I would like to commend Kathleen Parker, a columnist for The Washington Post, for an excellent op-ed she wrote on the double standard the left-wing media has concerning race.
Thank you for reporting the intolerance of the left. For years liberals have shown disdain for those that share an opinion that’s not their own, but remain silent when those on the left attack others that disagree with their worldview by saying hateful and offensive comments.
Who can forget how unhinged the left became when Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson made comments in GQ Magazine that were deemed offensive toward gays and minorities. However, I have yet to see anyone on MSNBC or CNN denounce Democratic Alabama state Rep. Alvin Holmes for his remarks toward Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, calling him an “Uncle Tom” for being married to a white woman. Nor have I seen Rachel Maddow go on a long winded diatribe about anti-gay Democrats.
Civil Rights activist Rev. William Barber is another left-wing media darling who promotes race baiting garbage. An MSNBC favorite known for his “Moral Mondays,“ Barber recently went down to South Carolina and disrespected the state’s first African American Senator since Reconstruction, Tim Scott, calling him “A good dummy for the Tea Party.”
But attacking the Senator’s character wasn’t enough. He then trashed African Americans whom he felt weren’t following the spirit of Martin Luther King, as if he understood what Dr. KIng’s spirit was.
If someone is going to invoke the legacy of Martin Luther King, they should have some knowledge of what the man stood for. Dr King envisioned a day “when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Sen Tim Scott (R SC) embodies Dr King’s dream. Here’s a man that grew up in abject poverty, raised by a single mother. He pulled himself up by his bootstraps, went to college, got a degree and started a small business. What person of any color couldn’t admire someone that overcame adversities in life to became a US Senator? Tim Scott’s story embodies the spirit of Dr Martin Luther King.
To suggest that African Americans need to fall in lockstep with traditional black leadership is empty rhetoric. Why should all blacks drink from the same fountain when many of us have moved on from the days of separate lunch counters and picket signs? How come we are the only group that needs be told to how to vote, think and act a certain way, You don’t see Italians telling Sicilians to be outraged over Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito, nor do you see an Armenian spokesman on CNN calling out Darrell Issa for conservative viewpoints. However, there is never a shortage of black voices that criticize other blacks that share a view that does not reflect a black agenda.
Black conservatives get heckled, booed and excoriated by the media because they are independent thinkers that don’t march in lockstep with the flock. Pundits give scathing commentary when black conservatives such as Ben Carson and Tim Scott tell the stories of how they made it by hard work and taking personal responsibility. But another pundit, CNN commentator Don Lemon, was reduced to tears when President Obama gave black and Latino youngsters in Chicago the same conservative message saying, “They must not make excuses for their failures or blame society for the poor decisions they have already made. “
My final question is to ask why are commentators such as Chris Matthews and Al Sharpton not as vigilant with nasty rhetoric that comes from the left as they are when outrageous things are said by Ted Nugent or Rush Limbaugh? Why does the mainstream media devote countless soundbites to people that may disagree with President Obama on policy or philosophically and then accuse them of being racist? At the same time, they remain silent when liberals make personal attacks towards those that have opposing viewpoints. Suppression of thought isnt fair and balanced journalism but reminiscent of how the Soviet Comintern acted under Stalin.
Kathleen Parker, thank you for shedding light on the silencing of African Americans that don’t support the left-wing agenda. Much appreciation for calling out race baiters that masquerade as Civil Rights leaders. Rev Barber and State representative Alvin Holmes don’t reflect the diverse viewpoints that African Americans have. Those two are relics of the past. Tim Scott represents our hope and future, a free thinking black man that’s not wedded to a black agenda that for too long has kept the suffering black masses uninformed, mislead and broke.
