In Which CNN Contributor Dana Loesch Falsely Accuses Me of Using a Racial Slur
Here’s a tale of a wingnut gotcha gone horribly wrong. One of the people I block on Twitter because his tweets are a never-ending cascade of derp is Blue Collar Todd, a far right religious fanatic who specializes in the “I’m rubber, you’re glue” style of right-wing blogging, accusing left wingers of everything right wingers are accused of. In order to pull off this childish maneuver, he ties himself in logical knots and makes assertions that are often hysterically ludicrous.
Yesterday, Blue Collar Todd decided he had CAUGHT me blatantly using a RACIAL SLUR, and he promptly wrote an exceptionally dim-witted blog post and tweeted it to the leading attack dogs of the wingnutosphere:
Chuck Johnson Uses Racist Slur ‘Uppity’ Against Catholic Nuns tinyurl.com/6wyemb4 @DLoesch @benshapiro @sissywillis @sistertoldjah #tcot
— Blue Collar Todd (@BlueCollarTodd) April 22, 2012
Charles Johnson Uses Racist Slur To Describe #Catholic Nuns - tinyurl.com/855dv7l #tcot #tlot @PatDollard @DanRiehl @biggovt #hhrs
— Blue Collar Todd (@BlueCollarTodd) April 22, 2012
Sure enough, dozens of wingnuts are busily retweeting it today, after it was picked up by breitbart.com blogger Dan Riehl and then retweeted by CNN contributor Dana Loesch:
RT @BlueCollarTodd: Charles Johnson Uses Racist Slur To Describe #Catholic Nuns - tinyurl.com/855dv7l #tcot #tlot
— DanRiehl (@DanRiehl) April 23, 2012
RT @DanRiehl: RT @BlueCollarTodd: Charles Johnson Uses Racist Slur To Describe #Catholic Nuns - tinyurl.com/855dv7l #tcot #tlot
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) April 23, 2012
Here’s my post that got these idiots all stirred up and buzzing like a hive of outraged right wing hornets: Vatican Cracks Down on Uppity US Nuns.
Yes, that’s right. There’s nothing “racial” about my post at all. It’s about the Vatican’s disciplinary action against an umbrella group of US nuns, who are not following the Pope’s orders to be opposed to women’s rights and gay rights. In other words, these nuns are acting “uppity.”
The definition of “uppity,” from Merriam-Webster:
Definition of UPPITY
: putting on or marked by airs of superiority : arrogant, presumptuous [uppity technicians] [a small uppity country]
— up·pi·ti·ness also up·pi·ty·ness noun
Examples of UPPITY
Don’t get uppity with me.
Uppity social climbers who were the biggest snobs in town.
I know wingnuts aren’t big on the whole context thing, especially when they’re getting their smear on, but in the case of the word “uppity” context means everything. When applied to a group of nuns, the way I did, calling it “racist” is ridiculous.
However, using it to refer to an African American is absolutely considered a racial slur (and in that context it’s often followed by the N word). For an example, see: Rush Limbaugh: Michelle Obama Booed at NASCAR Because She’s ‘Uppity’.
“Uppity” has also often been used as a derogatory description of women who “don’t know their place.” This is what my post referred to, in a way that sympathized with the women.
I’ve never been able to tell if people like Dan Riehl and Dana Loesch are really this dense, or if they’re cynically manipulating those who are.