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Jewish World Review Feb. 22, 2013/ 12 Adar, 5773 Celeb racists who get a pass By Greg Crosby
Headline: Conservative talk-show host, Rush Limbaugh reportedly yells racial slur at photographer in New York "Limbaugh's war with the media apparently rages on, after allegedly calling an African-American photographer a "crackhead," "a coon" and "a drug dealer." "The incident happened over the weekend after Limbaugh was approached by a New York Post reporter, Tara Palmeri, and photographer G.N. Miller outside Limbaugh's Manhattan home. Palmeri and Miller were there to interview Limbaugh about reports that his wife is being sued. "When Palmeri asked Limbaugh about the suit, he reportedly grabbed her and said "I want you to choke to death." He also told Miller to "blank my blank," using street language for the performance of a sex act upon him. Palmeri played an audio recording of the incident for police, the Post reported. After allegedly lashing out at Palmeri, Limbaugh then allegedly spewed racial slurs at Miller, a decorated former NYPD detective. Miller filed a harassment claim with police, as did Limbaugh." That was the story as written, except for one slight detail… I substituted the name of Rush Limbaugh for the real name in the story…. that would be liberal actor, Alec Baldwin. My point is, had the man been Limbaugh this story would be front page news in all the papers and the lead story on all the network newscasts for weeks. Civil rights groups would be demanding justice, calling for his firing and requiring him to attend sensitivity training. Women's rights groups would be calling the encounter sexual harassment and screaming about violent intimidation with the intent to commit murder. If the guy in the story had really been Limbaugh, or Bill O'Reilly, or any other conservative figure his career would be finished. The media just wouldn't ever let it rest. He'd be run out of town on the biggest rail they could find. But because the guy in the story happened to be lovable, liberal actor, Alec Baldwin, it's no biggie. It's just Alec being Alec. Good old Alec, what a rascal! So nothing much has been made of it in the mainstream media and all the civil rights organizations have been missing in action. It's the double-standard in media outrage when it comes to liberals and conservatives. The liberals get a pass, the conservatives get lashed. Another case in point would be the fact that the FBI is looking into a major scandal involving a big shot democratic political donor procuring underage prostitutes in the Dominican Republic for democratic Senator Robert Menendez. Again, if this had been a republican senator and a conservative donor it would have been big news, but Menendez is a democrat so we hardly hear about it. This has been a viable story for a couple of months now, did you know that? Where's the outrage from NOW or any other women's groups? Where's the outrage from our mainstream press? Never mind the outrage, where's the coverage? President Bush did water boarding on three terrorists so he was evil, but when President Obama wants to do secret drone strikes killing America citizens, it's okay. And how do you think the press would have covered the killing of our ambassador in Libya and the subsequent cover-up if a Republican had been in office? It seems mainstream journalism has a very simple mission these days. Liberal, good. Conservative, bad. It's more than just sad that the media has become so one way; it's not healthy for our society. When one political philosophy becomes the only voice in the media, fairness and honesty goes out the window. Is it any wonder that public opinion of the media has never been lower than it is today? A free press is necessary to keep freedom alive. If the press is in bed with one side then the public is not getting the whole truth. A free press should go after abusive power, lies, and corruption, no matter if it's on the right or the left. The Alec Baldwin thing is a small, stupid story, but it goes to a larger problem … the double standard of news coverage in today's media. Thank goodness for the few outlets, including Fox News Channel and some internet sites where we can still obtain the other side of a story, if we search for it. The fact that it's up to us to dig it out is a pity, but at least it is findable, at least for now. Heaven help us if these outlets ever go away.
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© 2008, Greg Crosby |
Arnold Ahlert | |||||||||||||
