ANTI-MOORE PATTERNS : THE CURRENT TOP 5

Today I picked up a post about the hypothesis of the existence of ambient anti-Moore patterns. What I find interesting about the idea is that it breaks with the convenient manicheism of “them” and “us”.

from kusturica

I've noticed this trend, and I think there must be a formula being passed around, posted somewhere, or whatever, because I've seen a lot of these posts that sound the same.

Here's some ingredients:

1) I watched BFC and/or F911 and was so angry at NRA/Bush/whoever
2) Then I did a bunch of "research" on Moore
3) Moore is a liar and a manipulator, and I'll never believe what he says
4) I'm going to buy/rent/see [insert anti Moore film or book]
5) Fans of Moore are idiots
6) His lies hurt America and/or the troops

I don't know if I'm leaving anything out. It's even more suspicious when they claim they never heard of Moore, or had no opinion, or were even sympathetic to his causes.

My answer :

There are indeed ready-made anti-Moore patterns meant for the “intellectuals”. Like in the field of fashion the color or the brand can vary so as to create an illusion of personal thinking, and like in fashion if buttonless shirts are in you’ll wear buttonless shirts, no matter how inconvenient they really are.

Just the same, there are a few formulas around, but you’ll find the “research” (a fundie reading and rote learning of Hardy and Bushnell mainly) and the “sheepish Moore followers” can always be spotted, because they are the points that matter.

CURRENT TOP 4 (with kust's it's top 5, you tell me where you think it fits guys) :

#1 Spanish Inquisition special :

1) His followers are sheep.
2) I can tell by the way they believe him although he’s full of shit.
3) Therefore they believe anything he says.
4) Therefore nothing he says is to be believed.
5) Oh, and now I’m going to do some research to prove he’s full of shit.

#2 Smart Ass special : (used to be #1 but slipped to #2 since the confidence crisis struck home)

1) I did some research about his movies.
2) I found he uses editing and communication tactics.
3) No other documentarian does.
4) I also found nobody has ever been able to sue him and win, but I’ll remain discreet about that.
5) His followers are sheep.
6) Don’t be so gullible, don’t be a sheep.

#3 Universal Love and Peace special :

1) F9/11 is leftist propaganda (leftist version : F9/11 is the same as Fox News)
2) I can tell by the way he smears our President (leftist version : I can tell by the way he plays on emotions/ exploits the tears of a mother)
3) I can tell by the way he smears our troops (leftist version : I can tell by the way he flatters the WASPs)
4) I can tell by the way he describes Iraq as an oasis of peace (leftist version : I can tell by the way he conveniently over-simplifies things)
5) His followers can’t see any of these, they are just sheep.
6) I won’t bother about research because I know better.

#4 Good Old Days special :

1) He was good when he did “Roger and me”. (Naderite version : He was good when he supported Ralph).
2) He wasn’t a liar then. (Naderite version : He wasn't a traitor then).
3) He began to lie when he did BFC. (Naderite version : He began to sell out when he supported Clark).
3) Who does he think he is going after President Bush. (Naderite version : How dare he support these corrupt Democrats).
4) I did research on F9/11 and found it was all lies/all clever editing. (Naderite version : I did research on F9/11 and found he had left out this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this...)
5) He’s a sell-out now.
6) His followers are sheep.

Why are these "sheep" and "research" points so essential ? Because Moore bashers must feel smart and informed. This way, they won't listen to a smart and informed guy.

The success of these patterns is due to most of Moore bashers being happy with acting as clones spreading cloned propaganda. They’re generally tepid human beings, afraid of freedom and reassured by conformism. At the end of the day, I think that what they really can’t stand isn’t Mike’s ideas or Mike’s style – it’s Mike himself. He’s too much for them. Nowadays America thinks she's great, whereas she's just big. She's not used to great men anymore. Especially inescapable great men !