From Holden:
Having posted Jill Carroll’s statement below, which explained that she was still in captivity and under duress when she gave the statements JPodd and Jonah criticized with such venom at The COrner I thought I would check the moldier portion of the blogosphere for their reaction.
Jonah opens with his knee-jerk reaction (if knees that flabby and unaccustomed to exercise can be said to jerk), deny and defend.
SIGH… [Jonah Goldberg]
The same name-calling screachers who insisted that I was an ass for not taking everything Jill Carroll said at face value, are now emailing me to call me an ass because it now looks like I was right to be skeptical. They insist I should apologize for “judging” her. This strikes me as absurd. If you go back and read what I’ve posted, I said that Carroll’s statements didn’t scan. It now looks like she was coerced into making those statements — though we still need to know a lot more. If that’s the whole story, that’s fine with me. I don’t think anyone can fairly begrudge someone saying what they feel they must under such trying circumstances in order to survive. But, most of the lefty emailers — and many bloggers — took her initial statements at face value. I didn’t. So far, it seems to me that I was right and they were wrong. I see no need to apologize. It seems to me the apologies should be coming from them.
Posted at 04:52 PM
After reading Carrol’s statement The Pantload reverses course and does the right thing — before taking a shot at Carroll’s defenders just to prove he’s the whiny butt-munch we have grown to abhor.
In all sincereity: good for her. I take Carroll at her word and hope nothing but the best for her. I’m sure it was a terrible ordeal and I think, barring some major revelation, this should put an end to the criticism of her. Leave her be. I’m sorry for suggesting that she might have believed what she said. I hope there will be some apologies coming from those who did believe what she said.
And what of JPod, the black hole of assholes who was the first to attack Carroll after her release?
JPod is a victim of the blogosphere, and any way he was right (Dammit!) even though Carroll has proved him wrong.
JILL CARROLL, CONTINUED [JPod]
On Thursday morning, I put up these words on this blog: “It’s wonderful that she’s free, but after watching someone who was a hostage for three months say on television she was well-treated because she wasn’t beaten or killed — while being dressed in the garb of a modest Muslim woman rather than the non-Muslim woman she actually is — I expect there will be some Stockholm Syndrome talk in the coming days.” For writing these predictive words, which were entirely accurate, I’ve been pilloried all over the blogosphere. Weird, especially in light of Jill Carroll’s statement today, which was an effort to address and quiet precisely the kind of talk I predicted would take place.
Posted at 06:25 PM
Carroll said her captors were “criminals” and worse. Does that sound like a victim of the “Stocklholm Syndrome” to you? It does to JPod.
Later, after actually reading Carroll’s statement JPod humbly appologizes.
Sorry, that was a bit of an April Fools Day hangover.
Of course JPod did not have the dignity to appologize, have I mentioned that he’s a collosal asshole?
I DEMAND HE APOLOGIZE… [JPod]
…to Jill Carroll. I’m speaking of Judd Legum at Think Progress, who wrote these words on Thursday before demanding I apologize for observing that Stockholm Syndrome questions were going to be raised about Carroll’s words after her release: “It is totally inappropriate to assume that her description of how she was treated is motivated by anything other than a desire to tell the truth.” Oh. Really? Here’s what Carroll said yesterday: “Fearing retribution from my captors, I did not speak freely. Out of fear I said I wasn’t threatened. In fact, I was threatened many times.” I actually don’t care whether Legum apologizes or not. The whole “he should apologize” trope is tired and silly, and it would be an aid to civil discourse if it were retired.
Posted at 06:40 AM