Taking notice of the f-bomb dropped by Fuel lead singer Brett Scallion at Tuesday’s Inaugural Youth Party, Michelle Malkin writes:
[….] the cursing is simply inexcusable. Many of the attendees were preteen Hilary Duff fans. My four-year-old daughter is a Hilary Duff fan. I would not expect to hear profanity at any Hilary Duff event, let alone an Inaugural Youth Concert hosted by the Bush twins. No reasonable person should. So, drop the “don’t be a prude, change the channel, cover their ears, it was just one little word” mantras. Time, place, and manner matter. And this was the wrong time and wrong place for someone with no manners to let his tongue slip.
[…] My libertarian friends can keep calling me a stick in the mud, Bible-thumper, or whatever. But parents of all backgrounds and political persuasions have a responsibility to stand up for minimum standards of public decency. Snicker if you want. But when your kindergartener comes home one day asking you what a “motherf***er” is, maybe you’ll think differently.
A few quick points: first, Michelle is right to be upset about the profanity; given the age of the crowd, and the context of the event, Scallion’s behavior was boorish and stupid. But Michelle is wrong to suggest (as she does elsewhere in her post) that “Kid Rock is raising a scotch glass to Brett Scallions.”¹ Because so far as I can tell, KR is faultless here, having never even had the opportunity to perform; and the fact is, Michelle and Randy Thomasson and Don Wildmon and a host of conservative bloggers spent a lot of time and energy getting the wrong performer disinvited to the Youth Party.
This has nothing to do with “libertarians” vs. “conservatives,” or “minimum standards of public decency”; this has to do with right and wrong for the occasion. What Brett Scallion did was wrong. Kid Rock never got the opportunity to do right.
Moral of the story? Who knows. But if this whole crazy controversy proves anything at all it’s that you simply can’t find a condom big enough to cover the whole world.²
****
¹Unless of course he did. In which case, never mind.
²Or me. Like a frickin’ caribou I am.
update: more from INDC
Well, for God’s sake, he apologized. Can’t we all just get along?
I have a four-year-old daughter, and she knows a bad word when she hears one. Just yesterday morning I almost hit a moose on the way to daycare, and uttered “shit” under my breath. I didn’t even realize I’d said it. Our conversation went something like this:
Her: “You said a bad word, Daddy.”
Me: “I’m sorry, sweetie. But we almost hit a moose.”
Her: “Well, don’t do it again.”
I’m embarrassed that she heard me say that, but I seriously doubt that she’s worse off for having heard it.
Bret Scallion obviously knows what’s appropriate and what’s not. He slipped up, said something inappropriate, and immediately apologized. Let’s not act like it was deliberate, or like he whipped his dick out on stage or something.
I’m sure the Michelle Malkin wing of the Republican Party is upset about this, but I doubt that this is something that will still be talked about at the next Inaugural, or even next year. Probably not even next week.
A little perspective, please.
Man would I be mortified if my kindergartener came home from school and asked what a motherfucker was. Mostly because I’d be really surprised to learn that I have a kindgergartener.
DougF: It’s not every day I get to read a story about almost hitting a moose. Nice work. Especially well done considering the caribou tie-in.
A moose once bit my sister…
Shoulda got a llama.
“Fuck, fuckity-fuckfuckfuck.”
If my id came home and asked me what a motherfucker was, I’d probably make up some lameass definition: “It’s someone who works at the DMV”; or, “I’m not sure kiddo, maybe you would ask your teacher tomorrow.” It wouldn’t really bother me that the kid knew the word as long as the kid knew the corret context.
Had I been sitting there watching this Republican circle-jerk thing or whatever with the kid, and the guy let the f-word slip: as long as the kid was like, “Damn, that guy just said fuck in front of the President and all his mamby-pamby friends,” I would consider the lesson learned and the more still intact.
Jesus, Shank,talk about a Freudian slip.
Spambuster:theory
Gail – If my id left the house without me, I’d be truly worried. My god, can you imagine what the personification of my basest of instincts would inflict on the world if it were without the prudence and social sensibility of my better person?
Oh…wait a minute…
It’s a word. You explain to the kid it’s a bad word and you move on. Civilization is not going to crumble because some guy in a mediocre rock band cursed in front of a group of kids. Then again, my kids were listening to Slayer at four, so I’m not a good judge of these things.
Anyhow, the real travesty here is that there are Hillary Duff fans.
Cat fight between Michelle and Michele?? Well, I can at least dream about it
Anyhow, the real travesty here is that there are Hillary Duff fans.
Wait—you mean that doesn’t refer to “The Simpsons” characters who are so drunk on the local beer that they decide to vote for You-Know-Who for president in ‘08?
‘Cause what I thought makes a lot more sense.
There are worse things than Hilary Duff. Britney, Hanson or Nsync for instance.
My ten year olds tell me that they don’t like Britney anymore because she isn’t a good singer; “she probably gets a good performer like Hilary Duff to sing for her and just lip syncs.”
How hard is it NOT to say “fuck” when you’re on stage in front of kids? I’ve gone 40+ years without every swearing in front of my parents, and I never swear in front of my children. It’s just not appropriate for the situation. You don’t have to be a born-again evangelical to understand this. Even Eric Cartman knows when to say “fuck” and when not to.
I agree that Kid Rock probably would know that as well.
Well, this is the first I have heard of it, but then I am sooo out of it.
