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You are here: Home / Count Me Out

Count Me Out

by John Cole|  November 17, 201010:41 am| 100 Comments

This post is in: Flash Mob of Hate, General Stupidity

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Yes, Willow Palin said something stupid on her facebook page. Big deal. She’s sixteen, and most of the time when a sixteen year old opens his or her mouth, something stupid will fall out. Often times, they say things and don’t even really think about what they are saying. So spare me if I refuse to get all worked up about what she wrote. There is a reason we call sixteen year olds “minors” and don’t let them vote, drink, etc.

And seriously. We’re trolling the facebook pages of teenagers looking for political advantage? Knock it off. Willow Palin isn’t the only one who needs to grow up.

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Reader Interactions

100Comments

  1. 1.

    LGRooney

    November 17, 2010 at 10:44 am

    A-effing-men!! (but I won’t forget this rant when she is “of age” just in case she hasn’t grown out of the inheritable stupidity)

  2. 2.

    Libby

    November 17, 2010 at 10:44 am

    I’m sure you meant to say, “if I DON’T get worked up” And I agree. It’s a ridiculous thing to gin up outrage over.

  3. 3.

    chopper

    November 17, 2010 at 10:44 am

    shrug. i’m just wondering what the reaction would be if obama’s kids said something even close to this stupid on facebook. pumas, firebaggers and the right would be demanding investigations.

  4. 4.

    Belafon (formerly anonevent)

    November 17, 2010 at 10:45 am

    So spare me if I get all worked up about what she wrote

    I think you’re missing a “don’t.”

    Actually, the bigger deal is my wife pointed out that there are facebook pages now being devoted to making sure Bristol does not win DWTS. So I mentioned to her about how I hope she wins and becomes the poster child for how scary it can be when wingers band together.

  5. 5.

    PopeRatzy

    November 17, 2010 at 10:46 am

    There were some pretty hilarious Palinistic commentary by the daughters. They are their Mother’s daughters.

  6. 6.

    August J. Pollak

    November 17, 2010 at 10:46 am

    If by “trolling” you mean “Willow Palin left a response on another person’s page on a public internet site” then yes, people are “trolling” for something.

    Yes there’s a reason we call 16 year olds “minors.” There’s also a reason we call former governors with children trying to capitalize on how great a family they are who call their friends homophobic slurs “shitty parents.” This is why.

  7. 7.

    dmsilev

    November 17, 2010 at 10:49 am

    Call me shallow, but I found this to be hilarious:

    Eventually, a message board war erupted — and Bristol took aim at another person named Jon — saying, “You’ll be as successful as my baby daddy, And actually I do work my ass off. I’ve been a single mom for the last two years.”

    (TMZ via TBogg)

    dms

  8. 8.

    Silver

    November 17, 2010 at 10:49 am

    She’s a teenager, and speaking from personal observations, “gay” and “faggot” are used casually by almost every single teenager in America. I’m sure Obama’s oldest daughter is almost at the age where she’s going to start using the word “gay” when she means “stupid”. She might not do it in front of her parents, but she’ll do it at school, just like the rest of her friends do. Does that make what Willow said right? Nope…but I guarantee you know a kid that’s is a teenager who you think is a good kid, and they’re probably saying the same thing.

    Now, sure, her mother is a hateful and stupid cunt, but that isn’t the child’s fault…unless you’re one of those wacky Christians that believe that God will punish the child for the sins of the parents. Focus, people.

  9. 9.

    August J. Pollak

    November 17, 2010 at 10:50 am

    shrug. i’m just wondering what the reaction would be if obama’s kids said something even close to this stupid on facebook. pumas, firebaggers and the right would be demanding investigations.

    No, they’d probably be filling up message boards and internet posts about how Obama raised his kids to be “thugs.” Wink, wink.

  10. 10.

    El Cid

    November 17, 2010 at 10:50 am

    I’m just tired of this stupid shit making anything other than maybe the ‘entertainment’ news where every single burp of anything like a celebrity makes that section.

  11. 11.

    scandi

    November 17, 2010 at 10:51 am

    Please, if this had been Sasha saying something like that, Sarah would be calling for Michelle’s head on a platter.

  12. 12.

    shortstop

    November 17, 2010 at 10:52 am

    This is about her parents’ failure.

    Look, life isn’t fair for children of political celebrities. It would be nice for them if they could romp around in the digital village square, profanely and homophobically insulting each other like all other bratty teenagers, but they can’t. And it’s not the world that’s to blame for that, except indirectly through our bottomless prurience; it’s the parents who decided to run for public office and thus put their children in the position of having to curb their mouths and their activity for at least as long as their parents are national political figures. It wasn’t fun for Margaret Truman, Amy Carter, the Johnson girls, the Nixon girls, the Ford kids, the Bush girls…I’m sure it’s not fun for the Palin kids or the Obama kids, either.

