I’m on the way to New Mexico today, to speak to the news media there and to try to build some consensus—New Mexico is as good a place to start as any—that using faux indignation over manufactured political correctness offenses is no way to run a political system, community, society or culture. It is, in fact, a cynical and despicable practice used by special interest groups and unscrupulous politicians to stifle legitimate debate, or, as in the case that inspired my trip, to unfairly tar the character and reputation of a political adversary. The victim in the New Mexico incident was attorney Pat Rogers, who saw his obviously satirical e-mail intentionally twisted by partisan foes who almost certainly knew its real meaning into being represented in the press as a gratuitous racist slur—which it was not. I wrote about this here, and a similar incident, with parties reversed in Washington state, here.
What am I going to tell the various interviews and reporters I speak with over the next few days? I will tell them that political blood sport has got to stop. That the effort to discredit political positions by seeking ways to demonize their advocates is unethical and wrong. That contrived accusations of racism (or sexism, homophobia, or any other form of bigotry) should not be aided and abetted by the media or tolerated by the public. I will also assert that political warriors on the right or left who intentionally choose to misinterpret innocent expressions of irony, satire or humor as racist attacks both diminish the charge of true bigotry when it is justified, and expose themselves as polluters of our culture and national cohesion.
I don’t know Pat Rogers well; we have only met once. But I know who he represents: those who have been harmed as collateral damage in a hyper-partisan environment encouraged by Washington, D.C. and cheered on by the vilest members of the blogosphere, to the detriment of our sense of community, decency, and trust. My efforts, whatever they are, will be modest at best, and, in all likelihood, inconsequential. But you never know.
Wish me luck.
Ethics Alarms 
Good luck, Jack. You’re fighting the good fight here.
Go plant some magic beans, Jack.
Wait—are you accusing me of being a stalker?
Don’t have a cow, Jack, and be careful of those singing harps! And best of luck chopping down those unethical beanstalks!
After you’ve fought the good fight we’ll be proud to welcome you back to la Mancha. Godspeed.
Best of luck, Jack!
Good luck!
Give ’em hell, Harry (Jack)!
Best of luck, Jack! I hope you make some headway. This country needs compromise not blood sport.
I worked ‘with’ Pat a number of years ago — He’s a great guy! We were actually on opposite sides of an issue, but I came away from that with a lot of admiration and respect for him. Even though we were in an adversarial situation, he worked with me to get several projects to completion.
I live in New Mexico. Word to the wise: It’s quagmire here, no matter which political side it is. In this state, if a politician isn’t corrupt, he/she will be terminally stupid. I have been active in GOP politics my entire life – until I moved here. It just isn’t worth it. The corruption started with the Civil War, the Murphy-Dolan faction, continued through the Teapot Dome, and has never improved. With this state, every possible cliche applies: I’m with stupid; stupid is as stupid does; dumb and dumber. One only needs to look at things on local levels (as in the parking situation in midtown Ruidoso) to see how abjectly hopeless this state is. You are wasting your time, money, and effort in any attempt to seek a rational, sensible, or logical solution to anything here. Remember, this is the state that has created a major tourist industry out of an alleged alien ship crashing outside of Roswell. We have Bigfoot, Big Bill, and Billy the Kid. Normal doesn’t apply. It never has and it never will. The worst part of it, is ask any NM resident, and we will tell you we like it that way.
This said, what Pat Rogers did was beyond acceptable. Any attempt to put a spin on it as not being reprehensible is ill-advised. This is probably the most multi-cultural state in the country. He was rightly excoriated within the state, and deserves his fate, up to a point. There are times when it is as if those from the more “civilized” parts of the US think they can step in and tell us what to do. I think this is the wrong place for so-called attempts create group “in sensitivity” training. This is not about faux righteous indignation. If you understood the cultural make-up of this state, you might understand. If you want my humble opinion, butt out and go somewhere else. Your campaign, which I think is laudable, will not be well-received here.
Like I said, half the politicians of this state are corrupt. The other half are stupid. What Rogers did was stupid. You don’t get a pass for being stupid.
SJR
The Pink Flamingo
There is no way you or anyone else can fairly read what Rogers wrote, consider to whom he wrote it and the context in which it was written, and call it racist, stupid, or any of your other characterizations. Of course the concocted scandal is about faux indignation—also willful ignorance, political blood sport, and upholding the proposition that offending someone who has no business being offended is the fault of anyone but that person. Did you read the post? Did anyone give any thought to what the e-mail was?
It was a knock on Gov. Martinez’s GOP rival for the nomination, Gen. Weh, a war hero, made to her staff, who knew Rogers and the context of his joke. The e-mail was “Quislings, French surrender monkeys. … The state is going to hell. Col. Weh would not have dishonored Col. Custer in this manner.” French surrender monkeys is as clear a pointer as an emoticon—this is satire. The quote is from The Simpsons, and a ridiculous character, Groundskeeper Willie, who is half nuts and always fulminating about something. ProgressNow! didn’t get it? Who cares? The e-mail wasn’t intended for them. The tribes didn’t get it? Again, so what? Are you seriously advocating a principle that says that every communication, private or otherwise, must be composed so as not to be misunderstood by the most culturally obtuse, ignorant or hyper-sensitive potential audience? Ridiculous!
OBVIOUSLY Rogers, a Martinez supporter, would not be approvingly endorsing Weh’s (imaginary) position. Obviously, the reference to Custer was in no way approving, but referencing another General who was less than exemplary . Obviously, the “offensiveness” of the email was manufactured by partisan enemies looking to muscle-flex, and neither the state’s politicians nor the media had the integrity (or, in some cases, the intelligence) to call it what it was. It is not Pat’s fault that they don’t watch The Simpsons.
Rogers has received hilarious hate emails saying, in effect, “Your reference to Custer was absurd! Nobody in their right mind could possibly see meeting with the tribes as an insult to Custer!” That’s right—moron–the reference was absurd, and the suggestion was insane, which is why Rogers made his joke sufficiently clear, to people whom he knew would get the joke. Those who saw it otherwise were juts employing classic confirmation bias. Republican = Racist.
He did nothing–NOTHING wrong except not predict that a private e-mail would be hacked. You can try to show me how any rational reading of what he wrote can be deemed offensive to anyone but Weh (who was indeed ticked off, but who is not Native American), or why it is fair to call racist an e-mail that the intended recipients wouldn’t take as racist and that was not intended as racist by the writer, and that anyone versed in history and popular culture should know immediately was a joke, and a harmless one.. Good luck. It’s impossible.
Good luck, Jack.
As with this site, even ONE voice in the media taking a stand for ethical behavior is infinitely more effective than NONE.
–Dwayne
Jack, I’ll be praying for you to impart constructive and lasting impacts.
Henceforth, when talking about you, I may be nicknaming you Don Quixotethics.
Jack, while in NM, I mean, BC (Baja Colorado), you are going to try skiing in Taos, or to take in the arts scene in Santa Fe at least, aren’t you?
Nah. No time. Never any time. I wish.