By Guest Poster misscoleopteramolly
Why do we pay so much attention to Sarah Palin? I’m guessing it’s the same reason Florence Foster Jenkins was so popular in her time.
For those of you unfamiliar with FFJ (and I only know of her historically, since she died before I was born), she was a woman who had always wanted to sing, and once she had inherited a sum of money that allowed her to pursue her dream, she went for it. God love her, she was so talentless that listening to cats fighting in an alley was probably a better musical experience than listening to her. But she never allowed anything to discourage her, and categorized herself with the other (genuine) great sopranos of her day.
Her popularity was due to people finding the way Mrs. Jenkins murdered the classics to be highly entertaining. Tickets to her recitals were highly sought after, and her single Carnegie Hall performance in 1944 was sold out weeks in advance. Her performances were delivered in serious earnest, and she seemed quite oblivious to the fact that she provided her audience with comic instead of musical entertainment.
And here we have Sarah Palin. A woman so completely unfit for national office that it’s laughable. This laughter keeps her in the public eye, of course, but her popularity appears to have given her the idea that she’s statesmanlike, politically intelligent, and a leader of her party.
She really doesn’t have a clue that her party regards her only as a token woman when they needed one, an attention-getter who could draw a crowd, someone who looks good on the teevee, and a sock puppet for the PNAC and other party power.
And the rest of us regard her as an endless source of entertainment — a guilty pleasure. Because a Sarah Palin interview (or speech, or column) makes as many people laugh today as an aria sung by Florence Foster Jenkins did over 65 years ago.
13 Comments
July 14, 2009 at 2:32 pm
I think your point is brilliant misscoleopteramolly. Thanks for letting us share it.
July 14, 2009 at 2:35 pm
That really makes sense…
July 14, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Here’s Terry, *not* posting on a Sarah Palin thread!
“Our main weapon is surprise and fear, our *two* main weapons are surprise, fear and a fanatical devotion to the Pope…”
July 14, 2009 at 4:51 pm
Ah, a welcome guest post by the inestimably gracious misscoleopteramolly!
Whilst Palin may be a contemporary Florence Foster Jenkins to many, the comparison is sadly not entirely apt.
FFJ was indulged because she was from the outset utterly harmless.
Sarah Palin however, despite her apparently equal ‘irony-deficiency’ (–that’s brilliant, if I say so myself, which I do!) is not harmless no matter how intrinsically and empirically incompetent she is or has apparently become.
When Palin ‘hears’ our laughter she clearly knows we aren’t laughing with her but at her.
But instead of understanding that she is the victim of her own nincompoopery, she instead is convinced she is the victim of intrinsic meanness and bullying. To her the laughter she ‘hears’ isn’t genuine but rather. ‘nervous’–the more she is mocked the more .
she is convinced that she is feared and thus empowered.
After all, personal mockery is a common tactic of the political Right to undermine those who pose a threat to them, so it is naturally assumed that the left would employ the same tactic to the same end, thus affirming the supposition that mockery is a reaction to a serious threat instead of being an ordinary reaction to sheer absurdity.
And Palin is indeed a threat of sorts, in that she has acquired a following that does take her seriously and who are willing to take action on her behalf—which does not mean ensuring that her appearances are sold-out, but that her political and social goals are made tangible and real. And that prospect is less than amusing.
July 14, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Congratulations, misscoleopteramolly, on an excellent post! Welcome to TheZoo, proud to have you among us.
Don’t forget to learn the official song of TheZoo.
July 14, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Great observations, miss molly, as usual, I might add. Welcome!
Terry, I wasn’t expecting the Spanish Inquisition!
And 5th, yes, you are exceptionally, extraordinarily, and uniquely brilliant.
July 14, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Spot on miss molly. She’s also highly motivated by $$ MONEY $$. It seems obvious to me that’s the main reason she quit. There’s gold in them speech-giving hills !!
July 14, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Jane…
That’s very nice of you to agree with me Jane, but I think you forgot to type ‘exceptionally’ next to ‘brilliant’
July 14, 2009 at 7:12 pm
Jane is “exceptionally” challenged.
**running and hiding**
July 14, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Hmmm, where did that rolling pin go to?
July 14, 2009 at 7:26 pm
5th, I fixed my comment – is that better?
July 15, 2009 at 2:13 am
A very LARGE pleasure to read your post, Miss Molly! Welcome to the Zoo!
July 15, 2009 at 1:29 pm
How apt. Congratulations miss molly for an excellent post and a heartfelt welcome to you!
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