    But it is what it is. When your mom or dad is a national political personality, especially one who actively seeks the spotlight at every damn opportunity and constantly puts her kids out there as props (including currently on her “reality” show), you don’t get to do everything other kids get to do. (You also get to do a whole lot of cool things other kids don’t get to do, so there’s got to be some mitigating factor there.)

    Sarah and Todd Palin not only have not explained to their kids that there are some things they cannot do and say; they have led by atrocious example by never themselves letting a perceived slight go and constantly fighting uber-petty battles in the public arena. Why wouldn’t Willow think it’s okay for her to do the same? There are no grownups at home. But that doesn’t mean that there’s something wrong with us for thinking that the kid needs to STFU, as she so adorably tells everyone else to do.

  13. 13.

    The Moar You Know

    November 17, 2010 at 10:52 am

    I don’t give a shit about what any member of this family has done or failed to do.

    The only thing I care about is that the dimwitted maniac who makes George W. Bush look like a master of discourse and erudition didn’t get elected to the office of the Vice Presidency of the United States, and I got over that two years ago when she (predictably) failed. Can we move on from the Palins?

  14. 14.

    LGRooney

    November 17, 2010 at 10:53 am

    @chopper: Exactly and I like to think that my colleagues and I are quite a bit better than that lot.

  15. 15.

    mistermix

    November 17, 2010 at 10:54 am

    I thought it was worth posting for a few reasons. It was an Australian newspaper, she was throwing around the anti-gay slurs in public, and Bristol joined in on the trash talk (she’s an adult, supposedly).

    I understand that a minor is a minor, but the casual “you’re gay” and “faggot” references just aren’t tolerated at the school my teenage kid attends. It shows something about what’s tolerated either by the Palins or in Wasilla.

  16. 16.

    cgp

    November 17, 2010 at 10:54 am

    To all of those who are pointing out the double standard, I might be with you on that, but I would take care, as the President’s children most likely will be held to a higher standard. Certainly we didn’t see this with Chelsea?

  17. 17.

    geg6

    November 17, 2010 at 10:54 am

    @shortstop:

    THIS.

  18. 18.

    Mike Toreno

    November 17, 2010 at 10:55 am

    @scandi:

    “Please, if this had been Sasha saying something like that, Sarah would be calling for Michelle’s head on a platter.”

    Sarah Palin is a bad person, in case you hadn’t noticed.

  19. 19.

    Svensker

    November 17, 2010 at 10:56 am

    @shortstop:

    Yes, this completely and 100%.

  20. 20.

    Zifnab

    November 17, 2010 at 10:57 am

    And seriously. We’re trolling the facebook pages of teenagers looking for political advantage?

    Like mother like daughter.

    I mean, I kinda thought the same thing when I read the “scandal”. But Princess Sarah has her Facebook page monitored relentlessly by the press. And she’s been holding up her kids as human shields since she was running for Mayoress of the Meth Capital of America.

    So it’s a bit late to get shocked about this kind of thing now.

  21. 21.

    Thoughtcrime

    November 17, 2010 at 10:58 am

    Are we sure she wasn’t referring to Sullivan?

    It would be irresponsible not to speculate.

    Perhaps he’ll launch an investigation.

  22. 22.

    BGinCHI

    November 17, 2010 at 10:58 am

    tbogg headline is funny though:

    The Discreet Charm of Griftoisie

  23. 23.

    John Cole

    November 17, 2010 at 10:58 am

    @mistermix: I didn’t think your post was out of line. Some of the reactions at that memeorandum link were nuts.

  24. 24.

    Jay in Oregon

    November 17, 2010 at 11:00 am

    If I go through my circle of friends on Facebook and what their kids say to their friends, I know I can find stuff that’s just as obnoxious as what Willow wrote.

    My only comment about the actual content of Willow’s FB comments is this: I think we found who’s been ghostwriting her mom’s Facebook updates. Other than that, I agree with John.

  25. 25.

    david mizner

    November 17, 2010 at 11:00 am

    Parental failure? Really? Am I correct in assuming the people making this charge aren’t parents themselves?

    And for those you saying “yeah, but if Obama’s kids…” and “yeah, but life isn’t fair for pols’ kids, that’s just the way it is…” do we really have to be as slimy and superficial as everyone else?

  26. 26.

    J.W. Hamner

    November 17, 2010 at 11:01 am

    Knock it off. Willow Palin isn’t the only one who needs to grow up.

    Agreed. I find the obsession with a teenager’s Facebook posts to be kind of creepy.

  27. 27.

    Culture of Truth

    November 17, 2010 at 11:01 am

    A Centerville Ohio woman says she was sexually assaulted at the Dayton International Airport. She says a TSA employee groped her and inappropriately touched her private parts. “I felt violated and sexually assaulted,” she said.

  28. 28.

    Libby

    November 17, 2010 at 11:02 am

    Mistermix, I didn’t see your post until after I made my comment, but what John Cole said. Yours wasn’t the one that set me off either. I read the headlines at Memeo before I came here.

