the list of now

So, in the past couple of days, after I posted the Palin = Umbridge comparison, I have googled and found a lot of mentions of this all over the interwebs.  There have been tons of comments on bulletin boards, blogs, and new sites where people even started making this comparison, commenting live, during her speech!  (I wasn’t that quick with it, to be completely honest.  Darcy and I discussed it, the day after and decided to do the photo mash-up then).

The best thing about this?  It’s provocative.  It is starting conversations and getting people to think in a college-essay, compare and constrast way.   A lot of us, I suspect, were not trying to be clever or make a deeply profound statement.  A lot of us, were angsty or annoyed by Palin’s speech and/or her very selection as VP and what do you do with that?  Well… for those of us who are geeks – we have fun with it!   We are people who like research, critical thinking, puzzles and games!  We relate our realities to the worlds and characters that entertain us!  We look to art, books, popular culture and find the links to explore and compare.

This simple “tag” -  Palin is Umbridge – is spreading all over the internet.  Please note, I’m not taking any credit, it wasn’t my post, mind you… it was a lot of people who were simultaneously making this connection and then it branched out into all these networks!

And I love it.  I love that people are saying this and making political, critical thinking connections to the Harry Potter books (of which there are TONS of connections and political ideas, I might add).   Some of them were being silly – like me.  Some took it more seriously and wrote very thoughtful blog posts about the topic.

And it’s really pissing off some people in the conservative blogosphere (also fun!)

I am standing in solidarity with all the other “Palin is Umbridge” people out there… let’s keep the discussion going, from the silly into the realm of important discourse on policy, values, ideals and this election!

Here is a short list of noteable references that I’ve found or heard of:

• Fantastic commentator and known Potter fanboy, Keith Olbermann compared Palin to Umbridge on MSNBC. (Although I can’t seem to find actual footage of this and I didn’t hear it myself, if you have a clip, please send it to me or post a link!)

• Caitlin Podiak at Acerbic Bubblegum has a more serious, in-depth post about why she made this connection.  This is my favorite part:

Why did Sarah Palin’s speech last night bring Dolores Umbridge to mind? Because, like the fictional Fudge and Umbridge, McCain and Palin do not and cannot offer effective solutions to our problems. Because they attack those who do offer potential solutions. Because they sarcastically mock their opponents with pointed yet meaningless jabs. Because their rhetoric is full of hate and negativity. Because they are mean, and they seem to enjoy being mean. Because they lash out at anyone who disagrees. Because they would rather control people and restrict their choices than offer them greater freedom or improve their lives. Because they are deeply and desperately afraid of change.

This is at the heart of why people are making this comparison.  She just about nailed it.

• Jonathan, a Daily Kos blogger has a great post taking suggestions for “framing” Palin – i.e. describing her in one line – The Simple Stuff: Putting McCain’s VP Choice into a soundbite.  Number 29 is Governor Sarah “Umbridge” Palin

• On CafePress, opinion8ed, gives us this:

“Palin Umbridge” Mug
Buy this product at CafePress
Designed by Opinion8ed

• And lastly, Facebook has a whole SLEW of “Palin is Umbridge” groups that have cropped up in the last few days. Darcy and I started one called Sarah Palin Reminds me of Dolores Umbridge (come join!)   A quick search will bring you to a variety of others.

• EDIT: (9/10/08) – I had to add this one in here.  Liza at See Saw just won the award (the award that I’ve just made up) for All-Around Best “Palin = Umbridge” title or catch phrase, with The Umbridge to Nowhere.  I’m quite honored to be linked to a post with that title.  Major major props for that one.

One last note: I don’t like the comparisons that focus on her appearance (not relevant, often sexist) and use the word “retarded” in any capacity.  I have seen a few of them and have purposefully avoided listing them here.

I know we are all poking fun here, but there is plenty of material to use based on facts without going to those petty and mean-spirited places, and drudging out the slurs and mean names that invoke more hate.

By all means, keep spreading this comparison,  keep discussing this ideas, BUT base it on the beliefs, the policies, the values involved in the campaign.

Because at the bottom of the need to be joking around -in all seriousness – the comparison has a very REAL base if you look at the display of Sarah Palin’s (and John McCain’s) characters in their own documented actions, choices and behavior.

Be better than the cheap shots Palin took at Obama (and all community organizers for that matter).  Cheap shots not only take the fun out of it, they take the cleverness out too.  To me, it is the difference between silly/smart critique or parody and just being snarky without putting any thought into it.