Digby on Ricks McArthy-ite attack on Greenwald... (

[Luminous Animal]

Ricks claims that Greenwald and Snowden are "profiting" from Russia (how that's happening is rather obscure) and therefore, if they fail to loudly denounce events in the Ukraine, they are objectively Pro-Putin. Greenwald refuses to bow to his demands because well ... bowing to such a demand is unethical in itself (and useless.) Anyone who requires you to denounce someone else to prove that you are not a sympathizer is playing an authoritarian power game and giving them the "denunciation" they demand will never fully satisfy.

We have a long history of witch hunts both real and metaphorical in this country. One of the defining characteristics is this requirement that one prove one's loyalty to the group. You may recall that the way they used to do it was to strap the accused witch to a chair and throw him or her into the water. If the accused floated to the top and lived he or she was obviously guilty. If he or she sank to the bottom and drowned, she was not. I think we can all see the problem with that.

Ricks is free to think what he wants about Greenwald and Snowden's political beliefs and if he has some evidence that they have signed on to Vladimir Putin's Ukraine agenda, as a top journalist I'm sure he can figure out a way to prove it. Otherwise this is just another example of a certain strain of creepy social coercion that rears its head in our culture from time to time and should be resisted by anyone who believes that administering loyalty oaths and demanding intellectual conformity, whether it comes from a church, the government or one's social group, is antithetical to a free society. One would think that journalists would be at the top of that list of resistors, but if there's one thing I've learned in the past few years it's that there are no greater enforcers of elite membership rules than political journalists.

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com.br/2014/03/objectively-pro-putin.html

[JaneyVee]

1. They all do it. GG does it to other journalists/media also.

They all need to quit whining, they are all trying to become bigger than their stories. Ego's gone wild. Our media is a joke.

[Cali_Democrat]

3. You can question anybody but Greenwald

Because, remember, questioning Greenwald is character assassination.

Funny how that works.

[tech3149]

15. I find it pretty easy to tell message from messenger

Greenwald and Snowden may have their own personal quirks but does that really discount the information that they present?
Both of them, as well as dozens of whistleblowers and journalists before them put their lives and professions on the line to expose things that we need to know.
GG may not be the most thorough and accurate but he put out information that needed to be known.
Snowden may have run away from responsibility, but that may have been justified.
I don't know shit from shinola but the message these two provided is another clue that we are being fucked royally and I am out of KY and don't want to grab my ankles anymore.

[Luminous Animal]

5. Respond to a piece about vague unsubstantiated accusations with vague unsubstantiated accusations.

Good job!

[Maedhros]

8. Ignore list [n/t]

[hootinholler]

14. Where?

Educate me, post some links where Greenwald does anything similar to that article which was so popular here it needed 4 or 5 threads about it.

[quinnox]

2. I agree

And not only that, but I bet I am not the only one who "runs counter", in other words, if I see someone or a group all saying not to do something, well, it makes me want to do the exact opposite. Of course I am talking about political opinions here, not common sense things, like it wouldn't apply to stuff like - don't dive in that lake or don't run a red light.

When it comes to things where it is a matter of opinion or freedom of thought, I have a heavy dose of an "anti-sheep" gene. A recent example from DU, the recent anti-RT news hysteria. I confess when I see that, it makes me want to tune into RT news more. I know, its weird.

[chopper050]

13. " anti-sheep"

That's sums me up , pretty much. An one more thing, I don't think its weird.

[ProSense]

4. Everyone is "McArthy-ite" who questions Greenwald.

He can't answer a simple question so he twists himself into a pretzel, asking his own questions, refuses to answer, and then the person asking the question gets attacked for being "McArthy-ite."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024678789

Why does Greenwald get to be the only one asking questions? I find his hypocrisy stunning, especially since he himself has used all sorts of tatics in attacking other journalists.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024685289#post56

[OnyxCollie]

9. You're projecting again. nt

[Wilms]

11. It's not like he called him Goebbels

[pa28]

6. Credit to Digby for rolling the authoritarian log over and exposing the vermin underneath.

Big K&R.

[Luminous Animal]

7. A link from Digby is what led me to read Greenwald in 2005.

[Wilms]

10. ^

[Autumn]

12. Good article. Thanks for posting.