March 20, 2010

Megan McArdle was just trying to explain the nefarious "doc fix," and now she's stuck fending off a wave of stupid with the dreaded rhetorical device "um."

The post — "Politico's 'Doc Fix' Memo: Fake, But Accurate?" — now begins with a sadly urgent "update":
Update:  Please READ THE POST before launching into your attacks.  Hint:  the headline is name checking a famous quote, not suggesting that this was a valid idea.  Had you read the post before beginning your cringe-inducing denunciations of my "hypocrisy", you would have, um, known that.
The life of a blogger is tough. It's not easy, as some people seem to think. You work hard crafting snark, and nobody understands it! You write updates beating readers over the head with your point, and other bloggers needle you for being pissy and obvious....

20 comments:

wombat said...

Blogging is slogging through the slush and mush and sometimes snow-machine generating it, for the lush and gush. Right?

Anonymous said...

Megan enjoys jabbing her stick into the eyes of the rats that infest her comment section.

I think it's funny.

wombat said...

Which is not to say Thank You for your entertaining, schooled opinion. Your take is always enjoyable or at least provocative.

raf said...

wv: mocksa. Okay, this is too apropos to let pass, even though I have nothing to add.

I like it when McArdle mocksa her commenters. Unless I'm one of them, I suppose. But then I wouldn't be, 'cause I always get the snark right. I think.

Automatic_Wing said...

Pretty typical of the dialogue over there. The comments section is full of 25 year old hipster douchebags who start their posts with "Um", "Er" and "Sigh".

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, I guess.

David said...

" . . . . nobody understands it!"

The comprehension level is actually pretty high for people who can not or do not read.

Peter V. Bella said...

Politico took it down because the Dems cried like little beyotches? They, like all the media, publish or announce all kinds of unattributed or anonymous information. Then there is the old unnamed sources we are supposed to believe exist.


Looks like Politico is no better than the rest of the media- cowards.

Brian O'Connell said...

"Um" is one of the worst things on the internet. I'd rather be cursed out or wished cancer on than have some asshole respond to my post or comment with "Um...".

There was some semi-major website that said they'd delete comments that started with "Um". I forget what the site was (TWOP?), but it's a good start.

Anonymous said...

"But that won't actually be true until 2014, so in 2010, they can still pretend their vote against funding of abortions actually meant something. I mean, who's going to check?"

Black baby killers in the Senate, led by the inestimable Ku Klux Klan Kleagle Robert Byrd (who in this video explains to FoxNews what a "white nigger" is) want to use the full force and pocketbook of the federal government to kill as many black children as they possibly can.

You know, because of the deficit. Or something.

That's what we're talking about here. The United States Senate is what the Ku Klux Klan became once it was forced underground.

Barack Obama should be proud. He'll go down as the first black President to fund the genocide of his own people.

Anonymous said...

"Um" is one of the worst things on the internet."

Um ... it's called the "intartubes" dude.

Sheesh.

Brian O'Connell said...

Asshole! Cancer you should get!

Penny said...

We've become a nation of headline readers. Not always, but often enough.

We're busy people, and there's more and more news and commentary available than ever before. By reading headlines you get the feeling that you are in the news loop, even if you don't have the time to read the linked articles or all of the blogger's posting.

Here's where I am going to disagree with your portrayal of "poor Megan". I don't believe for one minute that anyone who earns their living putting news on-line, or any successful blogger, for that matter, wouldn't be well aware that is how so many of us approach our news gathering, and frankly, our blog commenting.

Most sites know this and PUNCH UP headlines, boldly and in a different color, so that we don't fail to see their most important point.

If Megan didn't want to be "misunderstood", she has a long enough history on line to know how NOT to be.

But the PUNCHED UP headline, a few more words, a few more updates with a dash of plausible deniability, and you have a workaround that covers all the bases.

Alex said...

We've become a nation of headline readers. Not always, but often enough.

This. Americans have no depth as a nice generalization. It's reflected in the novels, movies and the headline reading.

Alex said...

Penny - so you too are piling on Megan. Shame.

rcocean said...

Sorry Penny, if idiots can't understand your poster like Megan it doesn't mean she its her fault.

Besides, you're going under the wrong assumption. Most of the time, these people know quite well when a blogger is being sarcastic or colorful and don't need it spelled out - they just choose to "misunderstand".

HKatz said...

they just choose to "misunderstand".

That's definitely a major part of it. There are people who don't like a particular blogger, or a particular blogger's stance, so they'll be willfully obtuse.

Another problem is that people have kneejerk reactions to certain words/phrases. The broader context vanishes, and they just react.

kjbe said...

No way. You've got to be in the same wavelength of a particular blogger to get their snark or sarcasm. Think of it like a dog whistle...

Nelson Miller said...

Everyone knows the "fix" will pass or there will be severe disharmony in the senior Medicare community, which will soon be much larger. The AMA does not represent the majority of physicians and many of us are very unhappy with their approval of this flawed plan. We knows things need to change, but this contentious bill will be expensive and in the end fail even if it passes tomorrow . WNMiller MD

John Stodder said...

Another internet tic I hate, almost as much as that condescending, falsely well-informed "um."

Joe Blogger has pissed all over himself. Again.

Don't know why that one-word sentence, "Again" bothers me so much. I guess it's the same as the ubiquitous "um" -- an unearned knowingness.

Lynne said...

Hey, at least she has readers to fend off.

Not to mention a paycheck.