Tipping points

Sure, the Macaca incident was one of those like Dean’s screech and Muskie’s tears that rode an election into the grave—not that the tears/screech/?? Would have been enough by themselves, but they were the straw that tipped the teetering public to one side, leaving the candidate riding his campaign like Rip Torn rode the bomb in Dr. Strangelove.

Personally, however, I’ve been treasuring the idea that the final nail in Allen’s coffin for the Senate race was his ad that quoted snippets of Jim Webb’s novels as proof that the man was a nasty, bloody-minded pervert. These are novels, dear, not manifestos.

And yes I know it’s not all that simple, one ad or one weird possibly ethnic slur, but who cares? Anyway, it made me think about my own writing, the same way that hearing of arrests and deportations based on donations to dicey Islamic groups and books ordered online make me think about my own Schedule A donations and reference shelves: What have I written that, chopped out of context and given in screaming print, would condemn me to the nether reaches of humanity?

I suppose I’d lose the lesbian vote based on two characters saying they thought the idea of lesbian sex boring. I’d lose the right-wingers if anyone counted how many positive gay characters inhabit my books (I suspect they wouldn’t care if the gays were the bad guys.) Can anyone out there think of LRK snippets that, given out of context, would condemn her to a few years in Purgatory (political or otherwise)?

Or maybe I’m just too chronically politically correct. We native Northern Californians are condemned by our good manners.

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6 Comments

  1. Anonymous on November 11, 2006 at 8:52 pm

    Snippets from Night Work about Kail & the work Ladies of Perpetual Disgruntlement would horrify and terrify right wing, anglo, male politicians like former Republican Congressman Sherwood and many others.
    Geri

  2. WDI on November 12, 2006 at 1:23 am

    You’d lose PETA et al. for sure over the pig-sticking and probably the bleeding-heart liberals over exploitation of a poor child in the same book. The religious right would have conniptions over the letter in The Letter of Mary. And I’m sure anyone really interested could cobble together enough bits to make it seem that you endorse drug use — which would win you votes with some 🙂

    (We do understand that this is all in jest, yes???)

  3. Carole on November 12, 2006 at 5:19 am

    ‘wdi’ you forgot the pedophile Holmes corrupting a 15 yr. old girl! Oh yes, as you mentioned, he’s a drug addict too.

  4. vicki on November 12, 2006 at 3:48 pm

    OK, LRK, it looks as though politics is out for you. So I guess you’ll just have to stick to grinding out the novels we all love. What a pity!

  5. Roxanne on November 13, 2006 at 1:53 pm

    Oh, I needed laughter this morning! Good thing nobody else has shown up to work yet. I am sitting here at my desk laughing out loud. Thank you, all, for the post and comments.

    I surely hope, Ms. King, that you have no thoughts of running for office–although I would vote for you! I’m afraid I have to agree with Vicki et al. Between (former) drug addiction, (potential) pedophilia, joyous cross-dressing, illegitimate children, lesbianism, artificial insemination, alternative/liberal religious views, thoroughly likeable Middle Eastern characters, vigilante justice, an Amazonian-type society run by women … I could probably go on. As Vicki wrote, it looks like politics is out for you. Looks like you will have to stick to writing. Lucky us.

  6. Anonymous on November 15, 2006 at 9:41 pm

    Just catching up and agree wholeheartedly– but it was Slim Pickens who rode the bomb in Dr. Strangelove.

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