What is wrong with Hillary Duff? I have seen her sing on some kid channel and she is pretty good.
I just hope they don’t do to her what they did to Britney.
Lucky for me my kids listen to country.
What? You mean that Fuel wasn’t properly vetted? I mean, I even keep their CDs out in the garage with the Kid Rock’s. And didn’t I hear that Scallion was crotch riding an American flag on stage a few weeks ago? No?
Vigilance misdirected. Sorry KR.
DougF: It’s not every day I get to read a story about almost hitting a moose.
All part of living in Alaska, Beck. Well, that, and bitter freakin’ cold.
Doug F – Well, did you ever see McGehee at that farthest north Dennys? Only askin’ because you two were prob’ly the only two humans ever to go there.
Well, we should at least agree that no one who said the word “pussy” to a reporter at a past convention should be allowed in.
Oh, wait…
The republicans need to shake off this stodgy image they’re cultivating. I believe in moral values as much as any conservative but the whole ‘ban kid rock” thing was stupid and all of this blowup over profanity is even more ridiculous. No child has never heard a dirty word and no child has ever been scarred for life by hearing one. As a staunch conservative, I’ve always said that the right should pick its battles and not go moral majority on anything and everything they find even mildly objectionable.
If you want to live your life that way, fine by me but don’t force it on anybody else.
This reminds my of A Christmas Story: “In the heat of battle, my father wove a tapestry of obscenity, that as far as we know, is still hanging in space over lake Michigan. My father worked in profanity the way other artists might work in oils or clay. It was his true medium, a master.” That’s closer to what my kid has waiting for her although I am certainly making an effort. Of course the results are predictable:
Only askin’ because you two were prob’ly the only two humans ever to go there.
“Humans”?
NO NO NO! The travesty is allowing so-called “youth” to be associated with the Republican Party & conservatives in any way whatsoever. We did not become ascendant in politics by pandering to the whippersnappers. When we say fuck, it fucking well means something.
Which is why we really need to start saying “fuck” in front of our kids more often. Prepare them for their future in the party.
“Humans�
Oh, I meant caribou. My bad.
Maybe it is immoral, maybe it is wrong but I have been in some meetings in very conservative offices where f-bombs were dropped. The word fuck is part of my society as well as Ms. Malkin’s hopefully she will come off her high hores someday.
Gratuitous anecdotal story about ‘bad words’
When #2 daughter was about five, she and the next door boy, Michael, who was the same age loved to play with each other, but also could only do it for short periods of time because they would end up fighting. Michael figured as he was a boy he should always win and my Erin would just have none of that nonsense. One day they were playing “basketball” and everytime Erin would score Michael would get mad and take the ball away. Erin definitely had inherited her father’s Irish temper and it flared in this instance. Suddenly there is a knock on my door and there stands Michael
“Mrs. M! Mrs. M! Erin just called me a ‘bitch’”
“Ok. Michael. I’ll talk to Erin.”
Now name-calling is one of my pet-peeves. I’ve always tried to tell my girls that getting mad is ok, anger is normal, but we don’t hit and we don’t call names. So I call Erin over (who is still huffing about the injustice of Michael) and tell her not to call Michael a ‘bitch.’
“That’s a bad word, Erin. You know our house rules about bad words and name calling”
So she goes back to play. Within about 10 minutes there is yet another knock on the door.
“Mrs. M! Mrs. M! Erin called me a ‘bitch’ again.”
So again I call Erin over, explain firmly what I expect. I even tell her to stop playing with Michael if it’s going to make her so mad. She really really wants to play with him. And I tell her she’s been warned twice. If it happens again, I will wash her mouth out with soap.
15 minutes later … ::knock:: ::knock:: “Mrs. M! Erin called me a ‘bitch.’”
True to my word, I took Erin to the bathroom, put some soap on my finger and “washed her mouth” of the dirty word. She was upset, for sure. I emphasised “Erin this is what happens after two warnings. Are you going to call Michael a ‘bitch’ again? Because that will mean more soap.”
“No, mommy.”
And like all fast-bouncing little kids she soon regains her calm and wants to go back and play.
20 minutes later … ::::knock:::knock:::
I’m rolling my eyes as I open the door to find Michael … “Mrs. M! Mrs. M! …”
“Oh Michael” I interrupt thinking of what to do outside of soap “Did Erin call you a ‘bitch’ again?”
“No, Mrs. M! This time she called me a ‘fucking asshole.’”
… President and all his mamby-pamby friends,…
Not paying much attention? Dubya can out-cuss even Hillary and Babs. In fact, the President and his “namby-pamby friends” could kick your donkey with ease. oh, wait—they did.
Darleen that is hilarious!
When my friend’s daughter was 3, she would repeat any swear word immediately, she knew it was “bad” and thought it was hilarious to say it right away. Of course she never got in trouble, but my friend did from his wife.
It also reminds me of the part of A Christmas Story where he is afraid to tell his mom where he really heard the words. My parents were the same way, they’d say “where did you hear that?” and I said “from you” and they would say “What? We don’t swear!”
Well one thing is for sure, even though this guy swore, he had more class that Janet Jackson and at least apologized right away and didn’t make excuses.
Though before that I always thought Janet Jackson had class, at least for that family. Just like Rather, it was the way she acted afterwards that pissed me off even more.
Oh, my website is not for children, in case anyone is wondering.
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