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« Morning Thread (1-13-2015) |
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January 13, 2015
A Crisis Of Faith (Guest Post By Steven Den Beste)(Guest Post By Steven Den Beste) No, not Muslims; it's the the western press. The Press have created an ideology over the last fifty years or so that approaches the level of a secular religious dogma. They believe that the Press are like the referees in a football game, present everywhere but not involved in the action. Surrounded by violence, they themselves never contribute to the violence and are never the objects of violence. And they are strictly neutral, favoring no one but simply calling it all like they see it. Except that they've also mixed in a big dollop of Marxist ideology: they aren't, and shouldn't be, strictly neutral. As good progressives they can and must work against global capitalism and everything associated with it. That means it's OK to criticize Christianity and Judaism, for instance, because those religions are part of the Capitalist monolith. By working against all the things that Marxism says they should, this gives them credibility with the world's proletariat, who will respond to that by leaving the press alone. Or so they think. And violence by the world's proletariat is a good thing because it may presage the global Socialist revolution prophesied by the sainted Marx. That includes, in particular, all the violence in the world being committed by Muslims. Like a lot of religious dogma, this is subconscious in a lot of the press. They simply accept that it's the way things are (or should be) and don't worry about where it came from or whether it really makes any sense. The lethal attack on Charlie Hebdo, and the firebombing of a tabloid in Germany, has brought out a major contradiction in the Religion of the Press, and a lot of members of the press are demonstrating their confusion in how they respond. First, there is the fundamental dogma of press freedom: no matter what the press says or does, no one is supposed to harm them in return. They're the referees, dammit, not players in the struggle! Second, though, is the fact that Charlie and the Hamburg tabloid which was firebombed broke the compact by criticizing Islam. This was wrong! Not, surprisingly, because Muslim fanatics are dangerous (that is a good thing!), but because it is hoped that dangerous Muslim fanatics will fight against the Capitalist enemy which all good progressives are supposed to be working to undermine. Islam is a Third World religion, and criticizing it undermines the Press in trying to prove to the world Proletariat that the Press is on their side in the great Marxist struggle. And as a result of this Progressive sin, Charlie Hebdo et. al. have dragged all the rest of the press into the battle, on the front line, where they no longer seem to have their assumed immunity. And that's why a lot of them have a deer-in-the-headlights look on their collective faces. A common response has been, "We believe in absolute press freedom, but with freedom comes responsibility, and Charlie Hebdo and everyone else who published cartoons critical of Islam are abusing their responsibility and... deserved what happened to them." (That last isn't usually stated quite so bluntly, but you can see it if you read between the lines.) They know how bad this sounds, but they can't really say anything else without violating the Press religious dogma themselves and further undermining their presumed alliance with the World's Proletariat. How much of this is cowardice? I don't think they are really thinking in those terms. For one thing, the Press in the US thinks of itself as being brave, in part because of all the critical things they say about Christianity. There are all those "bitter clingers" out there with closets full of AR-15's just aching to shoot up the NYT and any other press outlet who dares say anything bad about Christianity (never mind that nothing like that has ever happened) and the Press bravely go ahead anyway. Likewise, they bravely risk being taken away by the Secret Police for criticizing the government when there's a Republican President (again, never mind that no one has ever been taken away like that). They're brave, damn it. They know they are! It's all very romantic and revolutionary. No, the problem, and the reason a lot of them won't republish the Charlie cartoons, is that the Press isn't supposed to be doing that kind of thing. It isn't Progressive! It's the wrong damned target! | Recent Comments
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Saturday Afternoon Chess thread 01-16-2021
Ace of Spades Pet Thread Saturday Gardening and Puttering Thread, January 16 [KT] Thread before the Gardening Thread, January 16 [KT] Saturday Morning Coffee Break EMT 1/16/21 Sing For Your ONT! Quarantine Cafe: The Grifties Edition Matt Gaetz Reads Insurrectionist Democrats the Riot Act As Fox News' Ratings Fall Below Those of Disney's "Pedophile Picnic" and Bravo's "AIDS Roadshow," It Leaks Word That It Might Fire Its CEO Search
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Democratic Forays into Erotica New Shows On Gore's DNC/MTV Network Nicknames for Potatoes, By People Who Really Hate Potatoes Star Wars Euphemisms for Self-Abuse Signs You're at an Iraqi "Wedding Party" Signs Your Clown Has Gone Bad Signs That You, Geroge Michael, Should Probably Just Give It Up Signs of Hip-Hop Influence on John Kerry NYT Headlines Spinning Bush's Jobs Boom Things People Are More Likely to Say Than "Did You Hear What Al Franken Said Yesterday?" Signs that Paul Krugman Has Lost His Frickin' Mind All-Time Best NBA Players, According to Senator Robert Byrd Other Bad Things About the Jews, According to the Koran Signs That David Letterman Just Doesn't Care Anymore Examples of Bob Kerrey's Insufferable Racial Jackassery Signs Andy Rooney Is Going Senile Other Judgments Dick Clarke Made About Condi Rice Based on Her Appearance Collective Names for Groups of People John Kerry's Other Vietnam Super-Pets Cool Things About the XM8 Assault Rifle Media-Approved Facts About the Democrat Spy Changes to Make Christianity More "Inclusive" Secret John Kerry Senatorial Accomplishments John Edwards Campaign Excuses John Kerry Pick-Up Lines Changes Liberal Senator George Michell Will Make at Disney Torments in Dog-Hell Greatest Hitjobs
The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny More Margaret Cho Abuse Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed" Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means Wonkette's Stand-Up Act Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report! Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet The House of Love: Paul Krugman A Michael Moore Mystery (TM) The Dowd-O-Matic! Liberal Consistency and Other Myths Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate "Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long) The Donkey ("The Raven" parody) |