{"id":629,"date":"2004-03-12T08:35:31","date_gmt":"2004-03-12T08:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tommangan.net\/printsthechaff\/?p=629"},"modified":"2004-03-12T08:35:31","modified_gmt":"2004-03-12T08:35:31","slug":"swatting-the-sultans-of-snark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tommangan.net\/printsthechaff\/2004\/03\/swatting-the-sultans-of-snark\/","title":{"rendered":"Swatting the sultans of snark"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soon-to-be slivered Jack Shafer<\/a> of Slate.com on the excesses of Wonkette<\/a> and Gawker<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you’ve yet to visit these blogs, imagine them as the twin offspring of a date-rape incident between Drudge Report and the original Spy magazine.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ouch. Another zinger:<\/p>\n

But after several weeks of consuming every cartoon obscenity, bludgeoning wisecrack, and meta-knowing, callow riposte served on these two blogs, I’ve been asking myself: Are these blogs a part of the better world we hope to leave to our sons and daughters?
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Well, yes, if we intend for our children to grow strong from sucking bile instead of milk.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And on to the meat of his complaint:<\/p>\n

Now, where I came from, if you intend to kill the puppy for fun, you must first make friends with it for a few days so there’s a whiff of surprise when the slaughter arrives. Not so with Gawker and Wonkette. They’re so fixated on the hunting of the snark that they’re prepared to flame everybody to a crisp. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It took me a minute to figure out what Shafer’s up to here. I’m slow sometimes, but why antagonize two way-popular bloggers? Then I got it: those who dish cutting remarks for a living need a bit of slicing themselves, for a corrective bit of context. I don’t really like this writing technique — appropriating the voice of the person you’re writing about — it’s too easy and obvious (says me, the king of easy and obvious).
\n

Shafer would’ve been better off playing this piece a more straight, because people in a hurry might rush to the conclusion that he’s guilty of the crimes he’s supposed to be exposing. Sure, that was the point but there’s such a thing as being too clever (something that never happens to me, thank God.).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soon-to-be slivered Jack Shafer of Slate.com on the excesses of Wonkette and Gawker. If you’ve yet to visit these blogs, imagine them as the twin offspring of a date-rape incident between Drudge Report and the original Spy magazine. Ouch. Another…<\/p>\n

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