Paul Revere by Cyrus Dallin, North End, Boston

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Friday, November 20, 2009

ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE CALLS BECK "FEAR-MONGER-IN-CHIEF





To all those conservatives who think Glenn Beck is contributing anything of value to our national discourse, the ADL disagrees.  In fact, the ADL finds that Beck incites hate and irresponsibly vicious anti-government  conspiracy theories among those who actually believe he's more than a venal, cynical clown.

My opinion is that Beck found a perfect venue [FOX News and gullible, nonthinking mob ignorance and fears] to gain national prominence and a very large salary.  Luckily, most people see him for what he really is, this era's Father Coughlin who exploits and easily misleads his listeners.

********************************************************

Glenn Beck has been crowned big media’s King of Hate.

In a new report that warns of the potential for anti-government violence since President Obama’s election, the Anti-Defamation League singles out Fox News TV pundit and radio host Beck for “making a habit” of promoting anti-government conspiracy theories from his mainstream media perch.

“Beck has acted as a ‘fearmonger-in-chief,’ raising anxiety about and distrust towards the government,” the study’s authors write, reports the New York Daily News.

The ADL study cites instances where Beck has called President Obama “dangerous” and compared him to Hitler to argue the case that Beck may be putting his viewers on a path to becoming extremists.The ADL also faults the popular and polarizing host for providing a platform to guests who tout paranoid fears like: Obama and his administration are trying to create a “civilian national security force” of political loyalists; or, that FEMA is building concentration camps to contain “dissidents.”

The report acknowledges that Beck has distanced himself from the FEMA claim. But the study’s authors conclude the “episode” was still a good example of how Beck uses “constant laments such as ‘I fear for my country’ to create a sense of anxiety about and hostility towards the government in his audience.”

The ADL, which was founded in 1913 “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment for all,” says Beck is far more likely to lead his audience toward "extreme notions" than are his right-wing peers.

“While other conservative media hosts, such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, routinely attack Obama and his administration, typically on partisan grounds, they have usually dismissed or refused to give a platform to the conspiracy theorists and anti-government extremists,” the study's authors write.

Ultimately, a rising tide of anti-government anger could lead to more extremists and violence, the ADL warns.

Beck’s spokesman declined comment to the News.





68 comments:

Ruth said...

Blaming the raped - like Beck blaming Pres. O for being hated - is common among right wingers. Where hatred of the other side is encouraged, recognizing that the one who feels and acts on violent hatred is responsible for his/her acts makes it harder to rouse the rabble.

The Malcontent said...

"ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE CALLS BECK "FEAR-MONGER-IN-CHIEF"
Ahh once again, the left's well known love of tolerance and open discourse is on display.
I'm sure you don't want to heat what I call the "Marxist" bull-shit artist in chief.
And why are YOU always defending Van Jones? Jones doesn’t deserves any defending. He's on record as being a bigoted, racist, and flat out ridiculous in some of his remarks. He is connected with the 9/11 "Truth" wackos and essentially shows support for anything that doesn't suit his personal prejudiced agenda. Obama made a mistake hiring him and firing him was the only solution. Just because someone hates Republicans doesn't make someone like Jones a hero. Jones is a fool and a fraud and a enemy of America. His past DID disqualify him from holding any office of public responsibility or having any credibility whatsoever..
And why are you SO hung up on what everyone calls Glenn Beck? Are you that afraid of him as you are of Sarah Palin?

Thank you, Glenn Beck. By helping force the resignation of Van Jones, you have done a great service to your country

The J Mopper said...

Beck is an "entertainer" to the brainless nitwits - no more, no less...

(O)CT(O)PUS said...

Malcontent: "He's on record as being ..."

Where are your citations from reputable sources? Lazy-ass bullshitter!

The Malcontent said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
The J Mopper said...

Well done Malcontent...you made my point.

I'm surprised you didn't state: "You started it!"...like a common grade schooler.