  29. 29.

    Chilisize

    November 17, 2010 at 11:03 am

    Who is Willow Palin?

  30. 30.

    cmorenc

    November 17, 2010 at 11:03 am

    I am SO glad that I grew up back in technologically neolithic times, such that I left not a trace of the gusher of colossally stupid things I said as a teenager every day to come back to haunt me years, decades later. Had the internet, limitless permanent digital storage of everything ever posted there, and facebook been around when we were growing up, most of us older folk would look like we were every bit like the dim, vicious twits back then that Willow Palin is unwittingly painting herself to be now. The difference is that many of us had far better role models in our parents and surrounding adults to help us grow out of it than Willow does. Even then, some of us had the handicap of parents who were every bit the total stupid jackasses Sarah Palin is, and yet managed somehow to grow into decent adults. Take Ron Reagan, Jr for example.

  31. 31.

    Culture of Truth

    November 17, 2010 at 11:03 am

    Officials with the TSA issued the following statement:

    “TSA constantly evaluates and updates screening procedures to stay ahead of evolving threats. TSA has implemented an enhanced pat-down at security checkpoints as one of our many layers of security. While we cannot share specific details of our procedures for security reasons, pat downs are designed to address potentially dangerous items, like improvised explosive devices and their components, concealed on the body. All passengers have the right to request private screening at any time in the screening process.”

  32. 32.

    Winston Smith

    November 17, 2010 at 11:06 am

    Calling someone a “faggot” is way uncool.

    Sarah Palin has made Facebook her campaign office, and she should expect her children to act accordingly. There’s no excuse for political advantage over this, but since it’s out there, it’s fair to react to it.

  33. 33.

    Xenos

    November 17, 2010 at 11:06 am

    I have a 14 year old niece who recently got a facebook account. She is a nice kid, but she is coming off like a shallow fool because at 14 she just does not have a good sense of how other people will read her comments. Her uncles and aunts have been trying to rehabilitate her online presence by engaging her in non-asshole ways, but it is clearly time for her parents to nuke that facebook account.

  34. 34.

    Brachiator

    November 17, 2010 at 11:08 am

    And seriously. We’re trolling the facebook pages of teenagers looking for political advantage? Knock it off. Willow Palin isn’t the only one who needs to grow up.

    Yep.

    Too bad that something that should be so obvious has to be reiterated.

  35. 35.

    greennotGreen

    November 17, 2010 at 11:11 am

    John’s right, they’re called minors for a reason, but compare and contrast the Palin offspring with Graeme Taylor.

    I know which kid I’d be proud to have as my child.

  36. 36.

    matoko_chan

    November 17, 2010 at 11:13 am

    As a dancer i am far more horrified by chubby talentless Bristol continuing to be voted up on DWtS even when she is consistently last in the judges esteem.
    The reason this matters is that High School Never Ends in Wasilla.
    That is why im positive Palin is running.
    Obama dissed her.
    She offered him her help at the Governors meet post her crushing loss, offered jokingly to flat race him….crickets.
    He almost never even says her name except as a joke or a sneer.
    Ever-one was invite to the WH except her.
    He ignores her.
    So she is going to show him, and the rest of us snooty elites.

    As an Obamotaku, i understand that this is sorta out of character for my beloved Magical Unity Pony.
    Why invite Sick Grandpa to the WH and not Replacement Dimbo?
    my hypoth is Michelle said no.
    Palin crossed a line with Michelle.

    Sarah Palin’s words upset the new First Family, with Michelle Obama … adviser Valerie Jarrett: ‘Why would they try to make people hate us? …

    Palin is basically still in high school……and she is a Mean Girl that got shut down for the prom.
    Hell hath no fury an’ all that.
    Wat i say? shez runnin’.

    Cole you are as dumb as the Obama administration. The lily white christofacist culture warriors like Palin are going to fight hard and fight dirty. Willow is a Mean Girl too. They start young, trust meh.
    She deeply, and profoundly deserves w/e she gets.

  37. 37.

    mistermix

    November 17, 2010 at 11:19 am

    @John Cole: Thanks.

  38. 38.

    matoko_chan

    November 17, 2010 at 11:19 am

    oh and Willow cher?
    your sister is not “hot”.
    shez a whale.
    :)

  39. 39.

    Maude

    November 17, 2010 at 11:21 am

    @Culture of Truth:
    #31
    You’d think they’s stop using the word enhanced after the Bush years, wouldn’t you?

  40. 40.

    BH

    November 17, 2010 at 11:24 am

    Just as the right would afford Sasha or Malia a break if the roles were reversed, we should also look the other way. And I guess “fag” is still OK, because it’s not like she used the N word. That would be different. Somehow.

    Gay slurs are never acceptable, and the Palins need to make their daughter get her shit together and to realize that as reality TV stars, they chose this level of scrutiny, and the entire family needs to act accordingly.

    They chose this life. Not us.

  41. 41.

