Our Betters Victorious, And Still Unhappy
In the Los Angeles Times, a tale of high roads not taken:
Oh, heck no. The Trumpites next door to our pandemic getaway, who seem as devoted to the ex-president as you can get without being Q fans, just ploughed our driveway without being asked and did a great job.
The author of the above, Ms Virginia Heffernan, not only has a “pandemic getaway,” which must be nice, but also neighbours sufficiently thoughtful to clear her drive of heavy snow. Inevitably, this induces not gratitude or warm feelings, but fretting and resentment, such that the aforementioned act of kindness is framed, disdainfully, as “aggressive niceness.” Exactly how Ms Heffernan’s neighbours were being aggressive is unclear, but it seems that we, the reader, are expected to dislike them, quite intensely, on account of their being insufficiently leftist.
Of course, on some level, I realise I owe them thanks,
On some level, says she.
I’m not ready to knock on the door with a covered dish yet.
As readers may be a little confused by the air of displeasure, I should point out that no history of neighbourly rancour is offered as an excuse – no disputes over hedges or noisy pets. Nothing of that sort is mentioned at all. Ms Heffernan’s neighbours are, it seems, to be frowned upon, indeed despised, in print, in a newspaper they may well read, simply for failing to vote for Mr Biden.
I also can’t give my neighbours absolution; it’s not mine to give. Free driveway work, as nice as it is, is just not the same currency as justice and truth.
Absolution, indeed. What a grandiose creature she is. And so, instead of the customary thanks, Ms Heffernan extends to her neighbours – via the medium of a newspaper column intended to shame them – an ultimatum of sorts:
But I can offer a standing invitation to make amends. Not with a snowplough but by recognising the truth about the Trump administration and, more important, by working for justice for all those whom the administration harmed.
You see, in Ms Heffernan’s mind, Mr Trump is a demon king, the cause of all worldly woe, and “a man who showed near-murderous contempt for the majority of Americans.”
What, you didn’t know?
Only when we work shoulder to shoulder to repair the damage of the last four years will we even begin to dig out of this storm.
And our pious, progressive columnist is repairing the damage, and working shoulder to shoulder, by resenting acts of kindness by her neighbours. And then publicly badmouthing them.
As Sam Duncan quips in the comments here,
Geez. Trying to figure Our Betters out is exhausting.
Well, it seems Ms Heffernan insists on clinging, one might say bitterly, to her ludicrous, self-flattering conspiracy theories, which, coincidentally, offer inexhaustible opportunities to be a bit of a bitch. Such that she can look down on her neighbours, and seethe at them, regardless of how they actually behave, regardless of their kindness, and regardless of how much nicer they are than she is. And by regardless, I mean because of.
Which tells us quite a bit about Ms Heffernan, I think.
Via WTP.
Put the f*cking snow back!
As so often with these things, an apt response would be, “You know we can hear you, right?”
Put the f*cking snow back!
With the rest of the street’s snow as a goodwill bonus
What an anti climax. The build-up was giving me a bit of a tingle. But no racism, no patriarchy and white supremacism gone AWL.
After all, once wiminzes like this get going, the gallery expects the full deal in spades.
The next time it snows her neighbours probably won’t clear her driveway for her, having read in the newspaper that she doesn’t like it.
I wonder what she’ll say about them then? I bet it won’t be nice.
As the Irish say, she needs to cop on to herself a bit.
Let’s see. Your neighbor does something useful for you, for free. You publish an article in a on a web site viewed by millions of people, all ’round the world, that you are virtuous but they are not. And, the rest of your neighbors are similarly not-virtuous.
One of the things I like about the new Biden administration is all of the tolerance and healing.
Why did you move into this den of vipers? On a practical level, I’m thinking that free driveway clearing is not in your future and that it is completely your fault. Oh, and I bet he used a pickup truck, you know about people who own pickups, right?
And remember, this isn’t just one unhappy leftist woman, of which, it seems, there are so many. Presumably, Ms Heffernan’s editor is somewhat sympathetic, or at least not inclined to have a quiet word about the impression being given. Say, that the article makes her sound churlish, spiteful and generally insufferable. Frankly, a bit of a cow.
On Twitter, Ms Heffernan is currently basking in the approval of her peers.
Heavy snow in LA?
Must be that global warming thingy.
She thinks this makes her look good. Let that sink in.
Let us pray that when wildfire season starts in the same area that Ms. Heifer-buns neighbors keep their garden hose to themselves.
But I can offer a standing invitation to make amends.
I believe it was one of the editors of Commentary Magazine who said that Trump supporters had to “crawl back” and “beg forgiveness”–which only called attention to the callous arrogance which made possible the election of Trump.
She thinks this makes her look good. Let that sink in.
It does make her look good to others on the left: I used to spend a lot of time socializing with moderate- to far-left people, and they really are that awful. Even (especially?) the ones with advanced degrees.
I was particularly struck by how she compares Trump supporters to white supremacists, Nazis, and islamo-fascist terrorists.
