Notes From the Fringe: Oh, Those Wingnut Reptilian Brains!

When asked on ‘The View’ to comment on the recent controversy involving a USDA official who was falsely accused of racism by wingnut provocateur Andrew Breitbart, President Obama said “There’s still kind of a reptilian side of our brain -- that part of our brain that if somebody looks different, sounds different” … reacts like, well, a wingnut. Obviously, the more developed the reptilian brain, the more like a wingnut the creature will react.

POP Quiz: Who among these Fox GOP network hosts and fellow travelers in hate radio and wingnut blogosphere have the most developed reptilian brain?

Obs.: The creature on the left is more ferret-like in the way it curls its upper lips; the creature on the right is definitely a highly-developed reptilian brain, which is also a sign of low intelligence; the two in the middle suffer from Messianic delusions, more than one is clinically insane, and one barks on his TV program like a dog.

In other reptilian brain news, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, the wingnut radio host who dispenses "social conservative" advice, announced she is ending her show, claming persecution by “angry, hateful groups” who were offended by a racist rant in which she said “nigger” eleven times on her radio show. “Dr.” Laura claims she was making a “philosophical point” and berated the caller who took offense.

This is a spurious claim. Whatever “philosophical point” Dr. Laura was trying to make could have been edited in the faux doctor’s mind. (She is not a Board-certified psychologist or psychiatrist nor does she hold a degree in philosophy.) To initiate an intelligent dialogue, “Dr.” Laura could have simply asked the question: “African American comedians on HBO say the “N” word multiple times. Is there a double standard?” Instead, she launched into a tirade compulsively shouting the “N” word multiple times while heaping scorn, resentment, and racism on the caller:



It’s quite different for African Americans to take ownership of arguably the most despicable word in the English language, one that was used to dehumanize and define them, and in so doing, defang and strip it of its heinous context. Sticks and stones. Those of us who know of the history -- the centuries of slavery, racism, lynchings, and state-sanctioned discrimination –- understand the non-discriminatory context. It is not a double standard.

“Dr.” Laura wasn’t just being “politically incorrect” by shouting the ‘N’ word eleven times, saying indignantly, “don’t N-double-ACP me,” then berating the caller that if she’s so “hypersensitive” she shouldn’t “marry outside [her] race.” Give them enough rope and they’ll hang themselves. Most wingnuts, including “Dr.” Laura, are immune from standards of decency and nondiscrimination that govern our lives out in the normal world.

Only in RightWingVille could a radio talk show host voluntarily step down then whine that “my First Amendment rights have been usurped by angry, hateful groups that don’t want to debate, they want to eliminate.” Wingnuts are first-class whiners and have a finely-tuned persecution complex when they’re caught being offensive, unethical, hypocritical, and racist. If only Glenn Beck, whose program Fox subsidizes after a mass advertiser flight, and the reptilian (‘Pigman’ is an insult to bovines) Rush Limbaugh followed her example, ending their daily hate regurgitations with a parting persecution whine … and were replaced by responsible radio hosts, the world would be a better place. Guaranteed.

For someone who isn’t qualified to dispense on-air advice, “Dr.” Laura made a wise choice in stepping down. Here’s a bit of gratuitous, but wise, advice for “Dr.” Laura: Seek immediate professional help from a Board-certified psychiatrist to work on your race-related issues.