    Hal

    November 17, 2010 at 11:27 am

    @Silver

    She’s a teenager, and speaking from personal observations, “gay” and “faggot” are used casually by almost every single teenager in America. I’m sure Obama’s oldest daughter is almost at the age where she’s going to start using the word “gay” when she means “stupid”.

    That’s gay is still a slur, and that’s how it’s intended. Gay = bad, uncool, or as you say; “stupid.” Saying something is gay is meant to indicate it’s bad or uncool.

  42. 42.

    Gromit

    November 17, 2010 at 11:29 am

    @El Cid:

    Point taken, but so far, with the exception of mistermix’s post here at BJ, I’ve only actually seen this showing up at entertainment sites. I don’t doubt that it is being covered at Huffington Post, too, but, well, same difference.

  43. 43.

    Hal

    November 17, 2010 at 11:30 am

    @Xenos

    I have a 14 year old niece who recently got a facebook account. She is a nice kid, but she is coming off like a shallow fool because at 14 she just does not have a good sense of how other people will read her comments.

    Have your aunts and uncles talk to my 38 year old cousin, because she comes across the same way. Facebook can make you think you are way cooler than you really are, and humor can be hard to impart through electronic media, unless a person knows you well enough.

  44. 44.

    Gromit

    November 17, 2010 at 11:31 am

    In other news, trashy gossip is trashy. Film at 11.

  45. 45.

    Max Peck

    November 17, 2010 at 11:32 am

    I don’t care what the kid said. I care what the parent who wants to be president did in reaction.

  46. 46.

    Culture of Truth

    November 17, 2010 at 11:33 am

    “Authorities say a 67-year-old rural Wisconsin man enraged over Bristol Palin’s “Dancing with the Stars” routine blasted his television with a shotgun, leading to an overnight standoff with a SWAT team.”

  47. 47.

    chopper

    November 17, 2010 at 11:34 am

    @scandi:

    exactly. imagine if sasha posted something on FB about how X or Y was ‘totally retarded’. palin’s righteous indignation would outshine the sun.

  48. 48.

    bemused

    November 17, 2010 at 11:34 am

    @shortstop:
    This thrice.
    There is a video of Sarah and daughters in Homer, Alaska with Sarah stopping to talk to the woman with homemade sign, “Worst Governor Ever”. One daughter said to woman, “You’re just jealous”. The same daughter or the other daughter told the guy filming with his cell phone, “You’re an asshole”. I don’t know if Sarah and Todd don’t care what the kids say in public, encourage them or have no control over them. I think they have lousy parenting values. Most people in the political spotlight are concerned with their kids and family reflecting badly on them and giving unnecessary fodder to media. That doesn’t seem to be an issue with Sarah and Todd. I think they are pretty dim bulbs but why would they care when their groupies give them a pass on anything.

  49. 49.

    scarshapedstar

    November 17, 2010 at 11:37 am

    I dunno. I mean, if somebody says “I reckin we oughtta send all them n****rs back to Africa” you can rightly call it stupid.

    But the stupidity isn’t really the issue.

    I said “faggot” once when I was like 10 years old, and I got a very stern talking-to about how I was never to say it again. Clearly, Sarah Palin does not feel it necessary to instruct her children on this matter.

    Draw your own conclusions.

  50. 50.

    chopper

    November 17, 2010 at 11:40 am

    @shortstop:

    yes again, this also too.

  51. 51.

    sherifffruitfly

    November 17, 2010 at 11:43 am

    (shrug) I thought the issue was more the family values hypocrisy lie than anything else.

    Also, I thought the “kids will be kids” defense of gay bashing was out? Did I zonk out for a day, and now it’s back in?

  52. 52.

    The Moar You Know

    November 17, 2010 at 11:43 am

    As a dancer i am far more horrified by chubby talentless Bristol continuing to be voted up on DWtS even when she is consistently last in the judges esteem.

    @matoko_chan: My wife’s a dance instructor. She’s horrified beyond words at this.

    You can tell the judges are as well. I thought Jennifer Grey was going to vomit onstage the other night.

    Me, I think it’s amusing. She looks like a stranded whale trying to get back to deep water.

  53. 53.

    chopper

    November 17, 2010 at 11:44 am

    @Zifnab:

    yes, i for one am shocked, shocked! that the daughter of an attention-seeking, catty politician whose FB posts and tweets are legendary in their sheer volume and smug, self-righteous stupidity would be catty and stupid on FB.

  54. 54.

    jwalden91lx

    November 17, 2010 at 11:44 am

    Yes, Yes, and Yes.

  55. 55.

    scarshapedstar

    November 17, 2010 at 11:46 am

    @sherifffruitfly:

    That was only during National “It Gets Better” week.

    Now a 16-year-old girl (funny, I heard they were all mature and shit) gets a pass. I guess she’s got a whole lot of growing up to do over the next year, because she’s about to apply to college.

