Stephen King has released a statement on his website, according to an article from the Associated Press, concerning the noise that has been made on blogs like this one condemning his stupidity. I guess being literate isn’t the only qualifier for determining intelligence. In case you missed it, or forgot about it, here is what Stephen King said about a month ago, when speaking before a group of high school students at the Library of Congress:
I don’t want to sound like an ad, a public service ad on TV, but the fact is if you can read, you can walk into a job later on. If you don’t, then you’ve got the Army, Iraq, I don’t know, something like that. It’s not as bright.
Today, we can take a look at the response from King, aimed toward those who have written about his comments, and condemned his statements. Here is his statement from Monday:
That a right-wing-blog would impugn my patriotism because I said children should learn to read, and could get better jobs by doing so, is beneath contempt.
Ok, I am not sure exactly which blog he is addressing. Evidently there was a conservative blogger, Noel Sheppard, who heard the original statement first hand and wrote about it on his blog. He compared the statements made by King to those made by John Kerry earlier in this election cycle, just as I did a few days ago. But anyway, back to the statement itself. I think King should have just apologized for his incredibly asinine remark, rather than just making it worse with this stupid statement! No one that I have read has blasted him for saying that children should learn to read, and to make that accusation is nothing but intellectual dishonesty. If he can’t figure out what is really being said, then maybe he isn’t as literate as everyone thinks…he can get the words, just not the meanings behind them.
Just to prove that he wasn’t sorry for the statement that he made back on April 4th, King went on to say:
I live in a National Guard town, and I support our troops, but I don’t support either the war or educational policies that limit the options of young men and women to any one career — military or otherwise.
That sounds to me like he is just reiterating the previous statements. If you are in the National Guard, or in the regular military, it is because of the “educational policies that limit the options of young men and women…” That means that they are just too dumb to be able to do anything else.
Let me repeat a point that I made in a previous post: Our military is more intelligent, and better educated today than it has ever been. No matter how many lame statements King makes, these statements are still an insult! One comment I read on another blog (I can’t remember which one) made a pretty good point. It said (and I am paraphrasing), “King made these statements when no soldiers were around…why don’t we invite a group of them to his next book signing and see if he is so outspoken…” Good question.
I must say, at least John Kerry had enough sense to apologize for his statements. I’m guessing King has backed himself into a corner, and he won’t be able to make an apology. He has already come out fighting. Lucky for him, none of those “dumb soldiers” are there to fight with him…
EDIT: After doing a bit more research on this topic, I came across some more information that may benefit you as you consider the story.
First, the blogger whom King was blasting, who broke the story of King’s original remarks, is Noel Sheppard, who writes a blog on NewsBusters.org. Be sure to jump over there and read up on all that has been happening with this story over the last few days. It is certainly interesting.
Second, if you want to read more about Stephen King’s statements from his own perspective, you can visit his website and see the “non-apology” in its context. You will have to scroll down a bit, as the news section of the site has one long page of entries.
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[...] the only qualifier for determining intelligence. In case you missed it, or forgot about it, here …http://www.shootingfromtheright.com/stephen-king-says-hesnot-sorry/The Stupids - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaThe stupids are a fictional family created by Harry [...]
When I heard this, I was ready to just break down and cry. This guy is my favorite author. I’ve been reading him since I was in high school. (Let’s just say, I was old enough to see Carrie when it came out in the theaters). I have every book he has written, including the Bachman books. Now that he has decided to venture into being another celebrity poltical instapundit leaning towards the moveon.org type, I can no longer support this man by buying another one of his books or going to another of his movies. I really hate to do it, and I’m not going to say I’m sorry either!
[...] like this one condemning his stupidity. I guess being literate isn??t the only qualifier for determhttp://www.shootingfromtheright.com/stephen-king-says-hesnot-sorry/National Mental Health AssociationMental Health America is dedicated to promoting mental health, [...]
He’s right. I think Mr. King’s point is that our education in the good old usa is not a high priority for those who dole out the money to pay for the education. The ‘dumber’ Americans are the better for those in power. A society dumbed down by their environment is easy to “lead” (otherwise known as control). They would like most of us to be just smart enough to go to a job that supports their system. We should all take responsibility for educating ourselves….relying on our government to do it is asking for trouble. If individuals do not realize the truths, we will never have a chance at freedom and a better world.
Sandra, I appreciate you stopping by, but I must disagree. King is not right, and his statement had nothing to do with making a a point about the American educational system. Illiteracy (the point of his statement) is t an all time low. And those who are illiterate are not signing up for the military. He has no statistical information to back up such a statement. He was simply taking a liberal swipe at the current administration, and his disapproval for the war that the country is now involved in.
While I do not approve of th current educational system in America (that is, I believe there could be a lot of change for the good) I do not believe there is some conspiracy afoot to try and “dumb down” the general populace. That may be more prevalent if a socialist such as Clinton or Obama get elected…
How dare you Mr. King! I am one very proud but irate military Mom who will not sit back and take your off the cuff comment about the military being a job held open for illiterates. My son proudly serves and defends your right to an opinion but please know we are damn proud of him. He is a pilot, instructor, and father who is on active duty. He graduated out of high school with his name in “WHOS WHO OF AMERICAN STUDENTS” not once but three times. He holds a masters degree and I can tell you he probably had to read more books to get where he is today than you will ever write Mr. King. Please do not portray our military as illiterate.
What kind of a message did you send to our youth when you made that vile remark? How many of them have or know someone
who is proudly serving their country? How dare you! I shall speak out against your ill informed remarks and be proud to stand for my son and the military. Take your books and present yourself on the front lines and perhaps it will change your attitude. If you can’t support them stand behind them! GOD BLESS OUR MILITARY.