Reprinted with permission from my friend and fellow Patriot, Donna.
The Media’s Short, SHORT Memory for real “hate speech”
by Donna Baver Rovito
I’m becoming increasingly frustrated by the short memory of the media which is attacking American citizens who disagree with the policies – NOT THE ETHNIC BACKGROUND – of the current administration. All of a sudden, dissent is terrorism and potential violence, and the media is shocked, SHOCKED that people have the temerity to express themselves in a negative way, when a few short years ago, the media found it to be the pinnacle of patriotism to disagree with the government, lending tacit approval, if not downright support to all manner of outrageous displays against George Bush.
The pundits and politicos have never SEEN such inappropriate and potentially dangerous displays, right?
It is possible they’re forgotten the Bush Hitler posters?
(http://www.allamericanpatriots.com/photos/demonstrators-against-george-w-bush-new-york-city-)
Clearly it must have been right wing Christians (who are as bad as the Taliban, just ask Rosie O’Donnell) who burned an already “hung” Bush in effigy in San Francisco on Nov. 3, 2004 in response to his re-election.
(http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=621)
Or you can watch this video in Washington DC (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HINhfkQAz1g). There are countless examples of gleeful Bush burnings on YouTube – is there any video of those evil racist redneck homophobe “tea baggers” doing anything even close to that?
Threats of violence are wrong from all sides of the political debate – but one would think that the “tea baggers” (an extremely offensive way to refer to millions of Americans who love their country and disagree with its policies) have crossed lines no one else has ever even APPROACHED. (Of course, there’s no audio or video of those alleged racist comments, despite rewards offered for proof, although there is video which would suggest the allegations were completely false – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0UIUdDMbeU.)
Commentators are horrified that images of the President have been painted like the face of the Joker, when Bush’s image underwent all manner of defacing. (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3506/3797552703_9dbdd22d38_b.jpg)
Are some of the signs we’ve seen recently over the top? Of course they are – that’s what happens when people protest, and people have the constitutional right to express themselves obnoxiously or stupidly (although the vast majority of signs at TEA party events are NOT offensive in any way and are merely expressions of a policy difference), but the media is focusing on any negativity like they’ve never SEEN such a horrible thing before. It didn’t take me long to find numerous examples of all manner of vile attacks and even death threats again Bush at events in LA, San Francisco, New York, Washington, Denver and more:
Los Angeles – “Hang Bush for War Crimes”
(http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=621)
Los Angeles – “Bush is the only dope worth shooting”
(http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=621)
San Francisco – “Bush is the disease, death is the cure”
(http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=621)
“War criminal and serial killer” – with a cute little Hitler mustache to boot
(http://www.nationalreview.com/images/SubtleAntiBushSign.jpg)
“Osama bin Bush is in the White House”
(http://www.greatdreams.com/political/bush-osama.jpg)
“Kill terrorists bomb there house Kill Bush bomb his f______ house”
(http://www.zombietime.com/us_out_of_iraq_now_sf_3-18-2007/IMG_2416.JPG)
“I’m here to kill Bush Shoot me”
(http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/wp-content/images2009/imheretokillbush.jpg)
Bush sign with bullet holes and bloody “fangs” in San Francisco
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3532/3186288388_43066c006e.jpg)
“Save Mother Earth Kill Bush”
(http://ginacobb.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c2c6053ef0120a5621363970c-popup.
Model guillotine called a “Bush whacker” with a model of the President’s head in a basket at Obama campaign rally in Denver in October 2008 (http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=621).
No one was arrested for these clearly threatening statements – and frankly, I can’t recall anyone in the main stream media expressing outrage over these over-the-top expressions of dissent and hate speech. Yet the same media which was perfectly OK when the protesters attacked the guy they didn’t like are apoplectic when someone carries a sign protesting Obamacare or breathes the word “socialist.”
Louis Farrakhan says “Christians are praying for someone to assassinate the President” with absolutely NOTHING on which to base that allegation. I suspect Mr. Farrakhan didn’t have a problem with people who carried signs calling for the violent death of the previous president, or who marched in the streets with Bush figures with nooses around their necks (http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=621) or posters with bullet holes in Bush’s forehead.
Ironically, although some people accused the previous administration of quashing dissent, these and MANY OTHER examples prove that free speech was alive and well during the Bush administration.
Yet now, when everyday Americans, many of who have NEVER expressed themselves in such a manner before, gather to demand smaller government, lower taxes and a strict adherence to the Constitution, the media presents this as if it is all completely new to them, and the people who are participating are dangerous racists who must be stopped.
MSNBC’s poster boy for liberal intolerance Keith Olberman proclaims that racism is at the HEART of the TEA party movement – yet despite claims of racism from the other side, there’s absolutely no proof of that. It’s convenient, though, to attack anyone who disagrees with the policies of the administration with charges of racism, since that’s about the worst thing of which one can be accused in today’s PC society.
Where’s the balance? A self-professed “bleeding heart liberal” recently wrote me that the hate during the Bush years originated in the White House, and intimated that attacks on the previous administration were justified because Bush was a “bad guy,” as if he somehow DESERVED to be attacked and threatened because SHE disagreed with his policies. Can anyone really BE that hypocritical?
If hate speech (if it really occurred) is wrong now, wasn’t it wrong THEN, too? If free expression of one’s political opinions were OK then, even when they approached the level of violent death threats (which are NEVER OK, from either side) aren’t they OK now, then the dissent hasn’t even BEGUN TO APPROACH the level of the Bush years?
The level of political discourse gets out of control on ALL sides from time to time, and it’s never OK. But for the media and the politicians to pretend that they’ve never SEEN such a thing before (or that they’ve silently applauded it) is the pinnacle of hypocrisy.
Donna Baver Rovito is a freelance writer.
UPDATE(Paul Revere): In my opinion, this is a Civil War without the weapons.
Paul Revere's Place 
May 24, 2010 at 12:21 am |
And then, of course, there’s that famous Hillary quote, “I am sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and you disagree with this administration, somehow you’re not patriotic, and we should stand up and say, “WE ARE AMERICANS AND WE HAVE A RIGHT TO DEBATE AND DISAGREE WITH ANY ADMINISTRATION!”
August 13, 2013 at 6:43 pm |
As a fundamentalist Christian friend on his high horse once told me, “Your bigotry is not justified by someone else’s.” Comparing any politician to Hitler demeans the victims of the Nazi Party. As for the Tea Party and the Birthers, there are too many “isolated” incidents of misogynism, racism, and homophobia to think differently of the Party. Democrats have their crazies, but they are also publically put down for their statements. The Tea Party and Birthers remain silent which is an implicit agreement with those statements.
August 13, 2013 at 9:55 pm |
Wow! Democrats sure do love life on the Democrat Plantation! LOL
Keep that “blame Bush/Republicans” button handy dummycrats, Obama’s not done yet.