    Bear in mind that in this day and age, college admissions committees Facebook EVERY kid as much as possible, and aren’t even above sending friend requests from dummy accounts. But to do this as the child of an inexplicable celebrity… nice.

  56. 56.

    New Yorker

    November 17, 2010 at 11:47 am

    @shortstop:

    Bingo.

    John, I’m sure I was as guilty as anyone else at age 16 of using “faggot”. That’s not what this is about. It’s about more evidence that Sarah and Todd aren’t fit to raise a fucking goldfish, much less a family of 5 children. The family is a dysfunctional white trash mess that, a decade ago, would have been invited onto Jerry Springer.

  57. 57.

    kc

    November 17, 2010 at 11:50 am

    @LGRooney:

    (but I won’t forget this rant when she is “of age” just in case she hasn’t grown out of the inheritable stupidity)

    She won’t. But then, look at her mama and daddy – bless her heart, she never had a chance.

  58. 58.

    brantl

    November 17, 2010 at 11:59 am

    Hey, Cole, Bristol is now being touted as this “wonderfully responsible young woman” and she’s entered a pissing contest with a teen-ager. Why does this sailor-mouthed, whiny, childish little bag get a free pass?

  59. 59.

    You Don't Say

    November 17, 2010 at 12:03 pm

    Agreed.

    I bet it was found and exposed by a Dancing with the Stars watcher who can’t believe Willow’s clumsy sister Bristol has made it into this season’s finals. A dancing fan can only take so much.

  60. 60.

    JPL

    November 17, 2010 at 12:09 pm

    IMO, The Palin camp should not have justified the behavior. According to TMZ.com

    Sources connected to the Palin family tell us … Willow normally doesn’t use this type of language, but she felt like she was being attacked along with her family. The source added it was the baby bear defending Mama Grizzly.

    It’s okay to use homophobic language if your feelings are hurt. That’s not a message I would want to send to teenagers.

  61. 61.

    Mr Furious

    November 17, 2010 at 12:17 pm

    @shortstop: I’m 100% with shortstop on this.

    I wouldn’t be surprised if this behavior was not only NOT corrected in the Palin household, but encouraged. It’s on Sarah, not Willow.

    Unlike a responsible parent in a similar situation, who might apologize for the behavior and make it a teaching moment for their child, the whole damn Palin clan will probably jump on Facebook and start swinging.

  62. 62.

    grandpajohn

    November 17, 2010 at 12:21 pm

    Shortstop described it perfectly.Responsible parents when faced in the spotlight of public scrutiny would set down with their children and talk to them about the increased burden of behavior that is being placed on them whether fair or not. In the age of national enquirer style media that we live in even by the supposed main stream media, their children should be aware of the increased scrutiny of their actions and words. but when the parents act as childish and immature as the children what can be expected

  63. 63.

    adolphus

    November 17, 2010 at 12:21 pm

    This topic has come up here a number of times. Most memorably for me when Letterman made the crass joke he did at Palin’s kids expense. I have had difficulty wrestling with my own feelings on this as I do think politician’s kids should be kept out of the political fighting, but Palin and other politicians use their families as campaign props all the time. Especially as we see more women running for high political office, I predict we will see families being used more and more. If I recall correctly the fact that Elena Kagan was unmarried was consider in some quarters as a strike against her. I can’t find the link now, but there was a congressional race in Oklahoma or Texas in which the Tea Party candidate claimed that her motherhood made her a defacto superior choice to her opponent who had no kids. Trolling candidate web sites this year it was hard not to notice how many candidates used their parenthood status as a qualification for office. Granted this was anti-incumbent cycle, but I think we are going to see more, not less, of politicians using their families as more than just props in a a holiday photo.

    In an environment where parenthood is used as a qualification for office, how can evidence of the quality or lack of quality of that parenthood NOT become part of the discourse? I am not saying trolling Facebook pages is good or bad, it does seem sketchy to me, but if a politician claims that motherhood or fatherhood gives them some sort of special quality to office and a reporter or the public becomes aware of evidence that those parenting skills aren’t what is claimed, how can they NOT report it? Especially when a politician uses them in such crass and public ways and with such regularity as Sarah Palin uses her family.

    I don’t want reporters in politician’s bedrooms either. I don’t care who they sleep with. But I don’t want them to care who I sleep with either. If said politician has made a career of telling and/or legislating who I can have sex with, then their infidelities become important. How can they NOT?

    And it is a crying shame the children get caught in the middle of warring adults, but what’s new? I may wish people like Letterman and political/entertainment reporters showed more discretion and respect, but I can’t blame them for swinging when the politician places the ball on the tee. Hoping for grown up behavior on either side is so 18th Century. (and not even then) Both sides show questionable judgment and the lapses of one side do not absolve the lapses of the other, but the serve is in the politician’s court. I have voted for literally hundreds of politicians at all levels in my life without even knowing if they had children, and that’s the way I like it.

  64. 64.

