’I’ before ‘E’ except in Weird: Retroactive Continuity
By: Andy Perrigo
Saturday, August 3, 2024 9:10 AM
In 2021, "retcon" was added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. This term, short for “retroactive continuity,” describes altering an established story's form or content. Common in serial media like comics or TV shows, retcons let creators tweak the universe, revive characters, or smooth over plot inconsistencies. While retcons offer creative flexibility and adaptability to audience feedback, they can also confuse and frustrate readers if not used carefully. (A crasser version of ‘retcon’ may be “Whiz on a person’s boots and tell him it is actually raining.”)
We are currently seeing the media do a ‘retcon job’ in their coverage of Pres. Biden and VP Harris.
For some reason, the Administration handed out talking points to the press and to Congress with talking points to combat accusations that Harris was the border ‘czar.’ Hmm, why would the Harris administration be concerned about the term ‘border czar’? Axios started off by writing a piece explaining that Harris was never the ‘border czar.’ Before the day was over, X users posted a past Axios article that described Harris as the person appointed to be the ‘border czar.’ One day later, Axios tweeted out that it would be doing a retraction…on the older article! Axios said it was mistaken in the older article because Harris was put in charge of finding a solution to the causes of mass migration. Harris, herself, recently tried to distance herself from the title of border czar despite her past comments about being tasked with figuring out the causes of mass migration.
Another example of a ‘retcon’ is the assertion that it is racist to call Harris a ‘DEI hire’. In fact, Pres. Biden promised that ‘diversity and equity’ would be most important to him when hiring staff. He even pointed to his pick of VP as the prime example of his commitment to DEI.
The media is also refusing to fact-check Harris on her pro- ‘law and order’ claims. For example, during the BLM riots of the Summer of Love, Harris tweeted out a plea for donations to a bail fund for protestors. Another example came during a Senate hearing on ICE in which Sen. Harris said ICE was the same as the KKK. Another example of Harris’ view on crime is her old tweet saying that Jussie Smollett was a victim of a modern-day lynching.’ (The tweet was issued weeks after it was obvious Smollett lied to the police.) There are also many examples of Harris’ tenure as chief prosecutor in San Francisco and as AG of California where Harris abused her authority for political purposes. One that particularly perturbs this writer is how Harris prosecuted the whistleblowers that exposed Planned Parenthood for selling parts of babies to researchers, creating an incentive for death.
The most comical is the pushback on the claim that Harris was the most liberal member of the US Senate. GovTrack published that ranking in 2019, putting Harris further left than the socialist, Bernie Sanders. When that stat was used by Trump, GovTrack went back in time and added context to its ranking to hide Harris’ record.
It is difficult to trust the media. Three weeks ago, we were told that Biden was fit and strong. After the debate, the media was ‘shocked’ to find out how unhealthy Biden appears to be. Last week, the press amplified the soft coup against Biden. Now the media is telling us that Biden was one of the greatest presidents ever.
By the way, VP Harris, the root cause of mass migration is the fact that the United States is awesome! Maybe Harris agrees her policies are actually meant to ‘correct’ it.
Don’t retcon on my boots, and tell me the drought is over…