm talking about real criticism, not a grudging admission of wrongdoing as an opening gambit in an article mainly written as an apologia for the accused or a counter-attack on conservatives. It's easy to find such examples, but if your Googling skills are lousy, let me know and I'll share some examples. Now, here's the challenge: do the same for conservative columnists attacking conservative-leaning commentators who've directed misogynistic rhetoric at liberal women.
If you honestly try this, you'll be left with an unavoidable conclusion: whatever the double-standard on the left, it is negligible in the context of the double-standard on the right. Many of the liberals who've attacked Limbaugh also have a track record of taking liberals to task for similar rhetoric. None of the conservatives, that I've seen, have any comparable track record of taking Limbaugh to task for his language.
So, unless you're the exceedingly rare conservative who can point to a track record of taking on conservative commentators for their misogynistic rhetoric (or something similar), please spare us your sanctimonious blather about liberal double standards. You and your whole side of the political spectrum simply lack the moral standing to make that criticism. Whatever our sins on this front, yours are much worse.
