So, I was going to do a post about fetishes (Or, more specifically, people who are so taken aback by their mere existence that they set out to make anybody who has them, or at least has one that they aren’t into, miserable), but I haven’t been satisfied with what little I’ve written on the subject, so I’ll put that off for now. Instead, I’ll talk a little bit about a person whose confrontation with Presidential candidate Barack Obama has added more fuel to the fire of the 2008 Presidential election. Of course, I’m talking about Joe Wurzelbacher, or as most know him, “Joe the Plumber.” If you haven’t heard about him already (And if you haven’t and live in the US, get your shit together), he was a simple plumber living in Ohio who confronted Obama as he walked through his neighborhood, asking him about his tax plan and how it was going to affect everyday workers like himself. First of all, I admire what Joe did. It was a pretty bold move on his part, and despite that, he brought up a valid point and stuck with it rather than resorting to some of the stuff more radical Republicans have (Throwing around bullshit that they’ve heard, resorting to a volley of racial slurs and stereotypes, etc.). Take note, people… this is how you do it.
Of course, this resulted in a lot of media hoopla, especially after both Obama and his opponent, John McCain, referred to him 23 times during their final debate. Which, in turn, caused a few news networks to leap on Joe for going against somebody they support, digging into his personal information and dredging up 15 tons of crap about him, some of it probably untrue (I.E: His wife divorced him, his total income is smaller than the incomes Obama would be taxing under his program, he doesn’t have a plumbing license, etc.). This caused a major backlash from McCain supporters, accusing Obama of using his supporters and the media to punish an innocent man for standing up against his divine word. First off, where is the evidence that Obama started the attacks in the first place? There is none… it was the news networks, not the Obama campaign, that dug up the information, and any connection between the two is merely speculation at this point. Second, yes, the media was really vicious with Joe for no good reason. Let me ask you, is this really news to you? News networks have been launching attacks against people they dislike for ages now. Even Fox News, who has been a major mainstream opponent of the attacks, has a long history of slanted reporting, attacks on people that speak out against people or things they support, and pulling things out of their asses and reporting them as actual stories. Most, if not all news channels, have been little more than vulture circles and halfway political tabloids for a while now, and to hear them constantly criticized as evil establishments that have broken all new ground in the field of mudslinging is annoying at best.
I suspect Joe will not be the last person to infuriate one side of the spectrum… there are still plenty of people out there who haven’t made their voices heard, and with more rallies coming up, they’ll have plenty of opportunities to. And with the media on the prowl, you can be assured that it will be on the front page of every newspaper and the top story of every network out there when the next person steps up. November 4th cannot come any sooner.
