Three things.
1) As I pointed out in an earlier post, I found his the name calling in "Big Fat Idiot" offputting and "Rude & tasteless" are in the eye of the beholder. So if you don't think he was rude, that's your call.
2) Whether the people he has been rude toward deserved it or not is entirely a seperate issue from whether or not he was rude.
I can't say that being rude is "offputting" if it's done in an appropriate context. Of course, I agree, what one considers "rude" and "appropriate" is subjective (though not hopelessly so). Franken attacked Limbaugh personally because Limbaugh makes liberal use of ad hominems. Now, some sophisticates may answer back, "aha! but that doesn't make it right." More pretentious critics might resort to the latin: "tu quoque" logical fallacy! Please. However, Franken attacks his subjects on substantive matters (the satirical comments and insults are just gravy).
3) In any case, whether one agrees that Franken was rude or not does not detract from the main point of my post, which is that the things Franken has said are not really comparable to the things COulter hs said and that Coulter's excesses are far worse. In fact, if he WASN'T rude, tht would actually strengthen my point, no?
I thought I had made a similar point on equivalency earlier (or maybe in that same post). But the two should not be treated as being in the same category at all. That's like saying Larry the Cable Guy is similar to Woody Allen because they're both famous for their humor.
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Corplinx writes:
Tell you what. You figure out the ultimate fitting name to replace "Brights" and I'll tune in Franken for a week. This will cut into the time I normally spend listening to Penn's radio show so its a big sacrfice. I'll come back and tell if Franken does emotional attack type stuff before I fell asleep.
Oh, bah! Penn has a radio show? And you listen to it? And you would consider forgoing listening to it as as "big sacrifice"? Corp: You need more help than I thought!
Besides, that wouldn't be a major motivator because if I could come up with the "ultimate" alternative to "Bright" then I'd be a minor-celebrity with his own skepchicks groupies. Plus, I wouldn't make you listen to Franken for a week (I don't even care much for the show!) You'd have to read a book, possibly Franken's _Liars_, though preferably political philosopher Brian Barry's _Why Social Justice Matters_.
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Luke T. writes:
Yes, I have listened to his show and found it as full of ignorance as anything I've heard about Coulter. The fact I have listened to his show means I have heard more Franken than Coulter. The only time I hear anything about Coulter is on this forum. I had to Google her the first time I heard about her here.
And, yes, dull. Dull, dull, dull. Dullness and ignorance. All I could do was wonder what he was doing on the air. Is Air America that bankrupt talent-wise? No wonder the Right is winning.
pgwenthold has already seized upon the strongest possible reply. I will merely counter that you can call Franken dull, but he definitely isn't ignorant.
