Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Wingnut, Please!

I'm not overly fond of the word "wingnut," since like so many epithets its use too often substitutes for thought. But today at alicublog I read a comment on this post that did a good job of correcting right-wing fantasies about American history. (Of course they're not only fantasies, like that of antebellum South of benign Massas and docile darkies: a major part of right-wing discourse is that unedifying aspects of the American past shouldn't be talked about at all.) It seems that there's a new TV show called "Hell on Wheels," set in the post-Civil War period, which a right-wing pundit named S. T. Karnick hailed as a new dawn of True Political Correctness on American television. The commenter I'm referring to wrote (no permalink, but it's Mr Ziffel at 10:54:57 AM):
Of course, I don't {know} what the fuck Karnick is watching. The Civil War, mostly through dialogue, is depicted as the absolute nightmare that is was for both sides. And Durant, the somewhat cartoonish robber baron railroader (who is nonetheless well-played by Colm Meany), bears "strong parallels to modern-day Congressional Democrats?" Wingnut, please. The character has more of a resemblance to a Jamie Dimon or Lloyd Blankfein, except neither one of those assholes were eating rats or rotten pieces of fruit in Hell's Kitchen as children.
"Wingnut, please." I suppose one thing I like about it is its campiness. I'd like to steal it for my own use, but I'm not sure I'll be able to find the right context. Maybe others wiser than I can do it. Time will tell.