I suspect that her neighbors have read her column about them, and may quietly reconsider whether or not they should continue to plow her driveway.
Trump supporters had to “crawl back” and “beg forgiveness”
It’s cute and amazing that these people see themselves as the Ruling Class to whom non-woke normals should defer and revere.
Heavy snow in LA?
There are a fair amount of well-heeled flatlanders in the Los Angeles basin who (as Virginia points out) have a “getaway” home in the surrounding mountains — from Wrightwood to Big Bear there are scattered ski resorts and the towns that support them. And the flatlanders who, one way or another feel superior, to them.
It’s a cliche but it is also true when you live in SoCal you can ski in the morning and then go surfing in the afternoon. The slopes at Big Bear are open … and it was also 80 degrees in the LA basin and low 70s at the beaches yesterday.
More importantly, Ms Virginia hails from New Hampshire, probably one of the “whitest” states in the US — and wherever she lives in the LA basin, I bet her neighborhood looks just the same and all the “diversity” in her life are the browner ones she encounters like the “exotic” fruit/flower sellers at freeway exit ramps or the Spanish-speaking workers at the really-truly authentic taqueria she patronizes — like painted set pieces on the stage of her life.
She can’t conceive of someone doing an act of neighborly kindness “just because” .. because SHE never would.
You don’t understand- they have – *shudder* – trucks!.
And even worse, GUNS!
http://twitter.com/page88/status/1358130781974110215
pst314: ’… may quietly reconsider whether or not they should continue to plow her driveway.’
I think they should continue. Maybe not stop when they get to the porch though?
My verdict?
This didn’t happen.
That’s why she has no worries about insulting her neighbor. He doesn’t exist.
This is just “made up” virtue signaling from yet another pathologically lying leftist.
I’m surprised she didn’t quote a 4-year-old daughter saying, “Mommy, he can plow our driveway but I’ll never forgive him for supporting Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination.”
There are a fair amount of well-heeled flatlanders in the Los Angeles basin who (as Virginia points out) have a “getaway” home in the surrounding mountains.
Same phenomenon in other parts of America. I have noticed the contempt that those urban liberals often have for the “hicks” in the vicinity of their getaway homes.
My verdict? This didn’t happen.
You could be right, but per my previous comment it could have happened. It would be amusing if someone were to do a little investigative reporting to determine the truth of her story.
I have noticed the contempt that those urban liberals often have for the “hicks” in the vicinity of their getaway homes.
Indeed, and it’s on full display here with this privileged prig.
I’m surprised she didn’t quote a 4-year-old daughter saying…
Fweedom
These soi disant moral elites are certainly a resentful lot.
Thanks for the h/t. I think I got this from Insty though. Not sure.
As for pst314 “didn’t happen”, I kinda suspect that a little bit. But that makes it even more frightening, to me anyway, that someone would make such a thing up in such a way. I would expect at least a tidbit about running over a lamppost or something.
That said, I have a second/summer home and a couple of times in the off season we’ve seen on our cameras our neighbor blowing the leaves off of our back driveway Which is a bit awkward as when we first moved in there nine years ago, we were approached by his parole officer asking us a few questions. It’s also a rather steep driveway, so there’s a tad bit of extra effort involved. AFAIK he doesn’t know about the cameras.
My verdict?
This didn’t happen.
Agreed. Much like the previous tale of woe, this has a Smolletish air ’bout it.
Why did you move into this den of vipers?
It’s someplace people like Her Royal Self haven’t ruined yet.
Why did you move into this den of vipers?
In my experience, leftists do this for all sorts of innocent reasons: love of nature and wilderness, outdoor sports/recreation, a desire for escape from the congestion and stress of urban life.
But that makes it even more frightening,
Agreed. Somehow, somewhere she is feeling aggrieved that Trumpites haven’t been forthcoming in groveling at her feet — so she may have needed this excuse to tell them all what she thinks and expects of them.
You know, fake but accurate.
Commenting on the snow plow editorial, someone wrote about his neighbors: “They know who I voted for, and it doesn’t matter. You see, we’re adults. Adults realize that you can have political, religious, philosophical, etc differences and still be friends…”
The problem, of course, is that this becomes increasingly difficult as the left gains power: Leftism does not recognize limits on the power of the state or the spheres of life that should be treated as political, as exemplified by the infamous slogan “the personal is political”. We may be happy to leave leftists alone, but they will never willingly leave us alone: “You may not be interested in leftism, but leftism is interested in you”.
I suspect there’s also a need to control uncomfortable cognitive dissonance; all Trumpettes are evil, this was an act of selfless kindness, not an act of evil or of an evil-doer, how do I reconcile these concepts?
Is it my imagination or is this kind of behavior exhibited disproportionately by whammyn?
In Chicago when one has cleared a curbside parking spot it is the custom to place a chair in the space to reserve it. One time doing this after spending a half hour digging out his car a guy returned to find some spawn of Satan had removed the chair and taken the space. So he spent an hour covering the miscreant’s vehicle in snow then turned the hose on it. This was the time when the temp didn’t rise above the mid 20’s for weeks.
