My grandfather followed pro wrestling. My dad followed pro wrestling. And I watched my share
of pro wrestling down at the Portland Armory in 1964 and '65, and again on local TV in 1971.
But none of us thought the matches were actually on the level. We always assumed they were
scripted athletic exhibitions with pre-determined outcomes, rather than genuine contests of
skill with the results hanging in the balance.
This opinion was not shared by the entire audience. Many of the viewers clearly believed
they were witnessing something real, a genuine clash between good and evil, colorfully incarnated
as flesh-and-blood heroes and villains. Which brings us to Fox News, with its volcanic hyperbole,
its manufactured displays of moral outrage, and its impossible demands on the opposition -
Geithner must resign! Olbermann must apologize! Where's my dinner! It's as if the wizards at Fox
had made a careful study of the techniques used by wrestling's showmen to incite and inflame
the dumbest 10% of the country.
Oops. Let me apologize immediately to that 10% of the country.
I'm sorry you still think it's real.
Now gimme 20 bucks worth of regular.
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