Ethics tip for NPR, courtesy of Ethics Alarms: There is no “pro.”
This was almost another Ethics Dunce for Beto O’Roarke, the “motherfucker” hurler, but he has joined the select group of perpetual ethics dunces for whom the designation is superfluous.
In case you missed it—and why wouldn’t you?—the Democratic candidate to unseat Gov. Greg Abbott was meeting with supporters and making his usual dishonest or ignorant statements about guns (with Beto it’s often hard to tell which). In the context of the Uvalde shooting, O’Roarke falsely said that the AR-15 was designed for combat—the old “weapons of war” canard, now much in favor — and took what he thought was a combat stance, causing someone in the audience to guffaw. O’Roarke, either embarrassed or being an asshole (with Beto it’s often hard to tell which) , turned on the laugher and spat out, “It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me, okay?” This got him applause from the crowd, so it was a coup in the candidate’s eyes, I guess.
So now it is acceptable for candidates for high office, role models and public exemplars whose job it is to keep society civilized, peaceful and safe, to call citizens “motherfucker” in a public forum. Good to know!
NPR, whose job it is, among others, is to provide cover for Democrats while spending taxpayer’s money, described O’Rourke’s gutter language as a “snappy interjection.” Oddly, that snappy interjection was somehow not fit to print, as the NPR headline used “f-bomb” while the text employed “motherf*****,” I guess because the toney network loves word games. Let’s see…motherfeeler? Motherfoster? Motherfudger? I guess I’m stumped—whatever word that was, it’s not in my public speaking vocabulary.
NPR then dragged out various experts to muse about the upsides and downsides of our leaders talking like pimps. Cal Jillson, professor of Political Science at Southern Methodist University, for instance, said that O’Rourke’s outburst shows he’s passionate, which is good and makes him seem “authentic”, but cautions that “there are shades of language that are dangerous” and that Beto “may have skated right up to it and past it.”
May have?
Rice University Political Science professor Mark Jones was also provisionally critical, opining “These are voters who are Democratic voters, Republican voters, who don’t have an issue with profanity in their private life but hold public officials and those making public pronouncements to a higher standard.”
A higher standard than calling people “motherfucker” in a public forum? Do tell.
Then NPR got down to its real job, which is running interference for the good guys. “O’Rourke’s opponents will likely seize the moment to attack his credibility,” the partisan government mouthpiece concluded. “Gov. Gregg Abbott, who intends to keep his job, will likely use the soundbite to target voters who frown upon that kind of language.” Republicans pounce!
There is a reason for civility: does NPR know that? One of its “experts” says that “the fewer moments you have like this the better because you want to plan out those moments in a campaign like you would in life or business.” Oh. Funny, that isn’t an ethical argument at all, it’s pragmatic. The reason civility is important is that it maintains a basic, crucial level of respect and restraint in social interactions and both public and private discourse. Calling someone “motherfucker” can be “fighting words.” A culture that encourages that in everyday discourse is encouraging violence. Does National Public Radio not understand this? Or is “motherfucker” acceptible because only Democrats use it in public—remember it was Squad demagogue Rep. Rashida Tlaib who said “We’re going to impeach this motherfucker!” referring to the President of the United States to celebrate her election. That crowd cheered too.
A thought: I wonder if Ann Althouse has blogged about this story and is calling it “civility bullshit” as is her wont. I have no idea…excuse me while I check…it should take about 30 seconds…
l’m back! Yes, Ann did blog about it—I knew she couldn’t resist— and she did give it a “civility bullshit” tag, despite her critical commentary. Read her snarky enlightenment-free post—this is one of Ann’s regrettable “Oh, I’m so above such petty concerns!” pieces—but here’s the gist:
Dropped an f-bomb. Give me a break. Saying “fuck” isn’t the equivalent of violence. It’s not a bomb. Say “f-word” if you’re somewhere — where?! — where you can’t say “fuck.” But in this case it wasn’t the f-word. It was the M-WORD….Motherfucker” is a lot worse than “fuck.”…Later, NPR refers to “toilet talk.” So: “toilet talk,” “profanity,” “light cursing,” “f-bomb.” None of that gets to the heart of this issue: He said “motherfucker.” That’s a step beyond. And he aimed it right at a person, a private citizen. Okay, is that what we’re saying is sometimes an appropriate manifestation of passion? The guy had it coming. He laughed. He laughed at the mass murder of children (or so it seemed/who knows why he laughed?). He had it coming and Beto O’Rourke was justly indignant (or wily enough to know he’d get attention manifesting just indignation).