    Zuzu's Petals

    November 17, 2010 at 12:22 pm

    @bemused:

    Pretty sure that was Willow, and I was just thinking of her gum-snapping, hand-waving “She’s representing UNITED STATES” in the woman’s face. Which Sarah not only approved of, but egged her on.

    For someone who makes her parenting skills such a prominent part of her “schtick,” Mama Griz is a pretty lousy parent. And that to me is the issue.

  65. 65.

    chopper

    November 17, 2010 at 12:31 pm

    @JPL:

    Willow normally doesn’t use this type of language, but she felt like she was being attacked along with her family.

    uh, some random dude on the internet says your mom’s reality show is a failure. if that’s ‘being attacked’ then sasha and malia have every right to spit bile in response to her mom constant ‘attacks on the obama family’.

    The source added it was the baby bear defending Mama Grizzly.

    jesus h christ inna chicken basket, enough of this idiotic ‘mama grizzly’ shit already. we get it, you want to look like a rugged individualist. just change your name to hoover and get it over with.

  66. 66.

    theturtlemoves

    November 17, 2010 at 12:33 pm

    I guess for me it is just one more bit of evidence that these are horrible, horrible people. I would be very surprised if she didn’t get a high five from mom and dad at home for this crap. This is the family that used a state office to hound a former in-law for years. I’m just completely horrified that they get any media exposure, but in a society that has crap like Jersey Shore on heavy rotation, I’m not surprised.

  67. 67.

    chopper

    November 17, 2010 at 12:35 pm

    @Mr Furious:

    indeed. the whole family has this ‘smug argumentative always-the-victim with a heaping side of entitlement’ shtick. i expect them to flood FB and twitter with all sorts of shit about ‘being the real victim here’.

  68. 68.

    PurpleGirl

    November 17, 2010 at 12:35 pm

    I’ve gone looking on YouTube for video of Bristol dancing and while there are videos out there, I haven’t found an actual dancing one yet. They have her talking about how she practices or the baby, etc.; they have shots of her and Ballas practicing, shots of them on the show but they don’t show actual, fluid, flowing movement. She’s learning to be a grifter just like her mother. (No, I don’t watch the show and don’t want to. I’ve just wanted to see what she’s doing on the show. My curiousity being satisfied, I won’t go looking for any more videos of her “dancing”.)

  69. 69.

    You Don't Say

    November 17, 2010 at 12:40 pm

    @PurpleGirl: Here’s a page full of ’em.

  70. 70.

    chopper

    November 17, 2010 at 12:43 pm

    wouldn’t it be awesome if rahm posted on FB that what willow said was ‘fucking retarded’?

  71. 71.

    ruemara

    November 17, 2010 at 12:47 pm

    @scarshapedstar:

    She’ll get in. She has money, fame and her future is guaranteed to be more successful than someone who actually has brains and talent. Why the fuck should Willow give a damn at any bad publicity? It would just make the entrance boards even more eager to sign her up. The only way for any of those kids to fail now is to be complete coked up druggie and even then, the presidency is possible. Fuck the rich, they don’t have to live in the world they create.

    @You Don’t Say:
    oi and vey. Watched the waltz. Sweet goddess Uzume. Man, could she be more wooden? And I recognize one of the fan names. Riverdaughter is on youtubes tonguing Bristol? facepalm forever.

  72. 72.

    Silver

    November 17, 2010 at 12:51 pm

    @ruemara:

    A black boyfriend would do it as well…

  73. 73.

    ruemara

    November 17, 2010 at 12:52 pm

    @Silver:
    Nope. He’ll be like Thomas, seething with internal rage at not being white.

  74. 74.

    You Don't Say

    November 17, 2010 at 12:55 pm

    @ruemara: If you think politics are ruthless, check out the ABC DWTS message board. I don’t know if it’s funny or scary or just pathetic, but it’s definitely nasty!

  75. 75.

    MobiusKlein

    November 17, 2010 at 12:56 pm

    John, don’t make a meta post about it.
    Just threaten your fellow bloggers. No more lily pics until they agree to cut that shit out.

  76. 76.

    ruemara

    November 17, 2010 at 12:56 pm

    @You Don’t Say:

    Those Fosse vs Twyla rumbles can get nasty. Fosse will cut a bitch for Twyla hands.

  77. 77.

    JMC in the ATL

    November 17, 2010 at 1:30 pm

    So which is it, John? Should we be taking stands against GLBT bullying? Or should we be looking the other way when Palinspawn engage in cyber-harassment of a teenager using homophobic slurs?

    I don’t care if Willow is a minor or if “all” teens toss around the F-word or whatever — this is the kind of crap that reinforces environments that make GLBT kids feel isolated and attacked, and it should be called ou for that. Or was “It Gets Better,” just the feel-good flavor of the week?

  78. 78.

    Brachiator

    November 17, 2010 at 1:44 pm

    @JMC in the ATL:

    So which is it, John? Should we be taking stands against GLBT bullying? Or should we be looking the other way when Palinspawn engage in cyber-harassment of a teenager using homophobic slurs?

