Boehlert: What if Fox News actually wants mob violence?

[babylonsister]

Boehlert: What if Fox News actually wants mob violence?
4 hours and 2 minutes ago


Conservative commentators were atwitter last week following news that Ann Coulter's speech at the University of Ottawa was canceled in the face of protests. Of course, Coulter has the right to speak her mind on campuses. But in announcing the cancellation, her conservative Canadian sponsor, pundit Ezra Levant, put the blame on out-of-control liberals who had allegedly made it unsafe for Coulter to speak, breathlessly telling reporters that "the police and the security have advised that it would be physically dangerous for Ann Coulter to proceed with this event and for others to come in" and stressing the presence of an "unruly mob" outside.

Naturally, right-wing bloggers south of the Canadian border then went ballistic. Gateway Pundit claimed a menacing mob of 2,000, armed with "rocks and sticks," had surrounded the Ottawa campus building where Coulter was to speak. And yes, a fire alarm was even pulled.

Oh, my!

But it turns none of those hysterical claims were true (except for the part about someone pulling a fire alarm without cause). The 1,000 protesters were peaceful, according to university officials (good luck finding those rocks and sticks). And no, the police did not cancel the event out of our concern for Coulter's safety. They simply thought the event should have been held in a bigger venue to facilitate the large crowd. (Who invites Ann Coulter to campus and then books a lecture hall that, according to one estimate, holds just 400 people?)

Fact: Coulter and her promoters canceled the show on their own. There were no imminent signs of mob violence or threats of personal harm, just good old-fashioned, raucous, campus-style debate. But faced with a boisterous crowd, Coulter took her marbles and went home, while her conservative allies concocted tales of looming left-wing violence and feasted on the publicity.

Later, whining about her traumatic no-show in Ottawa, Coulter told a reporter, "I would like to know when this sort of violence, this sort of protest, has been inflicted upon a Muslim?" {Emphasis added.}

Oh, so now pulling a fire alarm qualifies as "violence"?

The hysterical hand-wringing was predictable. But the real stunner last week was watching the same conservatives who fretted over Coulter's safety then turn around and excuse and rationalize actual right-wing violence and intimidation stateside in the wake of the historic health care vote. Speaking out of both sides of their mouths with astonishing ease, conservatives denounced liberals who protested Coulter's appearance in Canada, and then played defense on behalf of marauding right-wing radicals who unleashed death threats, threw bricks through office windows, and hurled epithets at politicians. All in the name of saving America from President Obama's brand of evil socialism.

more...

http://mediamatters.org/columns/201003300001

[The_Commonist]

1. Of course they do! Just like they wanted war.

You mean... this is even a question?
It would get people to glue their eyeballs to the TV machine.
It would make new careers for "journalists" who put themselves in the fray.
Controversy sells soda.
There's some doubt?

[smoogatz]

7. There's the ratings thing, of course, but there's also a political element

that goes beyond that. They'd actually very much like to see Obama driven from power by a national populist uprising, since their worldview can't accommodate the reality of a popular Democratic president. Failing that, they'll happily settle for a bit of mob intimidation at townhalls, etc. Nothing makes better TV than faux outrage, after all.

[KoKo]

2. TPTB are very clever...pitting one side against the other for the Media to gain viewers and make us

all afraid. Instead of "color coded Homeland Security Threats" we now have (according to the MSM) Fringe crazies on both the looney Left and Right. Didn't Rahm call the Left.."FUCKING RETARDS?" How'd that play as instigation. They all are doing it.

And, a Nation that takes Sports playing very seriously loves the Gladiator aspect of it, too.

[zbdent]

3. remember, the media showed the mobs outside the Florida elections offices

(mainly minorities in those "mobs") ...

but the "liberal media" didn't show the clean-cut, suited, white mob INSIDE the building ...

(the 2000 Selection) ...

[TomClash]

4. "I would like to know when this sort of violence has been inflicted upon a Muslim?"

Iraq Body Count estimates about 100,000 civilians have died since the Iraq War began in March 2003. This is a conservative estimate. It is obvious most of those dead are muslims.

According to Human Rights Watch, AP and UNAMA, at least 10,000 civilians have been killed in Afghanistan. Again, most are muslims.

B'Tselem, the Israeli human rights group, estimates 6,348 Palestinians have died since 2000. No surprise that most are muslims.

The sanctions in Iraq between "Desert Storm" and "Enduring Freedom" caused the deaths of 100,000 to 500,000 children, according to UNICEF. A good bet is that most were muslims.

But there are no reports on how many were killed by fire alarms.

[HughMoran]

5. Once again, the right makes it difficult for anybody to take them seriously

There are just enough people in this country who VOTE that don't appreciate being treated like morons. Your 'crazy base' isn't going to get you over the top as your idiocy energizes the left base.

[dccrossman]

6. Kick

This is an excellent piece. Recommended reading.

[barbiegeek]

8. Coulter is a COWARD

[Doctor_J]

9. Maybe they think they'll be safe when we finally fight back

On this point I believe they will be unpleasantly surprised

[formercia]

10. Coultergeist lives up to her name

Nothing there.