You call yourself a good Christian? Now that's laughable based on the comments you've left here and the intolerance/venom you show to anyone who disagrees with you.

Jesus would roll in his grave if he heard your proclamation...

(O)CT(O)PUS said...

BTW, Shaw, this post may interest you. It is about that latest atrocity known as the revised mammogram recommendation.

It turns out that this study was originally commissioned under the Bush administration, and there were NO, I repeat, NO oncologists serving on that panel. What a fraud! Another old story to recall: remember the time when the Bush administration tried to appoint a veterinarian to the Office of Women's Health?

The details are in the comment thread. When I return later, I intend to re-write this into a dedicated post. For now, let me just say this: If the GOP tries to spin the mammogram story into more "death panel" propaganda, just throw this crap back at them.

The Malcontent said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
dmarks said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Arthurstone said...

This is interesting:

http://mediamatters.org/research/200911190048

Funny how a guy like Van Jones gets railroaded and a a guy (a bona fide criminal) like this is not just given a pass but allowed into high level government.

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0209-22.htm

Red-baiting is as American as apple pie and baseball.

More so actually.

Turns out our late (and unlamented) Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson is responsible for unleashing a whole new generation of imperialist war mongers on our nation. Abrams. Gaffney. Wolfowitz. Perle. Etc.

Empire is the one issue in this nation which is indeed completely bi-partisan.

TAO said...

Arthur,

Thanks for the info...

I do hope that you are not expecting the Malcontent to understand, let alone read your sources?

Over at Truth101 he is lamenting his penis size...

Arthurstone said...

TAO-

Thanks(??!!!) for the heads up at Truth101.

Frankly the penis thing is a huge (har har) waste of time.

This is where we might actually make a difference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nootropic

Shaw Kenawe said...

Malcontent,

If you don't cease your angry incoherent comments, I'll have to permanently ban you.

"The Left" didn't call Beck a "Fear-Monger-in-Chief," the ADL did.

Nowhere on this blog do I mention Van Jones. Why you bring up his name is a mystery. He has nothing to do with the ADL calling out Glenn Beck on his idiocy.

Your juvenile rant has nothing to do with my post.

When you learn how to argue like a grown up, come back. Until then please limit throwing your incomprehensible tantrums to your own blog.

Shaw Kenawe said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shaw Kenawe said...

I just linked to "malcontent's" blog where his newest post makes fun of Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama's posteriors.

How old was the person who you last heard giggle over someone's posterior? Ten? Eight years old?

Malcontent obviously hasn't matured past those years.

What a childish jerk.

If this is what is attracted to the tea baggers and the GOP, then we liberals have nothing to worry about.

Joe "Truth 101" Kelly said...

I can see the right wing cyber back slapping party now. Malcontent showed us with the old, "Oprah has a big butt" putdown. The man is now a right wing hero. Soon TAO's girlfriend, Heil Helga the Right is Right lady will add him to her friends list and the righties will sing along with Satchmo, What a Wonderful World.


As a disclaimer, I don't lump Dmarks or Patrick in with these clowns.

The Malcontent said...

Shaw Kenawe said...

I just linked to "malcontent's" blog where his newest post makes fun of Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama's posteriors.


I'm glad you saw that Shaw, I live for making you happy.



Shaw also said so brilliantly:

When you learn how to argue like a grown up, come back. Until then please limit throwing your incomprehensible tantrums to your own blog.


No prob Sahw, I don't want to be where I'm not welcomed... anyway, I think my posting here has brought you so many other commenter that you no longer need my services.
Bye, bye, if you need me aging just whistle.
You remember how to whistle don't you? Just put your lips together...and blow.

The Malcontent said...

btw, I know who Right is Right is, but who the heck is Heil Helga ?

Anonymous said...

Malcontent:

You are nothing more than a flyby troll, and a very rude one at that. Not even readers here of your own political persuasion respect you. So why don't you just move along and close the door on your way out.

dmarks said...

