Karl Klockars

It may seem stupid to spend so much time on it.  You may be frustrated about hearing story after story about it.  Many are probably halfway to the radio dial or the remote control when another piece about it is teased.  But the way the press is handling the Birthers is vital, and correct.  And here’s why:

You may recall the way the press didn’t say a bloomin’ thing about the Truthers.  There was next to zero coverage about the (at the time) very large group of people who believed that President Bush and his Dark Minions were behind 9/11 and either Let It Happen On Purpose or Made It Happen On Purpose.  Barely anything.  There was a PopSci article on it, and I believe the Discovery Channel gave it some time as well.  They debunked everything, and called it macaroni.

That was about it.  And the wackos continue to writhe around in their loopiness with next to no one saying “boo” about it.  I’ve got my own theories about why the Truthers didn’t get word one of major press coverage outside of their network of pieced-together websites and skeptical debunkers poking them with sticks, save to say that people trying to make political hay out of the deaths of thousands is pretty disgusting and I don’t like talking about it either.

Since the election it seems that the Truthers have really dialed back – seems no one really has the fire to push their jazz unless there’s a manchild republican in the White House – but they’re still out there.  They’re as full of frootloops as ever, and they deserve ridicule, but they get none.

It’s this exact lack of ridicule that has allowed them to carry on their wackbaggery for so long.  Is it really so hard to imagine a Chris Matthews or a Bob Schieffer going face to face with some Truther and hammering them with “Do you really believe there were no planes?  Really?  You’re serious?  Despite the thousands and thousands that saw them with their own eyes?  You’re really not kidding?”

There was none of that.  I’m sure the excuse is that “we wouldn’t want to dignify their argument with any media illumination” or something like that.  But it’s exactly that which has allowed their arguments to carry on for 6 or 7 years.

Contrast that with the near-constant stories about birth certificates, newspaper birth announcements, YouTube grandmother statements (edited and unedited), placement of mothers during birth, travel to Pakistan during the 80s, State Department rules about overseas travel during that time, so on, so forth, etcetera and etcetera.

It almost seems like you can’t swing a dead Kenyan without hitting a Birther story.  And while it’s not exactly “Paris Hilton released from jail early” coverage, it’s amazing to see.  Major media outlets spending this much time on a goofy conspiracy theory?  Astounding!

While the rest of the world might be sick of it, the guys on the news desk and in the edit bays and underneath those layers of makeup on your screen know exactly what they’re doing:  They’re using the power of their pedestals to unleash one of the greatest powers known to man: ridicule.

Every time another story is run discussing how easy it is to pick apart the Birthers and how ridiculous the whole thing is, another person won’t get bullied into believing something with no basis in reality.  Another person who lacks the critical thinking skills to say “you know, why hasn’t he released that other birth certificate they keep talking about” will have a voice on the other side saying “these guys are idiots and they’re wasting their time.”

Each time someone goes on TV to profess their belief in Birtherism and then are summarily torn down, another person stops believing in idiocy and trumped up misdirected information.  Maybe someone even starts thinking, “You know, all the things the Birthers seem to be doing are awfully similar to the things that Truthers are doing…with the websites, and the baseless questioning…and the idea that they’re just after the truth…hm…”

There’s also no “false equivalency” problem with this story, really.  Not many are taking much time out of their lives to present the Birther side in a cogent and coherent argument – possibly because it can’t be done.

Until this half-cracked “not my President” movement goes away ashamed and tired, if you see another story about those wacky Birthers, don’t change the channel.  Spare a smile for those fighting the good fight against dipshittery at the expense of a public that says “good lord, not another stupid story about these fools.”

If you’re calling them fools along with myself, you’re not the target.  We’re fine – they’re reaching the people on the borderline, considering diving in headfirst to the sillypantsery.  If a handful of those people are clutched in the caring hand of a media beacon willing to call “bullshit” on the nuts, and carried back to the shores of sanity, then it’s worth putting up with another “you’re an idiot, you know that” interview by Talking Head Du Jour.