What struck me first about the ACORN "sting" was that the staffer offering

[WCGreen]

advice to the "client" was that she was trying to legitimize the person so that they would be reporting income and paying taxes. As an accountant I took that as a cool idea, performance artist. The upside, the person would be contributing to society by paying Federal State and Local Income tax as well as contributing to Social Security and Medicare. In other words, making steps to becoming a legitimate, contributing member of society.

(Aside, over the years I have done dozens of tax returns for Exotic Dancers so that they could pay into SS and MED)

When everything went south for me was when the underage Salvadorians were introduced.

That's when my bull shit meter started to clang very loudly.

And if that punk went into the ACORN Office dressed like he was shown on FOX, how could anyone familiar with experience in a neighborhood where prostitution was a reality take this wanna be huggy bear seriously...

It's like embracing the Billionaire's Against Health Care as a legitimate protest group aligned with the Million Moron March.

I have to admit that The Daily Show segment on this made me say WTF? But I have worked with ACORN over the years and they are at worse a sincere organization trying to help people who have fallen through the very large cracks (crevasses, really) our late 20th century take on capitalism has produced so I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

[Carl Skan]

1. He was dressed like that on Fox to get a rise out of people

You can presumably see how they were dressed when they went into the offices on the tape. He was dressed business casual, she was dresssed as....well....a whore.

[RaleighNCDUer]

2. Really? Do we see him looking in a mirror or something?

How can we see "...how they were dressed when they went into the offices on the tape..." when the guy was wearing the hidden camera?

[Carl Skan]

3. The part where they are walking into the ACORN office.

The hooker walks in with him right behind her. It wasn't his camera, it was another one. At the :16 mark of this video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UOL9Jh61S8

I intentionally used the word presumably because that's what the video is edited to make a person think.

[unpossibles]

7. You can tell a person's occupation from her outfit?

Really?

I did not realize people still said that stuff, that a woman dressed in skimpy clothes is dressed like a whore.

[Carl Skan]

8. P.C. much?

They dressed her like a whore because she was there pretending to be a whore and you are calling me out for saying she looked like a whore?

[unpossibles]

9. PC? LOL. not at all, as anyone who knows me would gladly tell you

It's not PC to call bullshit for someone saying a woman wearing skimpy clothes is "dressed like a whore." I know that a lot of sexism is hard to notice in our culture, but this one's a pretty obvious one.

PC... lol.

And yes, I get that she was trying to look like a prostitute, but is it really necessary to repeat the ignorance? The reason I don't like that kind of thing has nothing to do with being PC or language - I cuss like a motherfucking parrot owned by taxi driving pirates - it has everything to do with the mindset that is all too common that if a woman is dressed like a whore, then she must deserve to be treated like one. It's more of the blame the victim bullshit that the right likes to use every day. How's that for motherfucking PC?

Oh, am I speaking like a whore now too?

[Carl Skan]

11. Do you even know what political correctness means?

Just because you use the word "fuck" a few times doesn't mean you're not a P.C. whor...ummmm....fan.

I wasn't calling some random young lady a whore and I wouldn't do that. I said that a woman who dressed in such a manner as to assume the role of a prostitute dressed like a prostitute and did exactly what SHE KNOWINGLY AND INTENTIONALLY DRESSED UP AS.

Seriously, if getting offended over calling a style of dress what that style of dress was INTENTIONALLY trying to portray isn't political correctness, what is?

[unpossibles]

12. do you know what 'condescending' means?

PC is a Rush Limbaugh bullshit attack when someone is called out for being an asshole. If you really want to use that phrase, then by all means do so.

And that winky smile shit doesn't excuse you for calling me a whore either. welcome to my ignore list.

[Carl Skan]

13. Rush Limbaugh now? I wouldn't know. Haven't listened to him since 01.

Seriously, you do "P.C. much" and your hissy fit doesn't address the context the original phrase you got upset over was in.

That first line was an attempt at lightening the mood but you are so wrapped up in yourself that you got offended over it. You are what people are talking about when they complain about political correctness.

"welcome to my ignore list." -- The Internet version of "no backs" from a five year old.

[unpossibles]

14. no, it's my version of fuck off.

Look, if you want to be sexist, that's your prerogative.

[Carl Skan]

15. I see, so you're moving on from discussing the subject and

just saying that if you say it, it's true and throwing out the Rush Limbaugh bull shit. That's probably a good choice on your part.

Even in the e-mail about context you got the context of the statement wrong. You saw a word and without paying attention to the context in which that word was used, decided that you need to make a point unrelated to the context of the situation.

I said the woman who intetionally dressed like a prosititute dressed like a "whore". You have taken that to mean I support violence against women and listen to Rush Limbaugh. Sound logic.

[unpossibles]

4. yeah, this whole thing reeks of rotten fish

I'm withholding opinion until we know more. It's all just a bit too convenient.

[WCGreen]

6. That's my feeling....

Last night I was a little concerned because, for all it's flaws, ACORN is still much better than the alternative; NOTHING...

[Bobbie Jo]

5. The only difference....

this didn't happen in a corporate boardroom or an accountant's office.

[anigbrowl]

10. I agree their goals are noble. but they need to overhaul their corporate governance.

Even if you don't take the huggy bear character seriously - and I agree with you, that it's hard to do - then the smart thing is to say 'get out and stop wasting my time, because I have serious clients who need my help'. They do seem to be taking the correct action to address this (finally): http://www.acorn.org/index.php?id=12439&tx_ttnews =22584&tx_ttnews=12387&cHash=913db2b19b