Won't Someone Please Help this Poor Woman?

[paft.livejournal.com]

As an incurable bleeding-heart, I’m always on the lookout for someone suffering, and that includes people with whom I disagree. The sight of human pain should cause us all to put aside our differences. Megyn Kelly is suffering right here, on national television.

She’s thrown this Fox News Alert about presumably explosive remarks from Attorney General Eric Holder. “About the Boston bombings – which are already – making news,” she says haltingly, either reading from a teleprompter or repeating what’s coming through her earphone. “This is just coming in, we’re trying to turn the tape from you so you can hear it from the man himself,” she adds, rather hopefully.

Alas, the tape just can’t be “turned,” so Kelly is forced to tell us herself what Holder said.

“He promised to hold accountable those responsible for the bombing, but went on to say, ‘Just as we will pursue relentlessly anyone who would target our people or attempt to terrorize our cities, the Justice Department is firmly committed to protecting innocent people against misguided attempts at retaliation.’ And there’s more, let me bring in our panel.” She introduces Julian Epstein and Jay Sekulow, then continues looking down and slowly reading. “He went on – to say –

(Pause as she reads and the horrible realization dawns about the hay she’s expected to weave into righteously outraged gold)

– uh – to talk about – he didn’t mention the fact that these two are Muslim who have been killed or arrested in connection with Boston. But he went on to talk about how in the dozen years since 911 they’ve investigated more than 800 incidents involving threats, assaults, and acts of vandalism and violence targeting Muslims, Arabs, Sikhs, South Asians and others who are perceived to be members of these groups. ‘As Americans we must not allow any group to be stigmatized or alienated. We must not tolerate acts of hatred.’ And then he goes on to say, ‘Let us resolve once more to let our fellow citizens, meet fear with reason. This is how we will honor the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. Let us strive to confront ignorance with information. Promote understanding, encourage open dialogue, divert suspicious or prejudiced gazes with outstretched hands.

Uh…

I do have to give the lady credit. She regains her equilibrium pretty quickly, brushes aside the fact that Holder just made a heartfelt, patriotic, and simple plea for tolerance, and starts pushing the idea that the “context” of the remarks makes them somehow inappropriate. By the time Julian Epstein opens his mouth to inject a little sanity into the discussion, she’s on the ball enough to talk over him and feign ignorance about the anti-Muslim backlash in the wake of the bombing.

But really, is it fair to force a human being to go through these motions before millions of viewers? Is it humane? Is Fox News becoming a reality show akin to Chopped, where professional cooks are given bizarre ingredients like Smuckers jam, fish sauce, and rancid calamari and forced – on camera – to turn them into allegedly delicious three course meals? It’s bad enough seeing some thirty-something food professional’s eyes go dead as he runs it all through a blender and dumps it on soba noodles topped with sprigs of cilantro. Can we look forward to seeing Fox Anchorwomen getting tossed the Niemoller Statement without warning, and being forced spin it as an apologia for Nazism?

It’s just not a pleasant thing to watch.

*

Comments

[comeonyouspurs.livejournal.com]

an apologia for Nazism

That is a perfect description of what I have just heard in that video.

[rimpala.livejournal.com]

wow, Chopped is actually a thing, I would hope they wouldn't include "rancid" calamari as an ingredient, since any spoiled food should just be thrown out anyways...

[paft.livejournal.com]

That, I admit, was artistic license on my part.

But the use of jellie-bellies in a dish that included (f memory serves) octopus is not.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

YOU DONKEY!

[dexeron.livejournal.com]

I'll admit that Chopped is kind of a guilty pleasure for me.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

"Has there been backlash against Muslims in the wake of Boston and is the time for the AG to be effectively scolding Americans not to be bigoted?"

Yes, Megyn. There was real backlash against Muslims for the boston bombings.

Heba Abolaban: Palestinian Woman Attacked After Boston Marathon Bombings (http://www.policymic.com/articles/36601/heba-abolaban-palestinian-woman-attacked-after-boston-marathon-bombings)



"Abdullah Faruque, a Bangladeshi man who grew up in the Bronx, was reportedly attacked by three Latino men who called him a "a f--king Arab" on Thursday, invoking the events in Boston. On the same day, Heba Abolaban, a Muslim woman wearing a head scarf was punched by a man in Boston, who screamed at her.

