the "long tail" of the internet

again and again i keep being reminded of the "long tail" of the internet, the ease with which anyone with an internet connection can search for past statements and actions of public figures. and even as i write this blog, i am conscious of the fact that every word i write is being logged in the world's largest database, courtesy of google, inc (google owns blogger). so, even though i might have only a handful of readers (thanks mom :), what i write will probably outlive me in some database somewhere...

and so it is with a smirk that i see that geraldine ferraro is being skewered by the "long tail" all across the intertubes. there was an intense exchange between the clinton and obama campaigns after ferraro was the latest political figure to show her true colors with these statements:

If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.

this is in march 2008, but 20 years ago, in 1988, during another presidential campaign, ferraro had this to say about another african-american candidate:

...if Jesse Jackson were not black, he wouldn't be in the race...

ouch! so, apparently, we can't just dismiss ferraro's 2008 statements as poor judgement or chock it up to a "misunderstanding" from another member of the clinton campaign (she is one of clinton's fundraisers, and speaks often on the campaign trail). no, actually given her statement from 1988, we can dismiss ferraro as one who has been bitter and divisive for decades.

so let that be a lesson to you kids: be careful what you say or write in the information age, because it can and will come back to haunt you, showing your true colors for all the world to see, and for as long as those bits are digitally archived.