Sunday, February 10, 2008

History Revised: Dolley Madison Pimped


There's no shortage of profanity, or turns of phrases from the rough side of life. Other than being blithely embraced by hoodburbia, they have no experience on the darker side of the tracks. Look no further than reporter David Shuster's remark about Chelsea Clinton:

"Doesn't it seem like Chelsea's sort of being pimped out in some weird sort of way?" he asked on the program.

Pimped out, as in a hustler (usually male), sends out a female prostitute on the street to have sex and make money for him. Turn it around to politics, when a politician asks his or her child and spouse to do his or her bidding and get those votes.

By Shuster's logic, there are no innocent parties from either the right or the left. Those glowing Bush (Sr). commercials in the 1980's showing his children and the grandkids running across the lawn at Kennebunkport ? That's right, those kids were pimped. Tricia Nixon's White House wedding was pimping in hats amid roses. Jackie Kennedy pimped for White House renovations. Even Dolley Madison was known to pimp.

Look at this:
"Dolley's social graces made her famous. Her political acumen, prized by her husband, is less renowned, though her gracious tact smoothed many a quarrel."

But surely, it goes further? Billy Graham all but pimped out his kids in the name of the Lord. Schools pimp kids for fund raisers. Those most nefarious groups of all --Girl Scouts pimp members to sell cookies; Boy Scouts to sell barrels of popcorn. Be damned thin mints and jamborees! It would seem to Shuster there's no end to it. Small business owners who ask their kids to work for them, parents who send gifts to teachers. We're a freakin' nation of pimpers.

But there is no bigger pimp than Shuster, who knowingly used the term to infuriate people, boost his ratings, get a rise from a liberal candidate, and get to play conservative victim. In other words, the public's being pimped by Shuster.

2 comments:

Speedcat Hollydale said...

I was shocked at this story myself. It seems that media has been making huge mistakes in commentary all over the place.
Did you hear Tillman's derogatory statement made on the golf channel a few weeks back? What's going on???

Kanani said...

Well, I think the mentality and language of the gutter is so accessible that it's considered acceptable now.

For instance, Bravo TV is running ads for highlights of their reality TV show.
There's a chef saying, "I'm not your bitch, bitch!" and there's another chef calling someone else a douchebag.

Taken altogether, it's "hip" to use this language, bypassing the manners you and I were raised with. And when they see older people --such as those housewives from OC essentially dressing & behaving like teens on steroids, it puts it into the realm of desirable.

That we don't find such language shocking says that our society as a whole is less civilized, less educated and lazy.

But the interesting thing is, would Shuster walk into a room filled with wealthy Manhattanites and use this language? Probably not. And so if he won't use it with them, why should he use it with anyone?

The answer is, he shouldn't.