Perhaps, If We Were to Stop Shooting Ourselves In the Foot

June 4, 2017

Gonna make this quick – we need to stop attacking our politically impure. Any progressive communicators lucky enough to be heard should ask themselves, “What’s to be gained by silencing Bill Maher, Kathy Griffin, Hillary Clinton or any other anti-fascist voice?”

When we scream “Shut up!” at Kathy for using, admittedly, tasteless imagery, we sing in harmony with fucking Ted Nugent. If we (and Ted) succeed is silencing her, Ted will get right back to creating his own tasteless metaphors – like his ever-popular lynching Obama series.

Progressive journalists demanding Maher be fired for using an inappropriate word is the definition of irony – or maybe hypocrisy. The “liberal” journalists who squanders column inches trying to deny another’s right to free speech is probably better suited writing for Info Wars rather than Huffington or MSNBC. You’d think with so much Trump related corruption going on they could find other, more interesting, topics to cover.

And when the press asks Clinton a question, she is allowed to answer in any damn way she chooses. The press, who did a shitty job during the election, is not entitled to critique how she answers. Whether her answers seem apologetic, self-serving or inadequate is not up to them; we don’t need the media’s take on Clinton’s attitude – we get it, they don’t like her.

There are real monsters afoot. Trump and his pack, Putin and his, religious zealots from across the spectrum all present serious immediate threats. They will viciously attack any progressive voice that gets too popular or “steps over the line” – they don’t need our help.

It’s been two-hundred-eight days since the impossible occurred and the Donald won. The mainstream media and the progressive press hold some responsibility for that anomaly by playing-it-safe. The republic is grateful for the shrill irreverent voices, provoking controversy, demonstrating to our chicken-shit press that free speech is not necessarily safe speech.

In Peace and Justice,
osv