Perhaps something similar might apply here.
Ms Heffernan’s tweets are now protected.
Ms Heffernan’s tweets are now protected.
Tomorrow’s column: “How Trump Voters Turned My Life Into a Living Hell!”
Ms Heffernan’s tweets are now protected.
If you listen very carefully, you might be able to hear the gears turning in Ms Heffernan’s head as she starts to formulate an opinion piece on the horror’s of the mob and the dangers faced by US journalists for being honest, truthful in their pursuit of justice.
Or something.
In any event, it reminds me of this, which, in spite of everything that’s been going on over the last four or five years especially, I still cannot quite believe actually happened.
Is it my imagination or is this kind of behavior exhibited disproportionately by whammyn?
It’s not your imagination. Imagine Hyacinth Bucket decrying her father and sisters, constantly indulging her gay wastrel son, and exhorting her husband for not caring enough about their relative social status, all while engaging in the most ludicrous attempts to ape what she perceives as her social superiors. Same thing.
Is it my imagination or is this kind of behavior exhibited disproportionately by whammyn?
I have read that a large fraction of the most vicious thugs in Mao’s Great Cultural Revolution were women.
Certainly the most nasty leftists that I have personally known were women.
I have read that a large fraction of the most vicious thugs in Mao’s Great Cultural Revolution were women.
See also: Muslim “honor” killings, where female relatives are often the major catalyst.
See also: Muslim “honor” killings, where female relatives are often the major catalyst.
And don’t forget that stoning scene in Monty Python’s Life of Brian, where all the stone-throwers are women.
Come to think of it, nobody has stoned me when, after staring at a plate of David’s boneless pork rectums, I have said that they were good enough for Hillary Clinton/Joe Biden/Jeremy Corbyn.
[raises eyebrow at host while extracting kosher salami sandwich from coat pocket]
Certainly the most nasty leftists that I have personally known were women.
In much the same vein, someone has trouble with a sportsball team name.
Our heroine, oddly missing neon hair, seems upset that people think she is a twit though she doesn’t quite grasp the concept of “cancel culture”.
I’ve just come in for a cup of coffee having been driving my tractor around a paddock for the last two hours towing a chain harrow to spread horse manure while considering the now famous Ms. Virginia Heffernan. Indeed I couldn’t stop thinking about her arrogance. A comment by another famous and ‘caring’ woman came to mind as I raked over the piles of dung: “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche”. Obviously Ms. Heffernan considers herself, like Hillary, royalty and superior to the common peasantry. I suspect though her ‘pandemic getaway’ is not quite so grand as the Palace at Versailles.
“Qu’ils mangent de la brioche”
Ironically there seems to be no evidence that Marie Antoinette said that, but there is have massive evidence of the “let them eat cake” attitude among today’s ruling class.
she doesn’t quite grasp the concept of “cancel culture”
Pro sports teams are typically named after some band or other of warriors, or some kind of predator, or some other vague platonic ideal that’s good at crushing opposition. The fact that she doesn’t know this, or is pretending not to know this, so she can write a handwringing article in a desperate quest for clicks, attention or grant money is also typical. Just another academic PhD nonentity sneering down her nose at the plebs for not being enlightened like her.
@ DR: “Pro sports teams are typically named after some band or other of warriors, or some kind of predator, …”
Let’s consider alternative names that wouldn’t offend the gentile and sensitive ‘petals’ of the Left. How about: ‘Tampa Bay Fuchsias’? “Chicago Lemmings’? ‘San Francisco Chaos’? ‘Denver Dancers’? I don’t think that ‘Washington Pansies’ would get a start though.
another academic PhD nonentity
But, being employed by the US Army, sucking firmly on the taxpayers’ tit.
How about the Virginia Vaginas?
How about the Virginia Vaginas?
They can wear those pink hats.
Tampa Bay Fuchsias
While society has changed since the 60’s in the direction of the unthreatening and therapeutic, I think the trend in football team names and visual styles has gone in the opposite direction.
If you look at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers visual style from their founding in 1976, they’re wearing bright orange, a joyful 70’s color (but also an appropriately tropical color for their location), and the buccaneer logo is a playful Errol Flynn type. That style was changed a couple of decades later into something darker and less willing to be seen as playful. And the XFL, founded last year, had the Tampa Bay Vipers – we’re not in the world of cute mascots or cuddly toys any more.
The Miami Dolphins, founded in 1966, is a bright and joyful team name that wouldn’t be chosen if the team was founded today – it would be the Miami Sharks or Stingrays or Scarfaces. And their teal and coral color scheme (1950’s, tropical) would again probably be something darker or more military. The New York Jets only last year changed from the Kelly green (cheerful, decorative, pops out against a muddy field) they’d worn since the 60’s to Gotham Green (dark, military, more like camouflage).