In the wake of the Passover Massacre — on the day Israel declares Arafat an “enemy” and launches an attack against his compound in Ramallah — ABC News responds with a string of solemn moral equivalencies (on Good Morning America, for instance, the ever-earnest Charlie Gibson points out how “both sides” have ignored General Zinni’s attempts to bring about a ceasefire in the region, how “both sides” are perpetuating a “cycle of violence,” how “Arafat’s offer to bring about an end to the violence” may be “compromised” by Israel’s latest incursion into the West Bank), and with a drippy and concerned Barbara Walters Special®.
“Under the Veil” (airing this evening) has Walters visiting the House of Saud propoganda mill, dressed in her ethnic best (how authentic, Babs! Why, I can almost feel your oppression!), promising her viewers “unprecedented access” to the people of Saudi Arabia. (It seems Babs has missed out on the whole MEMRI phenomenon — but who cares? I mean, she’s wearing a burqua!)
Why am I so upset about this? Well, ABC aired a few clips from tonight’s special — along with some of Walter’s own trenchant commentary, uttered in the requisitely hushed tones of Someone Deeply Concerned For Peace — during a segment on GMA (“Cool, an Israeli attack!” — you can almost hear the GMA producers froth. “We couldn’t ask for a better lead in!”). For the “Special,” Babs interviews a gaggle of Saudi students, many of whom, she tells us, blame the Jews for their troubles. [Cut to: Charlie Gibson looking shocked and concerned; Pan to: Elizabeth Vargas, who’s busy picking a poppy seed out from between her front teeth; Cue: score from Fiddler on the Roof].
The Saudi students, Barbara informs us (again, in the hushed and solemn tones of One Who Understands), are “intelligent” and “soft spoken” young men. Many of them are “deeply concerned” with American foreign policy — specifically, that it “tilts toward Israel.” They think that Saudi Arabia has gotten a bad rap in the U.S., and this “frustrates” the “passionate” Arab students. Further, these intelligent, soft-spoken, Jew-baiting young men believe that America needs to “do more” to broker “peace” in the Middle East. It’s a “fascinating journey,” Barbara assures us. “And it’s important the we understand them.”
No mention of the Purim pastry blood libel story; no mention of the extent of the Wahhabism export sponsered by the Saudi royals. Nope, just Babs — taking us all on a “fascinating journey” into Otherness — asking “intelligent” students, “If you were a tree, Mahmoud…what kind of tree would you be…?”
–“I do not understand your question. We are a desert people. Trees are scarce.”
–“Let me ask this, then… When you hear that a suicide bomber has entered a toy store in Jerusalem… and has blown himself up…and has killed women and children… How does that make you feel…?”
–“Hungry.”
–“Hungry? Why? Why would such…tragedy…make you feel ‘hungry’?”
–“Because I am a sick, medieval-minded fuck, born and raised in hate by a repressive, backward regime. Look at how I dress! Have you any dates or walnuts?”
–“I’m afraid I don’t, no.”
–“Jew lover. Infidel dog. Cover your face! You’re making me sick with your western nose and libertine stench.”
Fascinating journey my ass. But what bothers me the most — what really galls me — is the knowledge that millions of viewers are going to tune in and allow Barbara Walters to humanize these lying, two-faced barbarians in a schmaltzy Otherness fest.
And at precisely the time we need to steel ourselves and redouble our resolve. I want to cry.
I just loved seeing that bit on GMA, really made my whole morning. Especially the part where they did – miracle of miracles – mention that most of the terrorists of September 11th were from Saudi Arabia then segued into how the students they talked to were “angry”. Oh? Were they angry that their POS fellow citizens would do such a thing? Oh no, of course not, they were angry at the Jews. And this makes sense how exactly? And we should listen to such twits why exactly? What’s next, interviewing KKK and neo-Nazi members? They’re angry at the Jews too, you know, and we really should try and understand them.
Someone really should be studying Babs. It’s a medical miracle that someone that brain dead still manages to walk and talk.
There has to be some way the “American street” can get it through the media’s collective stone head that we are sick and bloody tired of all of the moral equivalence crap and the “cycle of violence” stupidity. When someone is trying to kill you and you blow their head off before they can manage it that’s not a “cycle of violence”, that’s justice.
Myria
For some reason, Americans have spent the last 25 years or so learning to conflate “intelligence” with “subtlety” and “complexity.”
I honestly believe many people hold to these kinds of assinine equivalency arguments because their gut feelings on certain issues seem to them too simplistic to be correct.
You know what we need? An Occam’s Razor bumpersticker-n-t-shirt drive.
<i>I honestly believe many people hold to these kinds of assinine equivalency arguments because their gut feelings on certain issues seem to them too simplistic to be correct.</i>
Yes! Yes! That’s exactly right. (Except for the spelling of “asinine” that is.)
It’s a way for people who don’t think very deeply to <i>appear</i> as if they do.
See? I <i>do</i> need an editor!
How could I spell that incorrectly? What an as I am..
<i>I honestly believe many people hold to these kinds of assinine equivalency arguments because their gut feelings on certain issues seem to them too simplistic to be correct. </i>
Yes Jeff you are right! Yet it is your profession (the Humanities, Philosophy, Public Policy, Economics profs – all of ‘em ) who have said that the world must be complex – simple is bad. My theory is that this is the only way profs can seem smart – if simple was good, profs would not seem all that smart!
Baba Wawa interviewing the “angry” Saudis, trying to “understand” them.
Aah! The pain! It burns!
Anyway—the cluelessness of the Mainstream Media continues to astound and amaze. It seems that, after all these years of misapplying “judge not” and Sesame-Street style faux-diplomacy, that the main victim of the infotainment propagandists have been themselves. Gilda Radner must be laughing in her grave.
Someone should ask Bah-Bah why she’s made the Saudis so mad and isn’t doing more to not rile them. After all, they’re angry, they say that they’re angry because of the Jews, Bah-Bah is a Jew…so it’s her fault! Sadly, she may actually believe that…