William Arkin -- Responsible Crybaby

It would appear that the Washington Post's Arkin is taking six of the best in a real time tutorial about free-speech in the Internet Age, something they didn't cover in in the all "All Good Dogs Go to Heaven" welcome speech to the posh profession of Journalism:

Demonization and Responsibility - Early Warning : "For the critics, I have become the enemy and have been demonized. In that process, I have ceased being a person, an individual, or a human being, all essential to justify the campaign to annihilate me. I'm not trying to offer myself up as victim here, nor do I expect the critics to change their view. I'm merely pointing out the process and the implications of the dehumanization."

"Oh woe is me," saith he. "Hand me my hair-shirt, my scourge, my crying towel."

All of this crap, and there is plenty more of it at the link -- including the famous "Lots of my private email is supportive and understanding" gambit -- is but the mumblings of a man who, in exposing his insect soul, has seen the Net reach out to squash him as the bug he is.

And not just the Net. When the outrage reaches the heights that Arkin has inspired, he starts to hear the whisper of the axe descending from corporate headquarters. His corporate masters do not like it when their ink-stained serfs' babbling starts to even threaten to lose them money. If there isn't a sacking, that promotion he was expecting may be mysteriously delayed. At the very least, his coming days on the job will be reduced to a series of non-stop suckupathons administered to whomever he even suspects may be his corporate betters.

Add to that his ultimate maxima culpa of the New Church of the Media, saying out loud what they all think and say in private, and you've got a man who'd better watch his six.

William Arkin, fool and tool, and winner of the Bad American award two weeks in a row.

Posted by Vanderleun at February 6, 2006 4:50 PM