    Adults making comments about the dumbass remarks of minors are not taking much of a stand against anything.

    I don’t much care for Palin. But demeaning Internet remarks about her minor children (Palinspawn) are a form of cyber-harassment.

  79. 79.

    A Duck

    November 17, 2010 at 1:44 pm

    Jeez, never a missed opportunity to demonstrate your support and understanding for the LGBT community, eh John? I mean, no worries when a prominant media figure (and if she were in DC, it would be legal to hit that, so she ain’t that minor) uses an anti-gay slur.

    Hetero white-boy solidarity FTW!

  80. 80.

    soonergrunt

    November 17, 2010 at 1:45 pm

    That’s the first intelligent thing anyone said about this.

  81. 81.

    Onkel Bob

    November 17, 2010 at 1:50 pm

    There is a reason we call sixteen year olds “minors” and don’t let them vote, drink, etc.

    just a bit OT here, but those crazy euro’s let their sixteen year olds drink. OTOH they can’t get a driver’s license until 18, and then only after extensive training.
    I always liked that idea, you learn to handle your drink before you get to drive a car. That, and, 1 year suspension for the first DUI, and total revocation for the second one.

  82. 82.

    Citizen_X

    November 17, 2010 at 1:51 pm

    @Zuzu’s Petals:

    Pretty sure that was Willow, and I was just thinking of her gum-snapping, hand-waving “She’s representing UNITED STATES” in the woman’s face.

    That bugged me, too. All I could think was, “Oh yeah? Who the fuck elected her?”

    “You know, there is a politician who represents the entire country, and his name’s Barack Hussein Obama. You remember: he kicked the shit out of your mom.”

  83. 83.

    PurpleGirl

    November 17, 2010 at 1:54 pm

    @You Don’t Say: Thank you. I guess my YouTube fu isn’t as good as my Google fu usually is.

  84. 84.

    shortstop

    November 17, 2010 at 2:00 pm

    @Brachiator:

    But demeaning Internet remarks about her minor children (Palinspawn) are a form of cyber-harassment.

    Oh, for crying out loud.

  85. 85.

    JMC in the ATL

    November 17, 2010 at 2:10 pm

    @Brachiator: You have got to be shitting me. Willow, regardless of her age, if the one in the position of power here. That poor kid Tre has no doubt unleashed a pile of Mean Girl and her Merry Men wrath upon himself that will not abate until he has graduated and can hopefully leave that shithole for good. And you want me to a) feel bad for her and b) make some ridiculous false analogy between an anonymous comment about a Millionaire Princess and the very real wrath of homophobic hell that is GLBT bullying. Ain’t gonna happen. Go sell crazy somewhere else.

  86. 86.

    suzanne

    November 17, 2010 at 2:13 pm

    @JMC in the ATL:

    I don’t care if Willow is a minor or if “all” teens toss around the F-word or whatever—this is the kind of crap that reinforces environments that make GLBT kids feel isolated and attacked, and it should be called ou for that. Or was “It Gets Better,” just the feel-good flavor of the week?

    Word. Willow said something stupid and offensive, and a good parent wouldn’t defend what she said. Especially in light of all the anti-LGBT bullying, the proper response from her family would have been, “We know she screwed up, and we’re going to discuss these issues as a family to make sure our kids know that slurring minorities is never acceptable.” I don’t give a fuck about Willow Palin, but this sure speaks volumes about her parents, and what horrible people they are.

    Not to mention, if “every kid” talks this way, we have a much bigger problem. The only way to let it be known that teasing and bullying is not OK is to, well, not treat it like it’s OK.

  87. 87.

    suzanne

    November 17, 2010 at 2:15 pm

    Not to mention, the girl’s 16 and still doesn’t know the difference between “your” and “you’re”.

  88. 88.

    Jules

    November 17, 2010 at 2:27 pm

    Ugh, these poor girls.
    They are just like their damn mother….can’t keep their traps shut AND they are always the victims.

    Willow normally doesn’t use this type of language, but she felt like she was being attacked along with her family.

    hahahahaha
    Yeah right.
    She doesn’t use “this type of language” in front of her family maybe, but you can be damn sure she uses it around the rest of her Wasilla friends.
    I bet Willow used all kinds of language like that while she was vandalizing a home in Wasilla with her friends (that she ways able to get out of being charged for (or even paying restitution for) because of who her mommy is).
    No one was “trolling facebook”…Willow and Bristol commented on another teens facebook page because said teen made fun of their grifter mother’s reality show.
    Said teen (or another who got involved) sent screen shots of the pages to TMZ.
    But whatever….

    I’m more worried that none of them seen to know the difference between YOUR and YOU’RE.

  89. 89.

    chopper

    November 17, 2010 at 2:31 pm

    @Brachiator:

    But demeaning Internet remarks about her minor children (Palinspawn) are a form of cyber-harassment.

    how so? this isn’t her blog.