"if you need me aging just whistle"

I'm just wondering how many years he ages per toot.

Oy Vey said...

So the malcontent keeps coming back to make himself look more stupid?

Oy vey!

The Malcontent said...

Whatever your stupid little demented Anonymous heat desires.

dmarks said...

Anonymous Heat. Now, there's a concept. You feel warm, but you have no idea who made you that way.

Shaw Kenawe said...

Malcontent, seriously, why are you so unhappy and angry?

It's not good for you.

Really. Hatred and anger are killers.

Don't stay there.

Other commenters here who are on the right manage to get their points across without devolving into what you post.

There's no good in it.

State your opposition and factual reasons for it.

What you're doing is senseless and useless.

Get a hold of yourself. It's not a good road to travel.

Shaw Kenawe said...

OMG! Someone from Wasilla, Alaska, came to my blog!

[United States]
Wasilla, Alaska arrived from google.com on "Progressive Eruptions: BUSH KISSES MUSLIM'S LIPS=GOOD; OBAMA SHOWS RESPECT TO JAPANESE HEAD OF STATE=BAD" by searching for images of george bush kissing arabs.

I wonder who it was!

Maasanova said...

Jewish extremists attack Glenn Beck for having an opinion? I don't like Glenn Beck or the ADL's politics, but I don't understand why the Anti-Defamation League, who has been caught spying on political groups they don't like are even considered credible.

dmarks said...

And now the outright antisemites roll in....

Can the tone get worse?

Dervish Sanders said...

It appears as though your blog has two commentors who are malcontented. tha malcontent and The Malcontent. Coincidence, "Tha" impersonating "The", or the same person? They can't be the same person, because on the "Tha" MySpace page I see "Ethnicity: Black/African descent" but on "The" blog there is a placard which states "I'm a typical white person appalled by Obama's racism". Unless using "Tha" on the MySpace Page and then identifying himself as black is a joke. You know, he's got to be black because "tha" is the gansta way to say "the".

Why is it that wing-nuts like THE Malcontent (a white guy accoring to his blog) believe all the BLACK people in Obama's administration are racist? President Obama is racist (according to a placard on his blog). Eric Holder is a racist and a creep (according to a post on his blog), and Van Jones is a racist (according to his post here). Are all black Democrats racist?

I agree with you, Arthurstone, Van Jones was railroaded. He was clearly qualified to be President Obama's Green Jobs Advisor (The Obama administration does not use the term "Czar"). Frankly I do not care if he used to be a Communist. I'd be more concerned if he used to be a Fascist.

BTW I agree with the Anti-Defamation League regarding Beck.

Shaw Kenawe said...

w-dervish,

Several times in the past I've caught rightwing commenters using other people's identities an posting under names they grabbed from MySpace, Sodahead, and other social networking platforms. I've also caught some of them plagiarizing other people's comments or posts on blogs, copying them and pasting them here in my comments as though they were their original thoughts.

I don't know if "The Malcontent" did that originally when he posted as "tha malcontent," but the tone of the comments pasted under both names is exactly the same.

I wouldn't be surprised, since so many of these people have been caught lying and being deceptive.

And they're the one who bellow the loudest about the liar, Obama!

I've toerated "The Malcontent" for these past few days. If he continues to act like a tantrum-throwing child, he'll be gone permanently, just like the idiot who came here and posted an Asian porn site.

dmarks said...

"Frankly I do not care if he used to be a Communist. I'd be more concerned if he used to be a Fascist."

As if there is any difference between one of these totalitarian kill-them-by-the-millions ideologies and the other.

Like,

"I don't care if he was in the Mafia, I'd be more concerned if he was in the Yakuza"

"I don't care if he was a Crip, I'd be more concerned if he was one of the Bloods"

-------------

Shaw: Didn't malcontent originate when someone referred to one of the anonymous trolls as a malcontent in a recent item? I think the troll then started to call himself malcontent.

