YA RLY

I'm not here to defend The Birther movement, or Orly "The Owl" Taitz, Esquire. To be honest, I really know extremely little about this nutty little conspiracy theory and the news coverage it has suddenly garnered. I also have no interest in digging any deeper to understand or investigate it. I could have been completely ignorant and oblivious to the whole story had it not just been mentioned so many times today on my Facebook feed.

Here's the link. Watch it. Breathe.

Now tell me, where is there a "meltdown"? Can you show me just where someone "implodes"? Where do they "lose it"?

Here's a brief example of an emotional and physical meltdown:


It's obvious that at one point, Lex Lugar's brain actually stops working here (insert joke), and he just freaks out. Other than the frustration of constantly being interrupted (and ultimately ganged up on), Orly hardly got "emotional" during the interview. She didn't cry when they started baiting her with indirect ad hominem attacks. She didn't get up and leave or punch anyone when she started getting double-teamed. She didn't have a hoedown when she couldn't sum her argument in a two-second soundbyte. She just sat there and kept trying to state her case. Maybe she repeated herself, but it's clear that she (thinks she) has a complex argument that involves a lot of talking points and chronology. JUST LET HER FUCKING FINISH, SHUSTER, AND THEN YOU CAN DEBATE. Or if you have no intention of even letting her make any points, then don't invite her on the show and pretend that you're going to have an exclusive in-depth conversation.

Ok, maybe I'm naive for assuming that a 6-minute news segment is actually a worthwhile place to have a real debate, but I'm not the one claiming victory here. This interview doesn't sum up the Republican party. It isn't a diagnosis of a "crazy" person. And it certainly doesn't help make a case for or against the issue at hand. It's obvious to me that the hosts thought they were sitting on a potential viral goldmine just by booking this interview, pushing a few buttons, then sitting back and smirking while the video was captured. Judging by the attention it's gotten, they've achieved that, but I think the headlines were written before the microphone was even opened anyway. The news media is constantly clammoring for "the career-ending interview," or the "big expose," or the "mega freakout." This was nothing more than another really lame public argument with no resolution. And everyone ends up losing.

However silly I may think Orly's accent, high pitched voice, and funny name is doesn't make this a comedy*. It's a tragedy how insulting the hosts of this show acted and how overblown the reactions to the video are (including mine, perhaps?). Maybe she is crazy. Maybe the whole Birther movement is crazy. This interview certainly didn't prove it. It's unfortunate that I'm so distracted by the shitty news media that I'm actually sympathetic for a conspiracy theorist.

- Oversensitive RoBeast, Devil's Advocate, Esq.

*Ok, I admit: funny name is funny.