There was one brief moment at the Republican National Convention when the entire party’s musty soul was exposed. Those of the GOP would argue that their party consists of all sorts, the poor and wealthy, black and white, gays and straights, so how could anyone claim to have seen a solitary and homogenous spirit? Yet that is exactly what I witnessed during Senator McCain’s speech.
He was talking about the day the North Vietnamese shot him down over their airspace. He admitted that maybe he was a hothead in those days, and even picked fights with his fellow pilots. He grinned boyishly through this part of the speech. But when he mentioned that an angry North Vietnamese mob was waiting for him on the ground as he parachuted from his downed fighter plane, he hesitated a moment, like a veteran stand-up comedian.
He knew what this statement would bring, and on cue, his adoring audience snickered.
Was it somewhat funny that John McCain was dropping bombs from thousands of feet above on the citizens of Hanoi and surrounding villages? Did the thought of him getting his ass whipped with sticks and shovels seem comical? Or was it humorous that maybe he wasn’t such a great pilot, since most jet fighters during the Viet Nam War did not get shot down?
It wasn’t any of those things. It was the nervous chuckle of a privileged collection of misfits – the Republican Party — who had only insensitivity in common. It was a loathing of others, and especially themselves. They were castaways on the Island of Lost Toys, Charlies-in-the-Box who wanted to fit in where they were not welcome. But by laughing at this ‘maverick’ who visited the worst possible scenario on a yellow-skinned population, it made them feel better.
Let me ask this; how funny would it have been if the hijackers on September 11 had parachuted just before the planes hit the World Trade Center? Would Republicans have snickered at the thought of angry New Yorkers waiting below with brooms and pooper-scoopers? I doubt it. But unlike the North Vietnamese, those New Yorkers wouldn’t have let the 9-11 hijackers get away with their lives. Was McCain lucky, or were the North Vietnamese more compassionate than Americans?
To Republican faithful, McCain is certainly a hero. He dropped bombs from thousands of feet above onto North Vietnamese men, women, and children, and I guess choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate makes sense; she shoots wolves from the safety of an airplane.
Ah, Aerial Wolf and Gook Hunts, brought to you by our two American stinkers.