By the way, is anyone calling for a return to civility?
Ethics Alarms 
He has only himself to blame if the citizen he cursed out tells him to step down off the podium and come call him that at arm’s length. If someone called me that within arm’s length I’d clock him. Then again, the one guy in Montana body-slammed an annoying reporter, and Michael Grimm was ready to defenestrate another such reporter.
Isn’t a white guy using “motherfucker” unacceptable appropriation of black culture? Is he, a white boy, allowed to use the word? Shouldn’t he be “called out” and made to apologize and go to sensitivity training?
Of course, if he were to become president, he’d declare himself the first Hispanic president!
He’s appropriating quite a bit. If one was to garble the audio and tell me the video was an Obama campaign speech, I would have believed it.
(Besides the fact that weapons of war “…every terrible implement of the soldier…” ARE precisely those constitutionally protected), What is Beto doing by appropriating a stance designed for war? Consistency please!
And isn’t “motherfucker” an anti-gay slur? A torqued-up version of “momma’s boy?”
I haven’ checked today, but it might be the latest protected sexual orientation.
I would challenge Beto O’Rourke to take an AR-15, load it with ammunition, and then try to attack someone carrying an M-16, an equally scary-looking, but real, actual, fully-automatic combat weapon.
He would realize (probably as his last thoughts as a living man) that there IS a distinct difference.
O’Rourke is a moron.
The uses of full-auto fire in a service rifle are few. When I was trained, it was basically the trench-clearing drill, the “Aussie peelback” break-contact drill, and the anti-aircraft drill – everything else used semi-automatic fire.
I see no reason to deny that the AR-15 is substantively similar, though not identical, to modern military rifles and a serviceable, though not ideal, individual combat weapon. The 2nd Amendment protects the right to keep and bear weapons for combat.
Exactly. The dirty little secret is that the Second Amendment actually supports the right to insurrect against the government. Sorry, Bobby, but you are an idiot and a fascist.
jvb
Ann Althouse is as mixed up as Nate (who briefly posted here) was when it comes to context. The man called out by O’Rourke wasn’t laughing at the mass murder of children. He was laughing at O’Rourke’s gross mis-characterization of the AR-15. O’Rourke tried to make it about murdering children…yet another mis-characterization. Clearly, Beto has serious problems with character…mostly his own.
This is one reason why dialogue between the Left and the Right has become nearly impossible.
It has long seemed obvious to me that once the language of civil discourse has been discarded and forgotten, the actual practice of civility in our interactions will sooner or later die in it’s wake. Sooner seems like the safer bet at this point.
Well, Joe Biden called a union worker “Full of Shit” and challenged him to go outside and fight during the last presidential campaign. He did this because the worker accused him of wanting to ban guns. After Joe Biden came into a union house and attacked a union worker, the union leadership unanimously announced their support for Joe Biden. I wonder what the workers think? Too bad their vote for union leaders doesn’t count.
Beto, the Texas leprechaun, erred by only assuming a ‘combat stance.’ He should have shown his ‘war face’, as well. That would have been convincing.
Someone once said, “Profanity is the attempt of a feeble mind to express itself forcibly.”
To which another responded “bullshit!”
Supe
He’s not a serious person. If he had any self-awareness, he would never run for public office again.
But every time he looks in a mirror, he sees a Kennedy clone and says to himself, “I’m made for this! Everybody thinks so.”
Of course, then he opens his mouth and says something dumb.
That’s what it feels like!
Bobby O’Rourke doesn’t stand a chance against Abbott. What is mystifying is who supports him. I saw a Beto sticker on a 2022 Chevy Suburban today. I thought, “well, that’s ironic.” Bobby lost to the most-hated person in the Senate – Ted Cruz. That says it all. One fellow connected to Texas politics says that Bobby is good for the down ballot races such as mayoral candidates, school boards, and local things, where Democrats control just about every major position in every major city in Texas.
jvb
Thus spake the EA Commentariat political reporter on the ground deep in the heart of. Thanks for the reality check, John.
O’Rouke should probably move to Massachusetts.