After I appeared on a PBS panel about Tea Party racism last week, some commenters here wondered why I didn't object to moderator Gwen Ifill's use of the term "teabaggers" (answer: I didn't even notice it, such is the general filth-content of my brain). Anyway, PBS Ombudsman Michael Getler says the Corporation received a lot of complaints, and Ifill has now apologized:
Ombudsman's Note: Ifill says, "Turns out I am the only person with access to email who never knew this was a term with a sexual meaning. I used it in an offhand manner as a shorthand referring to the 'tea party' movement. It was a slip I was unaware of, and I regret it." I would add that I didn't know that either.
As usual, I sincerely hope that Tea Partiers decide to wholeheartedly embrace the term rather than adding still more gross national product to the anti-defamation industry, but the trend lines suggest otherwise.
