The victimhood myths of Palin fans

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 19:55:00 +0000

Journalism is a funny business. The "worthy" articles and essays that you spend days, weeks or even months laboring over sometimes are the ones that get the least attention. On the other hand, a throwaway blog post that might have taken you an hour or two to write goes viral, generating tens of thousands of hits and dozens of reprints all over the Web.

Such was the case for the Atlantic's Conor Friedersdorf, who typically writes about weighty issues connected with "politics and national affairs." He’s a good writer -- even if you’ve never heard of him. Until now.

What has put Friedersdorf on the map is one of those dashed-off blog posts I referred to in the first paragraph. A few days ago, Friedersdor went to see a midnight showing of "The Undefeated," a limited-release Sarah Palin propaganda film then playing in 10 theaters, including one in Orange County, Calif., where Friedersdorf happened to be visiting his parents. He wrote an article for the Atlantic's website about the experience, whose title -- "Sarah Palin Movie Debuts to Empty Theater in Orange County" -- sums up his thesis.

Gay “Trek”

Sat, 30 Jun 2001 19:00:00 +0000

"Their lips touched. The shock jolted down the Vulcan's spine ... Then Kirk moved against him, the velvet of Kirk's lips so much softer than Spock had imagined -- and that awareness came crashing through him, tearing down layers and levels of carefully placed defenses. Imagined, yes, in all those dark, forbidden hours of the night. Dreamed of, yes, though Vulcans claimed not to dream such things. He had wanted this for so long that he could not remember a time before he had wanted it. His eyes closed against his will, and he moaned faintly against the human's mouth."

-- From "Turning Point," a 1995 "slash" fiction novel by "Killashandra"

The Starship Enterprise, arguably the most famous vessel in the history of fiction, has seen some amazing sights. Its crew has gone back in time, averted intergalactic war and defeated monsters that eat whole planets. In one "Star Trek" episode, crew members were turned into little crystalline polyhedrons. In another, Mr. Spock's brain was surgically removed by an alien supermodel wearing a silver miniskirt.

Salon.com > Jonathan Kay

The victimhood myths of Palin fans

Gay “Trek”