Paranoia Strikes Deep
Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away
(Stephen Stills, For What It's Worth)
Wow. Let's do the time warp again. Air America radio personality Randi Rhodes was apparently hurt in New York City while walking her dog. Irresponsible speculation by another Air America radio host, Jon Elliott, then set a number of folks on the left off into a paranoid conspiracy theory that had rightwing goons going after Ms. Rhodes. The full range of insanity is on display in several comment sections. One teensy little little fly in the ointment:
She tripped while walking her dog. That's it. No melodrama, no mugging, no Reichwing stormtroopers. She tripped and fell.
Air America radio host Randi Rhodes is temporarily off the air, but claims she was brutally attacked near her Manhattan apartment are bogus, her lawyer and a police source said today.
Fellow host Jon Elliott claimed on the liberal radio network that Rhodes had been mugged while walking her dog, Simon, on Sunday night. Elliot, who said Rhodes lost several teeth in the attack, waxed about a possible conspiracy.
"Is this an attempt by the right-wing, hate machine to silence one of our own?" he asked on the air, according to Talking Radio, a blog. "Are we threatening them? Are they afraid that we’re winning? Are they trying to silence intimidate us?"
A police source said Rhodes never filed a report and never claimed to be the victim of a mugging. Cops from Manhattan's 17th Precinct called her attorney, who told them Rhodes was not a victim of a crime, the source said.
Rhodes' lawyer told the Daily News she was injured in a fall while walking her dog. He said she's not sure what happened, and only knows that she fell down and is in a lot of pain. The lawyer said Rhodes expects to be back on the air Thursday. He stressed there is no indication she was targeted or that she was the victim of a "hate crime."
Surveying the posts up over at Memeorandum about this, many on the left cautioned about jumping to conclusions. Others hedged their bets by cautioning but then muttering darkly that they wouldn't be surprised if it was political.
Projecting much?
By Icepick, October 16, 2007 @ 1:22 pm
“Are we threatening them? Are they afraid that we’re winning? Are they trying to silence intimidate us?”
Um, given that your company has filed for bankruptcy, the answers are self-evidently “No”, “No” and “Why would we need to silence something that no one listens to?”
By Gaius, October 16, 2007 @ 1:31 pm
You cannot use logic to enlighten someone who arrived at a position illogically.
Dammit man, its about the feelings!
By Uncle Pinky, October 16, 2007 @ 1:46 pm
Gravity is a harsh mistress, says the lad who is nursing a busted metatarsal. I do hope that Ms. Rhodes heals up, and if laughter is the best medicine, she can always reflect on Elliott’s idiocy.
By mockinbrd, October 16, 2007 @ 2:15 pm
It’s too bad she tripped over her pit bull terrier.
By Quilly Mammoth, October 16, 2007 @ 5:53 pm
They have to start transferring their paranoia to a new person(s) as it may be they have finally come to realize that the evil Chimpy McBusHitler, the World’s SDumbest Dictator, is leaving office in a under eighten months.
WHOM are they going fear then???
Rush O’Rielly? There’s got to be a way to make a name as catchy as Chimpy McBusHitler to identify the Right Wingnut hate machine.