YOU CAN’T SAY THAT IN WASHINGTON
Jun. 11th, 2010 10:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
defrogNow we come to the point in this excuse for a blog in which I may just drive some of you away. This has been knawing at my brain for a few days now, and there’s no easy way to say this. It’s possible it doesn’t even need to be said at all, but I’m going to say it anyway.
We need to talk about Helen Thomas for a minute.
I’ve always had a lot of respect for Thomas, not just for all the barriers she’s kicked down for women in journalism and her seniority in the White House Press Corps, but also because she spoke truth to power. She asked tough questions of all presidents and kept doing it when it was no longer fashionable (i.e. from roughly 9/11 onwards). I didn’t always agree with her opinions, but she probably wouldn’t agree with some of mine either, so I figured that made us even.
So now she’s getting crap for what she said about Israel, even after apologizing for it and retiring from the WHPC (which I would argue is their loss, not hers, because it’s not like any real journalism happens there anymore).
Here’s what bothers me about this:
Basically, Thomas is getting hammered for cricitizing Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land AND offering follow-up suggestions on where they could go instead. You may or may not agree with that, and even if you do, she could have phrased it a hell of a lot better, even for the benefit of some kid with a camcorder asking for a fast quote on an insanely complex issue.
What gets me is that everyone from the White House to Fox News is acting as though she blathered actual anti-Semitic nonsense about Zionist conspiracies and the f***ing Jews controlling the world (like Mel Gibson used to do when he had a few), or said that the Holocaust is overrated, Hitler wasn’t a bad guy and there are too many Jews on the Supreme Court (as Pat Buchanan actually still does, and MSNBC still won’t fire him).
Of course, in the case of Fox and its fans, they’ve always hated Thomas anyway, and would be singing “Good riddance you liberal hag Arab bitch!” regardless of the circumstances. And I don’t even have to Google it to know that at least a few of them are using this as irrefutable proof that all libtards are Jew-hating Nazis who want al Qaeda to win.
But groups are canceling Thomas’ speaking gigs as a result, and even President Obama and Robert Gibbs are calling her remarks “offensive and reprehensible” and have no place in the White House Press Corps. Why? Because questioning Israel’s right to that strip of land is no different from saying Hitler was right to gas the Jews? Because it contradicts official US govt policy towards Israel? (And if it’s the latter, should the White House be in the business of deciding what opinions the WHPC can and can’t have about US govt policies?)
It could be I’m not smart enough to grasp why her comments amount to anti-Semitism, given the history of how Israel was engineered by external forces in the first place, which – religious differences aside – is one of the core grievances of the Middle East conflict and therefore, I would think, fair game for comment. I’m happy for anyone who knows better to set me straight on this (though please bear in mind I’m not arguing whether she’s right or wrong – I’m saying I don’t understand why it warrants this kind of outrage).
Anyway, it’s a shame that thanks to the ensuing circus, Thomas may be remembered more for this than for everything she’s accomplished up to now – especially considering Pat Buchanan and Ann Coulter actually still get paid money to say far worse things.
And don’t get me started on Jake “ZOMG Ragheads” Knotts.
Bring the hate,
This is dF
We need to talk about Helen Thomas for a minute.
I’ve always had a lot of respect for Thomas, not just for all the barriers she’s kicked down for women in journalism and her seniority in the White House Press Corps, but also because she spoke truth to power. She asked tough questions of all presidents and kept doing it when it was no longer fashionable (i.e. from roughly 9/11 onwards). I didn’t always agree with her opinions, but she probably wouldn’t agree with some of mine either, so I figured that made us even.
So now she’s getting crap for what she said about Israel, even after apologizing for it and retiring from the WHPC (which I would argue is their loss, not hers, because it’s not like any real journalism happens there anymore).
Here’s what bothers me about this:
Basically, Thomas is getting hammered for cricitizing Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land AND offering follow-up suggestions on where they could go instead. You may or may not agree with that, and even if you do, she could have phrased it a hell of a lot better, even for the benefit of some kid with a camcorder asking for a fast quote on an insanely complex issue.
What gets me is that everyone from the White House to Fox News is acting as though she blathered actual anti-Semitic nonsense about Zionist conspiracies and the f***ing Jews controlling the world (like Mel Gibson used to do when he had a few), or said that the Holocaust is overrated, Hitler wasn’t a bad guy and there are too many Jews on the Supreme Court (as Pat Buchanan actually still does, and MSNBC still won’t fire him).
Of course, in the case of Fox and its fans, they’ve always hated Thomas anyway, and would be singing “Good riddance you liberal hag Arab bitch!” regardless of the circumstances. And I don’t even have to Google it to know that at least a few of them are using this as irrefutable proof that all libtards are Jew-hating Nazis who want al Qaeda to win.
But groups are canceling Thomas’ speaking gigs as a result, and even President Obama and Robert Gibbs are calling her remarks “offensive and reprehensible” and have no place in the White House Press Corps. Why? Because questioning Israel’s right to that strip of land is no different from saying Hitler was right to gas the Jews? Because it contradicts official US govt policy towards Israel? (And if it’s the latter, should the White House be in the business of deciding what opinions the WHPC can and can’t have about US govt policies?)
It could be I’m not smart enough to grasp why her comments amount to anti-Semitism, given the history of how Israel was engineered by external forces in the first place, which – religious differences aside – is one of the core grievances of the Middle East conflict and therefore, I would think, fair game for comment. I’m happy for anyone who knows better to set me straight on this (though please bear in mind I’m not arguing whether she’s right or wrong – I’m saying I don’t understand why it warrants this kind of outrage).
Anyway, it’s a shame that thanks to the ensuing circus, Thomas may be remembered more for this than for everything she’s accomplished up to now – especially considering Pat Buchanan and Ann Coulter actually still get paid money to say far worse things.
And don’t get me started on Jake “ZOMG Ragheads” Knotts.
Bring the hate,
This is dF
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no subject
on 2010-06-11 02:25 pm (UTC)I apologise if this offend anyone, but when I heard what she said, my first reaction was "finally something from the US". It's not that I agree with her remarks, especially the "going back" part, but I can feel her frustration and it's the kind of frustration that shared by many outside US.
no subject
on 2010-06-12 08:30 am (UTC)Alright, I have to blog something now.