Tea at Trianon: Ritual Defamation

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Sunday, September 30, 2018

Ritual Defamation

From The Federalist:

So in light of the travesty of the Kavanaugh hearings—the character assassination; the utterly uncorroborated accusations of sexual misconduct when he was a youth; the use of a disruptive mob to hijack the process; the utter disregard for basic common sense and fairness, much less the rule of law—we need to study the mechanics behind these gutless acts.

In 1990, a Kansan civil liberties advocate named Laird Wilcox wrote an excellent and cogent essay entitled “The Practice of Ritual Defamation.” The essay provides a major public service. It clarifies the mechanics of ritual defamation and lists its eight primary features. It’s a short must-read for any citizen with a shred of goodwill. Please read the whole thing, and check out the Kansas University Library’s free speech collection named after him. We should all learn to detect the features of ritual defamation and call foul whenever we see them. If you don’t know what they are, learn them now. It’s a matter of self-defense. It will put much of what you’ve seen over the past few weeks in a new and deeply disturbing light, because ritual defamation by whim will only spread if not stopped. (Read more.)

From Gregg Jarrett:

Most people who are grievously wronged react with outrage. In his statement and testimony, Kavanaugh expressed such righteous indignation. His defense of himself was forceful and convincing. Kavanaugh’s core message was both conciliatory and compelling. “I don’t question that Dr. Ford was sexually assaulted at some time and at some place, but it was not me,” Kavanaugh said. Kavanaugh emphasized that none of the people identified by Ford as attending a party – where Ford claims a drunken Kavanaugh got on top of her on a bed, tried unsuccessfully to take off her clothes and covered her mouth to stifle her screams – corroborate the accusations leveled against him. Kavanaugh also firmly denied claims by three other women not at the hearing that he was guilty of sexual misconduct. Like Ford, those women have presented not a shred of corroborating evidence or any other witnesses to back up their claims against the judge. One accusation came from an anonymous person who claimed to be the mother of another woman and is so weak that it can’t even be seriously considered. (Read more.)

From Matt Walsh:

If Democrats were interested in the truth, they would have used the opportunity yesterday to actually ask Ford some questions, rather than taking turns giving her, and themselves, high fives. If Democrats were interested in the truth, they would have asked Kavanaugh about the incident in question rather than spending the entire hearing focused on yearbook scribblings. Democrats are not interested in the truth at all, whatsoever. In fact, they've already said that Kavanaugh is unfit for the Supreme Court — no matter what the FBI investigation turns up. But it won't turn up anything, as they are well aware, because there is no evidence, there are no witnesses, and the accuser doesn't even know the year or place that this attack allegedly took place. They have absolutely nothing to go on. Nothing to investigate. The only thing they can do is ask the people who were allegedly involved or allegedly present. All of them have already been asked under penalty of felony and already denied that the party took place. What else can they say about a party that never occurred? There are only so many ways to say, "This didn't happen." Do Democrats want them to say it again in Greek? Do they need to draw a picture of the thing not happening? Do they need to sing it? (Read more.)

We are witnessing the crucifixion of an American family. From The Christian Review:

Crucifying Judge Kavanaugh and his young family means nothing to the Democrats because they are only an end to a means — saving abortion on demand. Being a pro-life Democrat is like being an extinct animal in a museum. Democratic National Chairman, Tom Perez stated that pro-lifers need not apply for membership in his party. Thus, a political party sacrifices Middle America to remain in favor with the bi-coastal elites and limousine liberals who have no respect for human life.

This hearing has shown a tipping point in this country; we are at a precipice where we destroy people for what they believe. McCarthyism at its worst! Brett Kavanaugh made it through six FBI background checks, served as a top official in the Bush Administration with access to the nuclear codes and reached to the heights of the federal judiciary. None of this would have happened if he were the monster that the Left has portrayed him to be.

The Democrat Party is playing a dangerous game with our American institutions. From national polls, it seemed months ago that Democrats were poised to make gains in Congress. Their repugnant behavior during this confirmation has reignited the legion of voters who elected Trump/Pence in 2016. These Americans still believe in fairness and the presumption of innocence. (Read more.)