References: ‘This mobocratic spirit’: The Boston Globe, January 11, 2021 Arguable with Jeff Jacoby at view.email.bostonglobe.com/?qs=173eb710cd284d6027a8745fbd679a304f62c81d6374160ae3c6faeb648a47ac89680ef7e775785b92552d07f8d601be54089c42105c83a83d664dcda23367f05f6c575a6ee5ed89fc5ba93d739f1e1e548b10502fe29a53 and Jeff Jacoby
Since the Spring of 2020, so-called “social justice” protests and riots became de rigueur in a host of liberal hotspots, including but not limited to Portland, Oregon, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Many were peaceful, or started out that way, but many also saw rioting and looting, with minority communities bearing the brunt of the violence and destruction. People died, some innocent, some not so much.
The left, owners of the mainstream media, however, continually soft-pedalled the harsh truths of rioting and destruction and focused instead on the sins of the past and present that the protesters were protesting (supposedly). That is, in the words of Massachuetts Attorney General Maura Healy, “Yes, America is burning. But that’s how forests grow.” A more irresponsible statement was never uttered by a state Attorney General. And she had lots of company in government, politics and the media making excuses for the rioters and destructive protesters rather than calling them to account. And as we noted in our October 14, 2020 post, the press has even diluted use of the word “riot” in the media, so that these BLM rioters could be called something less onerous.
Few if any in the mainstream media condemned or even criticized the rioters and protesters as they richly deserved. Governments in Portland and Minneapolis have even allowed protesters to simply take over neighborhoods and deny access to the police or other public services, so-called “autonomous zones.” See our prior posts The Tail Is Still Wagging The Dog (posted December 15, 2020), Hysterical Hysterical Overreactions, Part III – According To The Associated Press, “Riots” Shouldn’t Be Called “Riots” Anymore, It’s Too “Stigmatizing” (posted October 14, 2020), and The Gutless Oregon Government – Yes, Let’s Let The Tail Wag The Dog (posted October 13, 2020).
Numerous commentators supported the mobs. As Mr. Jacoby points out in his excellent article at the link above:
Too many media celebrities were also quick to euphemize or indulge the eruption of lawlessness.
“Show me where it says protests are supposed to be polite and peaceful,” demanded CNN’s Chris Cuomo.
MSNBC’s Ali Velshi denounced as “nonsensical” those pleading with angry protesters not to “do these things that are destructive.” There is “ socioeconomic injustice and racism,” he insisted. “That’s what’s behind this. That’s why people are prepared to come out and do damage to private property.”
Nikole Hannah-Jones of the New York Times went on CBS to insist that wrecking business and torching neighborhoods shouldn’t even be called violent. The killing of Floyd was violence, she said, not the mere destruction of “property, which can be replaced.”
This willful determination by politicians and journalists to downplay the savagery and seriousness of the rioting and looting — or worse, to justify it — is a terrifying symptom of a society going off the rails.
No wonder, then, that some people might get the idea that rioting and mob rule are OK, since all these other people on the other side of the political divide were getting away with it elsewhere, and even being accommodated and celebrated. As the Massachusetts Attorney General stated, “but that’s how forests grow” after all.
No wonder then that a mob in Washington, D.C., felt it was OK to violently storm and occupy the Capitol Building. That’s “how forests grow.”
And now, of course, the left, mainstream media and its ignorant celebrities are aghast and outraged that such a mob was allowed to congregate and attack the Capitol, when that act was not any different in principle than what they had previously consistently approved either explicitly or implicitly when the offenders shared their political views and biases: someone has to be held accountable; the President must be impeached since he is a danger to democracy; by golly, this was sedition; anyone at that riot has to be cancelled; all the inciters have to be taken out and shot. All of this, of course, is cloaked in the language of democracy and righteousness, as if most of those people gave a rat’s patootie about democracy if they even know what it actually is.
So, where has this outrage about mob actions been the last 10 months? When and where is the media going to accept its sizable share of the responsibility for setting the stage and helping create a pro-leftist violence-and-mobs-are-OK-if-you-are rioting-about-social justice-no-matter-who-gets-hurt? Had the media and responsible democrats called a spade a spade and reviled those actions, then perhaps the morons on the right would never have gotten the idea they can mob the Capitol and get away with it.
That’s the wonderful thing about the mainstream media – they are so self-righteous and are such true believers that reason, sadly, has no effect on them. It is, in some ways, like being God. It is, however, a sad thing to read the Times or the Globe these days. Once upon a time when we were growing up these papers were reliable and impartial purveyors of news, not opinion camouflaged as news and facts. Now the only useful aspect of the Times is the Sunday Crossword. It’s the only page worth reading these days. Same for the Globe, though at least the Globe has pretty good sports.
It may be that someday the media might wake up and acknowledge that their biased “reporting” has helped lead to some of these ills. It may be that someday beat reporters will stop thinking they are actually opinion columnists. Don’t hold your breath though. They had lots of help, of course, and social media has seemingly stolen some of their “oomph.” Still, one can’t help but believe that had media outlets done their job and not become partisans of one stripe or another, we’d all be a lot better off. As it is now, however, you simply cannot rely on the mainstream media for unbiased reporting.