Shaw Kenawe said...

I referred to something posted by a troll as being written by a malcontent.

If anyone bothers to sully her/himself with visiting The Malcontent's blog, you'll get a disturbing glimpse into the wreckage that passes for his mind.

The title of his blog is "The Malcontent, Beautiful Hatred."

In his profile, he describes himself as a "proud domestic terrorist," then goes on to list all the things he's against.

[Aren't these the same people who blasted William Ayers for his involvement in domestic terrorism? They really are tone-deaf and dumb.]

The Malcontent is a sorry, unhappy part of a minority that believes that all Americans are as crazy and hateful as they are.

Dervish Sanders said...

dmarks said... As if there is any difference between one of these totalitarian kill-them-by-the-millions ideologies and the other.

If you had said "kill-them-by-the-millions governments" you would have been correct. That has been the way it's always seemed to have turned out. As ideologies though, they are on OPPOSITE ends of the political spectrum.

Communism on the far left and fascism on the Right. Look it up if you don't believe me. Certainly Van Jones NEVER believed in "kill them by the millions" Communism. He believed in everyone being equal and getting all they needed to live. And there's nothing wrong with that.

For the record I'm not a Communist. I believe in REGULATED capitalism.

dmarks said...

"Communism on the far left and fascism on the Right. Look it up if you don't believe me."

Both are so far to the extreme that they meet. They end up having so much in common due to the shared totalitarian idealogy. When you have that going, the differences (communists killing millions due to belief in Marxian social evolution myths and Fascists killing millions due to racial supremacy myths) end up being minor.

"Certainly Van Jones NEVER believed in "kill them by the millions" Communism."

Actually, he was involved in STORM, an explicitly and overtly Maoist group. It was exactly "kill them by the millions" communism.

"For the record I'm not a Communist. I believe in REGULATED capitalism."

It had actually never occurred to me that you were. And your belief, at least as stated in the brief summary, is the same as mine.

Dervish Sanders said...

OK, I admit I was wrong. It was a good thing Glenn Beck stepped up and told the world just how dangerous Van Jones is. Who knows how many he could have killed as Obama's Green Jobs Advisor?

dmarks said...

Beck even got his rant on Van Jones wrong. I believe he vented for a while about how Van Jones was a convict who spent years in prison. None of which is true.

Arthurstone said...

dmarks typed:

'As if there is any difference between one of these totalitarian kill-them-by-the-millions ideologies and the other.'

Of course there is dmarks. Anyone with any involvement anytime with Marxist politics is forever a 'kill them by the million's' ideologue while supporting Fascism has never been a serious impediment to participating in American politics. Van Jones is no more a supporter of state murder than you are.

On the other hand enthusiastic participation in state sponsored terrorism from the right is always a good career more.

http://home.earthlink.net/~platter/neo-conservatism/elliot-abrams.html

tha malcontent said...

Who said I was Black? I'm not Black! And I never was.

And that guy the similar name to mine, is not me. Somebody has trademarked a blog using a name that is similar to mine. But nobody can replace the original........ I guess we are both Malcontents.

And come to think about it. there's a liberal guy with the same nmae as well.

http://liberalmalcontents.blogspot.com/

But I am the One and Only original.

dmarks said...

Arthur said: "Of course there is dmarks. Anyone with any involvement anytime with Marxist politics is forever a 'kill them by the million's' ideologue"

You might think that, but the "kill them by the millions" idealogue label is actually earned by the followers of Mao, Lenin, Pol Pot, Stalin, etc. It does not apply to Marxists as such.

"ideologue while supporting Fascism has never been a serious impediment to participating in American politics."

Well, I support ousting any Nazis found in positions of power, also, an believe the US made major mistakes in "employing" old German Nazis after WW2.

Arthurstone said...

Interesting.

Some chubby non-body builder has hijacked your link Mal.

