Name Dropping

Mercurial Times ^ | January 21, 2002 | AnnaZ

[Mercuria]

Name dropping is normally meant to define the use of one's alleged nearness, dearness even, to someone oh-so-much more famous and fabulous, making the user oh-so-much more famous and fabulous by the association. The key is, normally, in using it in a pseudo-innocuous way, as in, "Well, yesterday at lunch, when I told that joke, Cher almost choked on her chili."

The media employs it as well; knowing full well that a cleavage shot of J. Lo in Versace sells more copies than an aerial of Ari Fleischer any day of the week. But that's not the thrust of this page.

Name dropping, the kind that's unfortunately more nefarious, either literally drops, as in fails to include, a disclaimer, or pops one in when none is needed. A kind of "just in case you the reader won't see this the way we do", a kind of

Multi-Level Monikering for Malleable Minds

If the media is going to talk of someone not so readily known, a definer is helpful in shaping, pre-gauging what one's reaction should be to the character about to be introduced. If sympathy is absolutely not wanted the simple use of words like "conservative-" or "right-wing-" before someone's actual name usually suffices as a "ignore all that follows" indicator. A lack of definition is employed to confer the illusion of impartiality (but usually when "rabid-Commie-sympathizer-" would be more honest).

White Separatist, Black Motorist

The two most famous uses of the add-on disclaimer flowed rather freely in the 90s. A Google search of "white separatist Randy Weaver" logs in 1400 hits. The use of these adjectives was meant (and successfully, too) to excuse anything that might have happened to this man or anyone unfortunate enough to be part of his family. Even in articles that, with chagrin, noted that the government had to eventually pay him millions for their egregious use of entrapment and force, the definers remained in place. Poor Mr. Weaver, had he been a "minority" seeking to live in areas of other "people of varying degrees of color" he would have been simply searching for "ethnic identity". Instead his heartless racism more than exacerbated the tolerance of authorities, it legitimized their force and justifiably precluded any sympathy from We The Peasants.

A Google search of "black motorist Rodney King" brings in an impressive 1700 hits. This adjective usage was designed to conjure up the sinless act of Driving While Black. It helped to blur the line of Driving Uncontrollably While Under The Influence Of Enraging Controlled Substances. It was meant to provoke sympathy and erase culpability.

Did the LAPD use excessive force? Absolutely. But Mr. King was much luckier than Mr. Weaver, not just in life (not to mention at a loss of it) but also on the printed page.

SLA: as in the Shoebomber, the Left-Wing Loony, the Anti-American

I was very happy to read, last week, that Richard Reid will actually be charged with attempting to blow up a plane. For a long time, he was simply an attempted "shoe-bomber", and guilty (perhaps) of "interfering with the flight crew". Yep, attempting to change the course of a plane from trans-Atlantic to nosedive could be considered interference. But how about "attempted plane bomber" instead? I mean, he might have hated his shoes enough to blow them up, but most people just go out and buy themselves a new pair, or take them off before the BOOM. Perhaps he wanted to pull a Wiley Coyote ACME-upgrade and get himself to Florida faster? But perhaps not. I guess Attempted Murderer of 220-odd Innocents just doesn't have quite the same ring to it.

Not to mention that in the first day or so after his capture two Arab-sounding names were given as aliases for him. Just like the now forgotten Arab-sounding alias of the Anti-American we'll get to in a moment. Only some people who change their names have the old ones dropped. Literally, that is, by the media.

Which brings us to the Left-Wing Loony, Kathleen Soliah. Oh, sorry, it's Sara Jane Olson now, a sweet mom from Minnesota, not another bungled bomber with "Die, America, die" on the mind. I add the Left-Wing disclaimer, by the way, because I've never seen it used in print next to her name. And, like most attempted murderers, she'll get a bit of a pass for failing. Failing at trying to kill gets a lesser sentence than the success, a "be kinder to the less-equipped" attitude, like social promotion at the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Besides, she was young at the time, like JohnnyJihadWalkerLindh, our anti-American of the moment. A letter writer to my local rag stated that young Mr. Walker was only trying to exercise his freedom of religion by moving to the -Stans of the East. Which belief, of course, is only aided by the fact that the media calls him "American Talib" as opposed to "Al Qaeda Upstart And Basker-In-The-Presence Of Master Bin Laden".

Rebel Yell

Last year I wrote a column on Eminem (and nobody in the media calls him "Marshall"), an attempt to understand his underlying ethos and to explain, but not excuse, it.

However, the one thing that may truly explain the Tali-Boy's rebellion seems to be the only thing one can fail to mention. That his father may have pulled a "Daddy's New Roommate" and left the happy homestead for another man. And while perhaps in the fairy-tale land of children's stories this life-change may have a happy ending, it might not when test-driven in reality. The offspring of such selfishness may find themselves emotionally feeling as beat up as a black motorist at the hands of a pile of angry white baton-wielders.