  90. 90.

    Len

    November 17, 2010 at 2:39 pm

    Still in all, though, a 16-year-old is old enough to know what it means when you call somebody a faggot and use the word gay as a put-down. This stuff is not going to automatically go away when the kid turns 18. If anything, it will only become more deeply ingrained — especially if this is the kind of thing she is exposed to in her home environment.

  91. 91.

    licensed to kill time

    November 17, 2010 at 2:43 pm

    I just fervently hope the Wasilla Hillbillies never get within spittin’ distance of the White House. What a freak show that would be.

    The Battle of the Tweetertwats and the FaceborgSnipers, all played out on 24/7 RealityShowNewsiness.

  92. 92.

    russell

    November 17, 2010 at 2:45 pm

    I say do like Cole or you’ll end up like this guy.

    “Palin Rage”. Coming to your town soon.

  93. 93.

    shortstop

    November 17, 2010 at 2:56 pm

    @russell:

    Hmmmm. The shooter said he was “fed up with politics” and sought Second Amendment remedies for his problems. However, because he criticized a Palin child’s aptitude for something, he’s clearly a flaming liberal.

  94. 94.

    Bruce (formerly Steve S.)

    November 17, 2010 at 3:17 pm

    She’s sixteen

    Like you I don’t think anybody should be trolling her Facebook page, but I have to say that when I was sixteen I was expected to have a little goddamned common sense, and this says she hasn’t got any. Yes, sixteen year olds do dumb things, but usually with at least a nominal attempt at concealment. If you’re one of the most famous public figures in the world and still aspiring for political office and your sixteen year old child says stuff like this on Facebook it doesn’t speak well of her or your parenting skills. And if your whole schtick is wrapped up in projection of a family image, well, there you are.

  95. 95.

    Keith G

    November 17, 2010 at 3:18 pm

    Shortstop described it perfectly.Responsible parents when faced in the spotlight of public scrutiny would set down with their children and talk to them about the increased burden of behavior that is being placed on them whether fair or not.

    I wouldn’t be surprised if this behavior was not only NOT corrected in the Palin household, but encouraged. It’s on Sarah, not Willow.

    Good-fucking-god people, why are some of you sinking to this?

    Do you know what was discussed or taught in the Palin household? Actually, who has enough time to care? The best socialized teens rebel; the best raised children can delight in the attention of being a self-amazed ass.

    Sarah Palin is a heartless grifter, but that doesn’t mean the human beings that are her minor children should be part of our show even if they do something stupid.

    And no, “The right would do this to Obama” is just as ill conceived.

  96. 96.

    HyperIon

    November 17, 2010 at 3:46 pm

    @scarshapedstar:

    funny, I heard they were all mature and shit

    And totally beyond racism and homophobia. I mean, they don’t care about these things!

    Kids in high school are, by definition, disasters waiting to happen. Sometimes they grow up to be OK adults. Often they do not. Thus will it ever be.

  97. 97.

    Angry Black Lady

    November 17, 2010 at 3:56 pm

    I wouldn’t want anyone following me around with a tape recorder when I was 16, or reading the nasty notes I passed in class (although that was more 14 than 16). I was a right asshole at 16. I was rude to my parents, I snuck out of the house to go to parties, I was a jerk. My parents are great parents and great people. Sometimes kids are just assholes for a while or make mistakes.

    That said, their mother is still an asshole so who knows if her kids will grow out of their asshole phase. I think it’s pretty inappropriate to pile on to the kids.

  98. 98.

    Angry Black Lady

    November 17, 2010 at 3:56 pm

    I wouldn’t want anyone following me around with a tape recorder when I was 16, or reading the nasty notes I passed in class (although that was more 14 than 16). I was a right asshole at 16. I was rude to my parents, I snuck out of the house to go to parties, I was a jerk. My parents are great parents and great people. Sometimes kids are just assholes for a while or make mistakes.

    That said, their mother is still an asshole so who knows if her kids will grow out of their asshole phase. I think it’s pretty inappropriate to pile on to the kids.

  99. 99.

    Angry Black Lady

    November 17, 2010 at 3:56 pm

    I wouldn’t want anyone following me around with a tape recorder when I was 16, or reading the nasty notes I passed in class (although that was more 14 than 16). I was a right asshole at 16. I was rude to my parents, I snuck out of the house to go to parties, I was a jerk. My parents are great parents and great people. Sometimes kids are just assholes for a while or make mistakes.

    That said, their mother is still an asshole so who knows if her kids will grow out of their asshole phase. I think it’s pretty inappropriate to pile on to the kids.

  100. 100.

    Bruce (formerly Steve S.)

    November 17, 2010 at 4:27 pm

    @Angry Black Lady:

    I wouldn’t want anyone following me around with a tape recorder when I was 16

    That’s the whole point I think. She’s voluntarily saying this stuff in front of the entire world. That’s dumb even by the standards of a sixteen year old.

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