Society

Here's an interesting article on ESPN's hiring of Rush Limbaugh by Rogers Cadenhead. I felt motivated to write this comment:

“There's a simple cure for the Rush Limbaughs and Ann Coulters of the world:

By and large, ignore them. Don't buy their books, don't watch their shows. Don't waste energy debating their ridiculous positions. Doing so gives them a legitimacy that they don't deserve.

Of course, they'll continue to appeal to their core constituencies. There'll always be plenty of money to be made pandering to people's worst impulses. But remember that this sort of thing thrives on controversy, especially the emotional, name-calling, mean-spirited kind. Denying them the privilege of being taken seriously averts this and eventually results in their being reduced to irrelevance.

Now, that doesn't mean we should let them get away with anything. The truly offensive things they say and do - Limbaugh's repugnant remarks about 12-year-old Chelsea Clinton and his frequent bouts of racism, Coulter's indefensible defense of Joe McCarthy and labeling of liberals as "traitors" - need to be held up as examples of why they shouldn't be taken seriously. But the important thing is to to debunk and skewer such abuse of the right of free speech, not to respond in kind or descend to personal attacks. Rogers' article is very much in this spirit. The real point, to me, is the cynicism of ABC/Disney in hiring Limbaugh in attempt to boost ratings by 1) bringing in his core audience and 2) hoping this ignites controversy. Don't let it; in this case, principled detachment is more effective than rabid condemnation. Turning off ESPN and ABC is an easy thing to do. If lots of people do it, it's more effective than any other method.

This same advice can be applied to the idiots on the far left. Feel free to substitute Michael Moore and Al Sharpton for Limbaugh and Colter. But the point remains: call them on their nonsense, ignore them otherwise, and eventually they'll fade away.”