We have long had an obsession with all things freakish. To our shame, many hapless souls–fat men and bearded ladies alike–spent their lives being gawked at by the masses who had paid a few clams for the privilege. Around the turn of the century, hucksters, hawkers and barkers cleaned up by peddling photographs of circus and sideshow performers in eye popping poses. 
Our zest for freakishness these days is focused, in some measure at least, on fringe media stars who make outlandish claims that are so absurd and inflammatory that we are drawn to listening or watching as if to a train wreck. Some media outlets are cleaning up by airing this claptrap, just like the hucksters of yore.
Hard as it is to imagine, even in the immediate aftermath of the tragic murders in Newtown, some of these freaky blowhards have chosen not to take a break. Two examples come to mind.
There is a certain puffy headed bloviator with an afternoon radio show who could not manage to keep his fat mouth shut on this story even for a day. And then there is the–I’m sorry, but no other words come to mind–blonde bitch, who obviously is deeply disturbed, that tweeted radical and ridiculous, inane and petty political blather about 45 seconds after the news broke.
Friends, we owe it to those whose grief is acute and loss is unimaginable to, at the very least, engage in a serious national discourse about what sort of meaningful response this horrendous event demands.
Clicking articles by or about the fat mouths and soulless modern day hawkers and barkers only serves to keep them and the media outlets who broadcast them in business. We need to silence these feculent malignancies.
So, don’t click on their names; don’t facebook their stupid remarks; don’t tweet the flatulence that they spew. The temptation is there: for some, listening to these perverse remarks is the modern day equivalent of buying a ticket to see a fat man or a bearded lady. ‘
We owe it to our fellows and to ourselves to have a serious dialogue and without undue delay, a meaningful response. It is not a time for sideshows.
Halfpond On The Highway 