Having one's parents split up is always painful. And thinking of one's parents as sexual creatures is always disconcerting. Even when Society is telling you over and over that "They're OK, You're OK". A young-coming-into-his-own-man just might reject all that contributed to the philosophy behind what must have been a heart-wrenchingly painful realization. One might desperately search for a world where that pain is, at least in theory, forbidden to occur, a standard so rigid that the shattering of a child's dreams of unity is shattered by the stones of retribution.

That wouldn't excuse it. But it might explain it.

But let's not bring it up, lest it be true. The homosexual proclivities of members of the Free World must be bathed in the light of Nature and Liberty, not of bondage to Self or desecration of Peace. The agenda is only at work when it might work.

The provisos of the press are for contributing to the disharmony, not for the edification of the unenlightened. The placebo of prefacing people with labels, or lack thereof, is for the Common Good, lest peasants become People and begin to judge for themselves.

Mercurial Times exclusive commentary. All reprints must credit the author and Mercurial Times.

[AnnaZ]

Oh, there's ALWAYS an excuse... but this is one I feel that they'll avoid.

[mamaduck]

bumping you!

[WillaJohns]

If the media is going to talk of someone not so readily known, a definer is helpful in shaping, pre-gauging what one's reaction should be to the character about to be introduced. If sympathy is absolutely not wanted the simple use of words like "conservative-" or "right-wing-" before someone's actual name usually suffices as a "ignore all that follows" indicator. A lack of definition is employed to confer the illusion of impartiality (but usually when "rabid-Commie-sympathizer-" would be more honest).

Very good work, AnnaZ, and I really like this paragraph.

[dixiechick2000]

LOLOLOL! That is just ONE of the reasons I like this guy soooo much!
First, he irked the media by having FNC on at the White House...now this!
Life is great!

[vikingchick]

Bumping!

[AnnaZ]

Glad you enjoyed it!! Did you see link #39 TOO funny!

 

Please give my love to BADJOE!

xo

[CounterCounterCulture]

AnnaZ bump...another winner!

[AnnaZ]

Thanks for the BUMP, TripleC. Now how about a visit?

[Psycho_Bunny]

If you REALLY want to see examples of 'name-dropping' go to the AP hotwire site and start running searches in their last five years of archives.

It's very revealing of exactly how astonishingly bias AP truly is.

I did it about a year ago and posted the results at FR. At that time, the AP search engine returned a max of 475 AP article hits. One of the criteria I remember running was “Conservative Legal” and “Liberal Legal”

The former garnered the full 500 returns but the latter returned something like 45.

Which is astonishing when you stop to think of how often the ACLU is in the news.

You ALWAYS see “…conservative legal group, Landmark Legal…” but you NEVER see “…liberal legal group, ACLU…”

Remember: Liberals are pigs in pigs’ clothing.

[subterfuge]

Absolutely brilliant article. I learned something today.

[RonDog]

If you REALLY want to see examples of 'name-dropping' go to the AP hotwire site and start running searches in their last five years of archives.

It's very revealing of exactly how astonishingly bias AP truly is.

Here is the link:

http://ap.pqarchiver.com/?SITE=NYROM

They allow you to search either of these two databases:

This free database of more than 10,000 items covers top stories worldwide from the last two weeks.

A comprehensive database of more than 250,000 items going back to July 1997.

See also the AP's Archive Advanced Search page.

[CounterCounterCulture]

Wellllll, I haven't seen your face around San Jose/Silicon Valley lately. ;)

When it's prudent for me to re-visit L.A., I'll be bahhhhhhk. I wanted to be there Monday so baaaaaad, but it was not to be.

[Feiny]

Hey...this sounds alot like our conversation the other day!

You left out "religious right".

[Feiny]

And the favorite: GUN NUT!!!!

[philman_36]

You might've consider titling it "Name Calling" or even "The Name Game". Name dropping, per se, might be considered bad manners or bad taste, but calling someone a name expressing a distinct bias, and to get a desired reacton where no desire should be to start with, is a worse situation.
The media has to instill the desired impact or reaction upon the public early on in the article, thus the need for "name calling". I think more folks understand that these days.
Nevertheless...good article, IMO.

[ironwill]

Nice work.

I wish more people would tell it like it is instead of sugar coating everything so nobody (except the patriotic right wing christian fundamentalist conservatives) gets offended.

Keep it up!

[AnnaZ]

Thanks for posting the link, RonDog. Looks like an excellent resource.

Hope all is swell!

[AnnaZ]

But it's so cold up there right now!! Maybe this summer?

I missed Monday's festivities as well. Had a child with the stomach flu :-(    But I did read Merc's Most Excellent Report

Take care!

[AnnaZ]

Hey...this sounds alot like our conversation the other day!

That's because I always test market my theories before putting 'em down on paper. How's it feel, Guinea Pig?

;^)

You left out "religious right". And the favorite: GUN NUT!!!!

Purely an oversight!

xo

[Jefferson Adams]

So one day I'm sitting in a restaurant, when who happens to drop by but my two personal friends MERCURIA and ANNAZ........

LOL - you got it down < g >