The New York Times story on CNN's investment in Glenn Beck, here, contains this quote from him: "[W]hat I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies." But not this one: if "Muslims and Arabs" don't "act now" by "step[ping] to the plate" to condemn terrorism, they "will be looking through a razor wire fence at the West." Or this one: "Muslims who have sat on your frickin' hands the whole time" rather than "lining up to shoot the bad Muslims in the head" will face dire consequences.
The network's head calls this "passion and point of view." I call it not merely racism, but a particularly brutal and dangerous form of racism -- to say nothing of deeply stupid and ignorant. I mean, my God, it comes pretty close to Coulter/"Kill their children" territory. Beck, at least, is honest about himself: "I never thought I would be on CNN, Fox, MSNBC. I am not a journalist. I am a recovering alcoholic with A.D.D.," he said. "I am closer to an average schmoe." But what the hell can possibly be CNN's excuse? Beyond this quote, in which it specifically refuses to take responsibility for the murderous poison it spews into the air, CNN executive Kenneth Jautz says, "We did not set out to have anyone from any particular view fronting these shows." Then again, it broadcast the heavily promoted Beck show, Exposed: The Extremist Agenda, which included clips of extremist Islamic rallies in Iraq, anti-American cartoons from Egypt and TV news reports from Iran with reactions from extremists like Bibi Netanyahu, but little context save further inflammation of its audience. Really, I find all of this unbelievable. CNN is simply saying, "We are exploiting racism and hatred with this guy, but don't hold us responsible because he says he's not a journalist." And remember, the right-wingers insist that CNN is liberal. And I know CNN Headline News is not CNN news, but I don't think most viewers who click on the station make that distinction, and anyway, how does that absolve those responsible?
Read the whole Altercation here.