Weep to Water the Trees

In this post SEK examines the latest obnoxious Althouse effusion. In the comments over there the often-asked question about whether or not it's "worth it" to deal with goofballs like Althouse arises. Does not engaging a hack like her grant her undue legitimacy and so on.

I'm not entirely unsympathetic. But then, Althouse was just asked for her opinion by the New York Times about a nominee for the  United States Supreme Court.

So there you go.

One thing to consider about this "Obama ogled" story, and how it was always obvious bullshit, is how it seems to have blown back upon the young woman in question. Here is the New York Post, living down to its reputation:

The Secret Service might want to put a new threat on its watch list: the mad-as-hell mama of the 17-year-old Brazilian beauty ogled by President Obama and French leader Nicolas Sarkozy at the G8 summit last week.

"If I were there, I would have boxed their ears," said Lucia Rodrigues, 37. "They should be ashamed of themselves."

Patriarch Eduardo Tavares, after finally getting around to seeing the famous photo of his daughter from behind, quickly changed his tune from proud papa to furious father.

"My daughter is not a model and she is not a sex symbol," he told The Post. "That photograph has ruined my whole family."

At the Italy summit last week, daughter Mayara Rodrigues Tavares, her long locks flowing over her curvaceous frame, became the momentary focus of the leering leaders as she took her place for an official group photo.

Her father, a night watchman in their home city of Rio de Janeiro has been swamped with interview requests since the photo of his daughter in a little red dress was beamed around the world.

"She is dedicated to helping the poor, not to seducing world leaders," he ranted. "This is the wrong image of my daughter."

Her mom added, "She is really skinny and only ever wears pants. Mayara is timid and ashamed of her body. This was the first time in her life that she wore a dress, and it was borrowed from a friend in the shantytown because she doesn't own one."

The high school sophomore, who hails from one of Rio de Janeiro's slums known as favelas, had been picked by UNICEF to join the counterpart Junior 8 forum of teenagers because she stood out as a community volunteer. She shares a single room with her parents and two younger brothers and can't afford the bus fare to attend a good high school.

"Why are they looking at her like that? This is a girl who is articulate and intelligent and just wants to do the right thing," the father said. "Instead, they are forcing her into a negative light."

Her evangelical Christian parents said she was initially oblivious to the international uproar she inadvertently caused.

"She called us and she was very moved that she had met Obama and Lula [Brazil's president Luis Inacio Lula da Silva]. She didn't say anything about the looks she got," Mr. Tavares said.

And dad found some solace in the episode. "Thank God that [Italian playboy Prime Minister Silvio] Berlusconi was nowhere near her," he said.

The photo was a lie.

This is one of the most disgusting things, in its way, that I have ever seen online or off -- this kid, of all kids, and she's being given shit over something as asinine as this easily debunked garbage?

Hence and so forth.

Comments

[Nom de Plume]

For those studying how lies become truth, this is a perfect test case. Notice how breezily the Post passes along the false premise--"ogled by" Obama and Sarkozy.

That's it, it's over. For thousands of dumbasses, and for countless others in the future, it is now received wisdom, forever and always. Move over, "Al Gore thinks he invented the internet". Kinda shocking how fast it happened, ain't it?

[Jay_B]

Thankfully, most American men have never ever even once done that (for real). Because it's WAY better to get all faux outraged over Obama NOT doing it, than it would be to face that horror.

[SqueakyRat]

I know what you mean, JB. Obama may not have ogled her ass, but I sure did.