Leave it in the Jungle, Larry
Oh holy sweet Mother of infinite and improbably-chic mercy,
Have you SEEN Ingrid Betancourt on Larry King?
I sort of have an inexplicable semi- fondness for Larry's wrankled old bat-crazy ass, what with his allowing Elizabeth Taylor her customary approaching- French-Impressionism-in-softness lens filter, his storied fondness for the Kathy Griffin, his floppy neck-flesh containing enough skin for a whole extra Larry King face, and his tragicomically doomed serial marriages.
But I ask you, Barbara. WHY oh WHY would you host Ingrid Betancourt on your live internationally-broadcast TV program and then pepper her with the most puerile, ham-fisted questions imaginable? This is a lady who has survived unimaginable fear and horrendous depredations wondering day after day for seven years whether she'd be brutally murdered, who after her rescue espouses not bitterness, but instead embodies the very notion of noble sangfroid and displays a Mandela-worthy aura of dignity and compassion.
She amazes me. 'Cause I know if I had finally gotten rescued last week after seven years of hell, I would've said to one of those Colombian special forces fellows, "um, can I see your AK for a quick second? 'Cause I got some motherfuckers to TAKE OUT right about now, honey. COME HERE, ENRIQUE*."
But Ingrid? No. Even when asked by Larry, "do you hate FARC?" Ingrid politely declined to engage in hatred, or flag-wavery, or in general make an ass of herself. Larry, though...oh, Larry.
A potpourri of Larry's lead-footed utterances:
1. "Did they tie you up? What did they do to you early on?"
2. (to camera) "Our guest is Ingrid Betancourt. Coming up, Ingrid's day to day existence in captivity.
What did she eat and where did she sleep? How did she live in chains?
And what everyone wants to know — was she tortured?"
3. (to Ingrid) "What was the worst thing you experienced?"
Perhaps most absurdly:
4. "Were you in the jungle the whole time?" (Now, if he'd asked me that and I'd been through what Mme Betancourt has been through, I probably woulda retorted, "Well, Larry, there was that one outing to Chick-fil-A...WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK?")
The most horrible moment, though, was when he asked her: "The obvious question, were you sexually mistreated?"
Please. Please, please, please.
Ingrid Betancourt does not owe us a litany of her horrors. She doesn't need to be publicly put through a recap of the monstrous events which has left her, no doubt, with a titanic case of PTSD. Larry, bless his heart, mishandled that interview grotequely.
Yuck.
* apparently the meanest of her tormentors was (is?) named Enrique.
Have you SEEN Ingrid Betancourt on Larry King?
I sort of have an inexplicable semi- fondness for Larry's wrankled old bat-crazy ass, what with his allowing Elizabeth Taylor her customary approaching- French-Impressionism-in-softness lens filter, his storied fondness for the Kathy Griffin, his floppy neck-flesh containing enough skin for a whole extra Larry King face, and his tragicomically doomed serial marriages.
But I ask you, Barbara. WHY oh WHY would you host Ingrid Betancourt on your live internationally-broadcast TV program and then pepper her with the most puerile, ham-fisted questions imaginable? This is a lady who has survived unimaginable fear and horrendous depredations wondering day after day for seven years whether she'd be brutally murdered, who after her rescue espouses not bitterness, but instead embodies the very notion of noble sangfroid and displays a Mandela-worthy aura of dignity and compassion.
She amazes me. 'Cause I know if I had finally gotten rescued last week after seven years of hell, I would've said to one of those Colombian special forces fellows, "um, can I see your AK for a quick second? 'Cause I got some motherfuckers to TAKE OUT right about now, honey. COME HERE, ENRIQUE*."
But Ingrid? No. Even when asked by Larry, "do you hate FARC?" Ingrid politely declined to engage in hatred, or flag-wavery, or in general make an ass of herself. Larry, though...oh, Larry.
A potpourri of Larry's lead-footed utterances:
1. "Did they tie you up? What did they do to you early on?"
2. (to camera) "Our guest is Ingrid Betancourt. Coming up, Ingrid's day to day existence in captivity.
What did she eat and where did she sleep? How did she live in chains?
And what everyone wants to know — was she tortured?"
3. (to Ingrid) "What was the worst thing you experienced?"
Perhaps most absurdly:
4. "Were you in the jungle the whole time?" (Now, if he'd asked me that and I'd been through what Mme Betancourt has been through, I probably woulda retorted, "Well, Larry, there was that one outing to Chick-fil-A...WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK?")
The most horrible moment, though, was when he asked her: "The obvious question, were you sexually mistreated?"
Please. Please, please, please.
Ingrid Betancourt does not owe us a litany of her horrors. She doesn't need to be publicly put through a recap of the monstrous events which has left her, no doubt, with a titanic case of PTSD. Larry, bless his heart, mishandled that interview grotequely.
Yuck.
* apparently the meanest of her tormentors was (is?) named Enrique.
posted by sarahfisch at
9:42 AM
4 Comments:
Yes, he was inappropriate.
But um, I must confess that I'm curious.
Larry was just asking what sick minds want to know.
Perhaps you should FedEx her a cookie bouquet and a list of politely-phrased sexual assault questions. I know I'd be a lot more open to that approach, if I were she.
good idea. i mean cookies. i'm'a have a cookie.
HEY SARAH baby!! I am so glad you decided to start blogging again!! I hope you blog OFTEN I will be checking in with you daily now! I love your writing - sorry about my terrible blog writing - I'm not the literary genius obviously. I wish I could be funny when I write!
Oh and turn off the Larry King.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home