Here we are, trying to digest the news about the crazy polygamist ranch in Texas, when a maniac in Austria admits to fathering seven kids with his imprisoned daughter. Can’t these people take turns getting arrested, so we can focus on one story at a time?
The guy in Austria clearly wins the Worst Father in the World award. Anyone whose grandchildren are also his children is a real bastard, in my book. God only knows how this tale will end. His wife will probably have to admit that she knew what was going on, and people will probably agree that she has Battered Wife Syndrome. He will be rightly vilified as a monster of unthinkable proportions. First Hitler, now this guy, what’s up with Austria? It’s clear that paternalistic societies are dangerous, and not just to women.
Trouble comes in threes, as we know, so it stands to reason that Miley Cyrus has to choose this moment to implode, or whatever it is she’s doing via her publicists. Big deal that she posed with a bed-sheet in Vanity Fair! She’s fifteen going on thirty, and teenagers today are horrifyingly casual about sex and nudity.
I’m much more concerned about Miley’s relationship with her dad. Ever since I first saw them together, my feeling has been, Eeoow. There is something inappropriate going on, and you’d have to be blind to not see it. Why are they always all over each other? Why is she always out on a red carpet with him as her date? Miley’s mom better get her ass in gear before it gets uglier.
Years ago, I worked for a woman who was molested by her grandfather when she was a girl. Her story shook me to the core, and for a long time, I couldn’t look at an old grandpa without thinking, ‘Child Molester!’ I got over it, mostly. But now I’m going to feel creepy about old Austrian guys.
Thank goodness I’ve always felt creepy about Billy Ray Cyrus.
You have totally hit this nail on the head, as far as I’m concerned. They are constantly draped all over one another and it’s entirely creepy. And backtracking on your publicity because big brother (aka Disney) may not approve is totally lame. IMO.
indeed, he makes me want to crawl in the corner. the both of them….
Obviously the story of the family in Austria is horrific. But the “first Hitler, now this” comment (made by plenty of other bloggers and journalists as well) is just lame. What about the next time there is some screwed up Fred West story in the UK? Will it make sense to say “first the Boer War, now this”? If you have some insight into Austrian society and how it differs from the rest of Europe then that could be interesting. But “Hitler was an Austrian, this guy is an Austrian”… it’s hardly intelligent commentary is it? There’s no shortage of sadistic nutters from place to place, so Austria is hardly unique, even if there are some unique elements in this case.
My Hitler crack was ‘humor.’
However, one out of 6 girls in Austria are victims of molestation, and I will try to lend some insight after more thought and research.
Ah. I guess the punch-line needed to be more obvious for me to get it. Since you went so far as to tag ithe entry “Hitler” it seemed like more than a passing wise-crack. Cue shouts “DON’T MENTION THE WAR” etc etc.
To try to convince you I’m not utterly humorless, here is a story from a Jewish colleague, when he was not yet dating his future German wife. She is very sweet but not always the fastest to detect a joke. On arriving at a party at her apartment, he made a remark about not going in the kitchen “because I see you’ve got an oven in there”. She caught the reference but not the attempt at humor and mingling horrified tones with an attempt at reassurance blurted “Oh no – no – it’s just for cooking“.
Which made everyone feel much better.
Oh dear. A joke about Jews and ovens?
Serpentine, I am not convinced about your sense of humor, in fact I am quite worried about it. Do you have any jokes about negroes and lynch mobs?
Well, I think it’s actually a joke about naive misunderstanding, and also comes from the space where some consider that if you’re a member of the affected group you’re entitled to own the humor. For example I’m friends with a physically disabled (his terms) stand-up comic who tells jokes about his experience that no-one who wasn’t in the same group could get away with. It goes without saying that a real lynching or real genocide isn’t funny at all. Given how this thread started, are we a pot and a kettle calling each other carbonized?
As far as the above goes, my colleague (who was the instigator) found it funny, when she realized what she had said, she found it funny, they got married, I found it funny when told to me years later. And I’ve been in stand-up venues when black comics told lynch-mob jokes (mostly about the stupidity of the lynchers) and don’t feel bad that I laughed. I’m not sure I would try to own the same material (that’s a bit Michael Scott / The Office / Do you want a cookie?).
Ah well, as a devout atheist I am also a Jew. So when someone tells me anything concerning “one of my Jewish friends…” I am immediately kind of disgusted. I can’t imagine referring to anyone I know as Catholic of Episcopalian.
Since you aren’t a member of the affected group, perhaps you are on thin ice when you tell the Jewish oven story.
I welcome any and all debate, Serpentine. But I’m wondering what first ticked you off…are you Austrian, or just sensing xenophobia?
Fair enough. I would only identify someone as Catholic or Episcopalian if it was relevant to understand the context. The story I inadvertently offended you with wouldn’t have made any sense without the identification. And it’s clearly not anti-Jewish or anti-German.
I’m not Austrian, and ‘xenophobic’ is too strong — I guess I reacted because I thought it was a cheap shot. How long will they have to go on hearing about Hitler? Isn’t the news bad enough without pulling that out?
Usually I wouldn’t have responded but I guess I did since you were commenting elsewhere about a lack of commentors. And I do think humor can be found even in the macabre and politically incorrect (I just didn’t catch it in the blog entry), so then I thought maybe I was too harsh, and I threw in the other story and boy, did that ever not help. Although in my defense, if I’m supposed to see the humor in “First Hitler, now this” (assuming that you are not Austrian and hence out there with me on the thin ice) I think you could see the humor in what I posted. I am truly sorry if I offended you. Won’t happen again.
You certainly have plenty of company on the Hitler comparison, whether or not humor is intended.
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/brendan_oneill/2008/05/a_nose_for_nazis_.html
No harm done, my dear. Let us remain friends. Thanks for the link, it’s good to get a sense of the UK perspective (ie, tabloid mentality) on current events.
As for how long they will have to hear about Hitler….forever and a day.
This post is so wrong it’s right.
I’m confused. Do you think the Guardian is a tabloid? Or did you mean that the article looked at tabloid material from the daily mail and the sun? If the former, shame on you! The Guardian is not a tabloid.
The Frtizl thing is weird, and India Knight and The Times Online expressed a similar sentiment to you and got stomped on quite a bit for it.
Obviously both of you are generalising. Austria is not completely full of creepy men with domination/incest fetishes. But it does seem strange. And no matter what people say, mention Austria, and a lot of people will think hmmm Hitler was Austrian, and all Austrains/ Germans seemed pretty keen to do what he wanted so maybe Austrians/Germans are as a rule morally reprehensible/highly suggestible.
Well, I’m confused too.
I was indeed referring to the tabloid material cited in the Guardian.
Regarding generalizations: I do believe there is such a thing as a National Character. You know, like the French are snobs, the English are repressed, Americans are philistines, Israelis are warlike, and Germans are….German.
I believe this is the result of culture, obviously, not genetics.
You people make me sick, look to your own god damn closets, if there is any relationship, other than dad and daughter, that’s their own business not yours to dictate what’s right or what’s wrong, if there is incest, and its consensual then fine, she’s old enough to know wha she wants anyways. Love is thicker than the bs your spouting, I speak from consensual incest in my past, and that experience was caring and loving. So do me a favor and look to your own souls. Again if they are happy, Its none of your BUSINESS PERIOD!