"He was screaming 'F___ you Muslims! You are terrorists! I hate you! You are involved in the Boston explosions! F___ you!' " Abolaban told Malden Patch. "Oh my lord, I was extremely shocked.""

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

This guy (an iraq veteran) got cussed out for being muslim and had his jaw broken by the jerk who complained about Boston. All caught on cell phone. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/muslim-cabdriver-alleges-assault-by-passenger-who-cited-boston-bombings/2013/04/30/9fa45a7c-b0d2-11e2-bbf2-a6f9e9d79e19_story.html)

[dreadfulpenny81.livejournal.com]

I have a hard time taking anything Holder has to say as heartfelt or patriotic considering he still has A LOT to answer for regarding Fast & Furious but that keeps getting swept under the rug. Of course, this is the administration that lives by the slogan, "Never let a good crisis go to waste"...

[kylinrouge.livejournal.com]

Do you have anything to say about his message or are you content with just attacking his character?

[dreadfulpenny81.livejournal.com]

I did say something about his message. I don't trust the guy. Period.

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

Never let a good crisis go to waste

Yes, totally unique to this administration - not like 9/11 was used to implement draconian privacy invasions or the unrelated invasion of Iraq.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Meanwhile the GOP loves it some people invading countries and torturing people in secret CIA prisons and listening on people's phones without a warrant. Go cry the crocodile tears somewhere else.

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

A masochist walks up to a sadist and says 'hurt me, hurt me, please!' to which the sadist responds 'no' and walks away.

Fox is slowly devouring itself. Sadly, it is also slowly birthing a new self to eat; so regretfully, Fox may not go away anytime soon....

[merig00.livejournal.com]

Considering that by latest measurements it's almost on par with CNN in News vs Talking Heads categories, FNC is not going anywhere.



http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2013/03/18/pew-study-finds-msnbc-the-most-opinionated-cable-news-channel-by-far/

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

A maschoist walks up to Rorschach and says "Hurt me!" Rorschach drops them down an elevator shaft. ;)

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

Let us strive to confront ignorance with information.

This is the exact opposite of the Fox news motto :P

I missed the gun pointed to her head part.

[rick-day.livejournal.com]

Not sure if this is about a woman, or the ignorance of not knowing about muslim backlash.

While I am confident you just see her as 'one more enemy' who needs to 'be straightened out', (as so many other examples of past posts), I see a woman, well paid, and empowered with an important job. Read sentences.

She gets paid to read the words. She also gets paid to play a specific character in the political discourse - the dingy blonde. Im that light, she is a pretty talented woman, agreed?

So to insinuate she needs some sort help could be interpreted as pandering the the myth of a 'weaker sex' who 'needs guidance' because she is 'misguided'. Like Rush and Glenn, she plays a role, an act.

Complaining about the positions she takes (and misreading her sight-reading off a small laptop as fumbling and making weaves of gold) is kind of like complaining to George Lucas about the character Darth Vader. Some actor must play the roles offered, or wind up unemployed.

I am confident your kind soul wouldn't wish unemployment on any person, especially a woman breaking glass ceilings in a male dominated industry!

Be well.

[paft.livejournal.com]

You apparently missed the satire part too.

[comeonyouspurs.livejournal.com]

I certainly would wish unemployment upon her, just as much as I would have wished death upon Goebbels.

She gets paid to read the words.

She was 'only following orders'!

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

It's worth noting that if the standard applied to Muslim was applied fairly to other groups, straight white men would come in for rather totalitarian policies directed at them. Of course it's also not surprising that people incapable of trusting the government to handle their tax money well want to give it the power to target people on religious grounds. Hypocrisy is as hypocrisy does.

[sophia-sadek.livejournal.com]

Megyn is concerned that Americans are being criticized for exercising their ignorance. I suspect exercising ignorance looks something like this:



She is also concerned that Americans are being criticized for putting on their bigoted clothes. I suspect that looks something like this:



As for Faux News, it is never a pleasant thing to watch.

[devil-ad-vocate.livejournal.com]

She could have gotten herself out of her pickle by just saying "we have more breaking news on Benghazi!"

[telemann.livejournal.com]

The Fox reporter brought that up again at the White House press conference yesterday. And thank you Jesus! I was wondering if Lindsay and John had fallen asleep on their rage machines.