Glib

On the Huffington Post, Harry Shearer joins the Jack Shafer meth-myth parade, with a self-satisfied snicker at methamphetamine abuse. The comments chew his infotainment ass; some of them highlight the regional and class-based bias behind the smart-assed denials of other peoples' struggles with this drug:

"Overhyped? I live in the subcultured Ohioian acres of cornfields where these meth-heads are found. You comedians must love all of the material we give you, but it isn't funny watching your neighborhood turn to shit and having hollywood spoof it as a fucking joke."

"As a worker in the prevention field, it's quite obvious that the author knows a lot about the tendancy of the media to over-hype, but very little about meth and its highly addictive qualities. Here in Nebraska, it's a huge problem. It is ruining families, overloading the social services agencies, causing huge environmental difficulties, and are costing millions in local law enforcement dollars, not to mention untold man power hours. I see it EVERY SINGLE DAY, and when I go home, I see it in the children that my wife and I provide foster care for. At best, the author needs to educate himself about this drug and its long reaching ripple effects."

"Well, I'm certainly glad you clever folks have figured out that the media tends to over-dramatize and sensationalize their stories, but if you don't think meth is a serious and epidemic problem, all I can say is I want to come live with you in your neighborhood. Just because journalists are approaching this story in a hackneyed and lazy way doesn't mean we should be dismissive or glib about it."

Good on them. One sentence of first-hand information about meth is more valuable than a month's worth of Jack Shafer smirk and Harry Shearer snark.