Anatomy Of….

14 Jan, 2009 by Melissa Clouthier

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….an ~~[email protected]@hole~~ ~~jerk~~ ~~vindictive bastard~~ guy who will never be trusted again. By anyone. Ever.

Mr. Smith was a guest at a gracious host’s home. He ate their food. He watched movies with them. He enjoyed their hospitality.

The host, like everyone else in the world, had unique quirks. And when Mr. Smith went home, he’d catalog these quirks. Someday, he thought to himself, I can get personal gain by exploiting this rare relationship.

Scorn and derision should be heaped on people like C. Brian Smith. He is not the first man in history to exploit hospitality for political or personal gain. He reminds me of the Scottish Campbell clan who are still reviled for their despicable behavior. What did they do? The Campbell clan enjoyed the hospitality of political rivals the MacDonalds. After taking their food and drink and beds, they murdered the MacDonalds while they slept. They burned down their homes leaving over 40 women and children to die, freezing to death. Only two men survived.

Now, C. Brian Smith, did not murder his host literally, but the intent and the motive come from the same place. After soaking in what he perceives is a political enemy’s good will, he is doing what he can to destroy him.

A person cannot do this sort of thing without dehumanizing the person he’s destroying. He has to distance himself from a person and view the experience as a scientific experiment. It’s one thing for a journalist to pick apart a person since it’s his job to reveal the character of the subject. It’s quite another for someone who calls himself a friend to do that.

It doesn’t matter who C. Brian Smith gave this bad treatment to–it’s his character that should be on trial not his “subject’s”. He is nothing more than a malicious gossip and talebearer.

Powerful people who try to maintain some sort of normalcy through friendships, routines and family rituals make themselves vulnerable. It’s a wonder they trust anyone at all.

Just to be clear, I would view someone who comes out of the next president’s administration and revealed uncharitable life details with the same sort of contempt. The C. Brian Smiths and Scott What’s-His-Name, oh yeah, McClellens of the world better enjoy their fleeting notoriety. No one will trust them again. And no one should.

H/T Hotair

Cross-posted at MelissaClouthier.com