Snake Oil for the Culture Wars

I came across an advertisement on the Web today, and I have to say that it was actually fairly unique, in the end.

It was a standard "Hey guys! Here's how to get laid!" pitch. It tried to push all of the usual buttons - claiming to seek out men who were tired of rejection, and promising some secret and arcane power over women. Never approach a woman again, was the promise - these secrets will have them approaching you. The lure was a blatant as it was unstated - go from being someone who women reject to someone that can reject all but the cream of the crop, using some hidden knowledge that will put you head and shoulders above the competition. And between each of the short text blurbs was a picture of a pretty, young, blonde - attractive and vulnerable, allegedly just the type of woman simply waiting to be seduced by whatever it was these guys were selling.

So far, so good. If you haven't gotten a million spam e-mails promising just this sort of thing, you've done a remarkable job of keeping your e-mail address under wraps - or you just don't have one - either way, you've probably seen it all before...

But this pitch adds an extra dimension that I never would have guessed, proclaiming: "Discover Forbidden Attraction Secrets the Liberal Media Does Not Want You To Know." Who knew that the art of seduction had become a new battlefront in the Culture Wars? Or that there were Forbidden Attraction Secrets that the Liberal Media was keeping to themselves? Those sneaky gits! I always thought that Charles Gibson was secretly hoarding all the good-looking women in New York for himself. And who knows who's waiting for him in his worldwide love nests when he's out "on assignment." The nerve!

Of course, this is just pandering to men, who in addition to being frustrated and or intimidated by women, are also convinced that the world is awash in Liberal consipracies to keep them down. I can't imagine that it's a very large market (after all, I've never met a Conservative that struck me as dumb enough to fall for this), but when you're selling snake oil, I guess you don't need a large customer base.

And, just to prove I'm not making this up, here you go.