The outcry over the infamous New Yorker cover has provided snobbish left wing commentators yet another opportunity to confirm their own enlightened status by condemning all us plebes who cling to our guns and bibles.

Madison Powers at CQ Politics frets:

The potential consequence of a synoptic image of this sort explains why it’s the New Yorker’s own demographic who are upset. They get that this is but the latest instance in which the mainstream media unwittingly contribute to the perpetuation of a deliberately created myth emanating from the lesser regions of the new media.

What about those who perpetrate the laundry list of falsehoods? If they are supposed get their comeuppance, it’s really hard to see how. The defense is that it has to be seen in context, and that only those ignorant of the context are flummoxed. The problem is that the New Yorker’s context is not the same as the context in which others see it. The message travels far beyond the Hudson into places the messenger probably does not.

Not only is this an example of the kind of rejection of intentionalism which Jeff Goldstein observed, but the basic assumption behind the author’s view is that us simple folk are simply too stupid to get it.  Furthermore, it’s become automatic for these writers to state with authority that such views about Obama are widespread and more than just the usual internet nonsense found on all matters.  This view is entirely unsubstantiated.

On the flip side, none of these enlightened individuals express much concern over the pervasive belief on the left that Bush was behind 9/11, a view held for no other reason than that these people really, really want a good reason to justify their hatred of Bush.  Contrary to how their disinterested pretensions, these writers don’t care a whit about ensuring truth wins over rumors; they care about tarring republicans and protecting Obama.  But anyone who is familiar with the left side of the blogosphere knows that rumors and falsehoods are far more likely to gain the status of conventional wisdom within the left, while the right is actually willing to dispel and condemn such things within its own community.  Don’t let the snobs browbeat you into believing any different.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS