So it seems Fox News guy Glenn Beck had himself a little rally on the Mall yesterday, and of course it was covered fairly and accurately by the mainstream media. A few thoughts in no particular order.
1. I'm not a fan of Glenn Beck, but I sorta like what he's doing. He's getting folks interested, involved, thinking, talking, writing, reading. I happened across his radio show for the first time the other day--and lo and behold--to confirm the cartoons I've seen of him--he was sniffling and crying over something (not my cup of tea). But he is getting people movitvated.
2. This little article in the Washington Post was of interest to me. In the very first sentence, the crowd on the Mall was referred to as a "sea of activists". If anything, the interesting thing about the Tea Party, Glenn Beck's crowd, etc, is that they ARE NOT activists--unless all of a sudden deciding that you don't like the direction in which the country is headed and you decide to attend a rally now counts as making you an activist.
3. But of course, the racial makeup of the crowd on the Mall was of great interest to the Post. Referred to as "overwhelmingly white", this depiction stood in contrast to the counter-protest of one Reverend Al Sharpton, which was referred to as "mostly black". Here is a slideshow of photos from Sharpton's rally. The difference between "overwhelmingly" and "mostly" seems somewhat blurry, no? And just what the hell is Sharpton wearing? So the crowd was well-behaved, patriotic, friendly, upbeat, and supportive--but guilty of the great crime of being white.
4. Some of my liberal Facebook friends were absolutely getting the vapors over the Beck Rally, the common theme of which seemed to be that the choice of an anniversary of MLK's speech there was of course, symbolic of the right's desire to reinstate slavery, or at least Jim Crow. Liberals are fascinating.
I'm sure Bobby T was horrified with having to share a Metro car with the great unwashed and determined that every African-American sitting in the back of a bus yesterday was forced to do so by the Beck inspired racists.
ReplyDeleteA photo in the local paper shows many of the Sharpton marchers wearing "Free Malachi York" T-shirts. Looking him up on Wiki, I see he is a black separatist serving time in prison now for child molesting. Way to reclaim the dream folks.
It's also funny how the leftys see it as such a disrespectful act that the rally take place on the anniversary of the MLK "Dream" speech, while at the same time being in favor of the Jihadist Victory mosque placement 2 blocks from Ground Zero.
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of real estate available in Manhattan to build an "Islamic YMCA". Summer weekends to plan rallys in DC are somewhat limited.
First of all Bobby T wasn't stupid enough to be caught near a metro platform and while out yesterday actually gave directions to several groups of Beckophiles to good places to eat, etc.
ReplyDeleteI watched entire rally safely from my house on the internet and found the message to be a refreshingly positive one - except for all that reliance on religion. Big "except" I know. Nevertheless, I respect the place of concern from where this movement originates. Too bad it is hard to separate the restoring "honor" event from the misinformed or misguided histrionics of his show.
I completely agree with CWs assessment of the lopsided way in which the WP has portrayed overwhelming whiteness versus mostly blackness. It actually is kind of ironic that a movement based so much in religion would not garner the support of one of the most religious ethnic groups in our country.
Looks like Rev Al is wearing jammies.
ReplyDeletePajamas? Nah, teh good Rev is sporting the latest in Prison Wear.
ReplyDeleteI've got a real problem with MLK's canonization. Yes he had a good message, a colorblind society based on merit. But his disciples didn't get it. They must have heard quotas, government set asides and shakedowns.
ReplyDeletePart of the MLK myth is he was inspired by Gandhi's nonviolent approach to repression. But when there was rioting in India (much of it sectarian) Gandhi went on a hunger strike, and almost died a couple of times. What did MLK do when Watts and Detroit were burning?
I say MLK's strategy was a two pronged attack using a strategy of overt nonviolence and covert violence. Of course I could be wrong and let's get real, it easier to give up dried lentils than BBQ ribs.
From Facebook:
ReplyDeleteOn a lark, I did a Google news search last night for the phrase "overwhelmingly white". Got 61 hits. Don't they know that God kills an anchor baby every time they use that term?