By The Numbers

About six weeks ago I published a blog post that cited George Orwell’s essay “Politics and the English Language,” which discusses the nefarious use of euphemism to cover up war atrocities (https://drnormalvision.blogspot.com/2022/03/special-cover-up.html). I wrote:

Putin’s war against Ukraine can serve as an object lesson in euphemism. For one thing, the word “war” has been outlawed in Russia; Putin has called his invasion a “special operation.” What can be vaguer than something called “an operation”? What exactly goes on in “an operation”? . . .

Meanwhile, shells are landing on civilian targets, millions are fleeing their homes, or hiding out in improvised shelters—and the death toll mounts.

In the latest issue of The Atlantic Anne Applebaum has an essay entitled “UKRAINE AND THE WORDS THAT LEAD TO MASS MURDER: First comes the dehumanization. Then comes the killing” (https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/06/ukraine-mass-murder-hate-speech-soviet/629629/). The essay enlarges upon the point I made in my blog, going into great detail on the history of Russian denigration of Ukraine and Ukrainians and the genocidal results therefrom. As Applebaum points out, “[W]hile not every use of genocidal hate speech leads to genocide, all genocides have been preceded by genocidal hate speech.”

I recommend reading her essay.

*

I am sure that the following news will make you all breathe easier:

Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill Monday to create a police force dedicated to pursuing voter fraud and other election crimes.*

The Guardian notes, however, 

Voter fraud is rare, typically occurs in isolated instances and is generally detected. An Associated Press investigation of the 2020 presidential election found fewer than 475 potential cases of voter fraud out of 25.5 million ballots cast in the six states where Trump and his allies disputed his loss to President Joe Biden.

Despite the fact that there are few cases of voter fraud, here are two cases that made the news. First, in Florida itself:

Two men from The Villages—a Florida retirement community known for its staunch support of former President Donald Trump—have pleaded guilty to voting more than once during the 2020 election.** 

Second:

Mark Meadows—a former chief of staff to President Donald Trump who was removed from North Carolina voter rolls earlier this month—is still a registered voter in two other states, according to officials and a published report.***

I can’t wait until DeSantis’ posse begins rounding up all those Republican election cheaters.

*

While we’re stuck in the swamp of Florida, let me clue you in on why the state has banned 54 math books. It’s looking to find one that claims that 74,216,154 votes are greater than 81,268,924. That’s Republican arithmetic.

***

* https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/apr/25/ron-desantis-florida-governor-bill-police-voter-fraud

** https://www.businessinsider.com/2-men-pro-trump-florida-the-villages-admit-voter-fraud-2022-4?inline-endstory-related-recommendations=

*** https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2022-04-22/mark-meadows-also-registered-to-vote-in-south-carolina

Slapdash

As loyal readers of this blog (are there any?) know, I have little truck with pop culture and the celebrities who dwell within. However, since the news cycle of the past week or so has been caught up with the implications of The Slap, I have had no opportunity to duck notice of it. The Slap, administered at the Oscars ceremony by Will Smith, an alleged actor, to the face of Chris Rock, an alleged comedian, was apparently in retaliation for the comedian’s joking about the medical condition, alopecia, of Smith’s wife.

To me, making fun of a person’s medical condition, disability, looks, or name (I had enough of “God help you if you get the answer wrong”) is totally despicable. The perpetrator of such remarks is beyond the pale. However, in the case of Smith vs. Rock I will plead agnosticism on whether The Slap was an appropriate response to the provocation.

*

All of which brought to mind another case of a slur made against the wife of a prominent personage: namely, Donald Trump’s attack on Heidi Cruz, the spouse of Texas senator Ted Cruz, who was a rival of Trump’s for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.

What, I wondered in recent days, would have happened if at one of the pre-nomination debates, Cruz had hauled off and slapped the fake-bronzed face of insult-monger Trump? “There you are for insulting my wife, you bastard!”

How would the crazed Republican voters, the party leaders, the babbling media types have reacted? Would they have sided with Cruz, seeing him as a knight in shining armor springing to the defense of an offended woman? Would they, on the other hand, have felt sympathy for Trump and his reddened cheek, viewing him as a victim of an unprovoked attack? Would there be loud calls for Cruz to be drummed out of the GOP, as there were for Smith to be ousted from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences? (He resigned voluntarily.)

Well, fascinating as it is to chew over this counterfactual scenario, the end result was that Ted Cruz, the master of Cancun, wimped out and eventually supported Trump. He (and his wife and family) even had dinner with his insult-tossing rival at the White House. 

Would have been interesting, though.