Here's how he describes himself:

Details
Status:
Married
Hometown:
Southside East Wesminster
Orientation:
Straight
Body type:
Body builder
Ethnicity:
Black / African descent
Religion:
Christian - other
Zodiac Sign:
Leo
Children:
Proud parent
Smoke / Drink:
No / Yes
Education:
College graduate
Occupation:
Senior Drafter/Designer

You might check it out.

Or you might try and do a better job keeping your stories straight.

dmarks said...

"Van Jones is no more a supporter of state murder than you are."

The operate word is likely "is". As VJ "was" a supporter of this, as a member of STORM.

dmarks said...

Arthur: I like the "...South ....East.... Wast" thing going on in that Malc's location.

Do you think he also graduated from the University of Southern North Dakota at East Hoople?

Dervish Sanders said...

By golly, Arthurstone, I think you nailed it. And to think I was just about to agree (by disagreeing) with dmarks -- if you take into consideration the bloodthirsty political ideology Van Jones holds -- how could you possibly be surprised that he served some time in prison? He's probably murdered at least a few dozen people in the past.

But I guess that's all behind him now?

Arthurstone said...

Thanks for illustrating my point over and over again dmarks.

Anything short of being an actual 'Nazi' is A-OK. US government officials who supported right-wing killers in Latin America for example can almost always find a place in subsequent administrations.

Belong to a leftist group once in your life and there you are forever.

dmarks said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
dmarks said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
dmarks said...

This page has an interesting take in it.... that Van Jones really got in trouble for signing onto the "9/11 Truther" lunatic fringe. Isn't that group of kooks more right-wing than left-wing? I think the antisemitic commenter above named Maasanova is tied into it.

More appalling lack of judgment. Buying into a nutty disproven-1000-times conspiracy theory that would make even P.T. Barnum blush. For that alone (regardless of the Maoism), he showed he had too few cards in his deck.

The Malcontent said...

So nice to know there's someone out there that's so impressed with me that they are imitating me. something bizarre is going on.. But the real "The Malcontent" is me.
And P.S. I'm white.

The Malcontent said...

Who are all these people that are pretending to be me?

Arthurstone said...

Since when is signing a petition calling for an investigation into US government actions a problem? It's a hallmark of McCarthyism and red-baiting that First Amendment freedoms of speech, thought and petition free of reprisal are questioned.

And the idea of a new, public inquiry into 9/11 is hardly the worst idea to come down the pike. Given the lies the previous administration is demonstrated to have made in the run up to the Iraq invasion I'd say it was a good idea.

And who decided it would be up the likes of Glenn Beck and the reactionary editorial board of the WSJ to decide the terms of the discussion anyway? Folks with extreme views like them (and like you) have a lot of nerve tossing around terms like 'truthers' and 'kooks' in an effort to marginalize their political opponents

Face it.

Van Jones was swiftboated.

It's what 'Conservatives' do best.

tha malcontent said...

There seems to be more than one

REAL Malcontent

I am not THE Malcontent, I am
tha Malcontent

http://forums.hannity.com/member.php?u=3358


see ya..

tha malcontent TM said...

Arthurstone said...
Van Jones was swiftboated.

It's what 'Conservatives' do best.



Thank God.

dmarks said...

Arthur said: "Since when is signing a petition calling for an investigation into US government actions a problem? It's"

Intionally misleading words. If this was Glenn Beck supporting the "truther" whackos, you'd be giving him hell. And with good reason.

"It's a hallmark of McCarthyism..."

No one is denying his right to be a kook. But there surely is no wisdom giving someone like that any position of authority. Someone like that is best suited to scrubbing toilets, or perhaps being a guest host on the Glenn Beck program.

"Van Jones was swiftboated."

He "swiftboated" himself.

"Folks with extreme views like them (and like you) have a lot of nerve tossing around terms like 'truthers' and 'kooks' in an effort to marginalize their political opponents".

You are running on a definition of "extreme" that means anyone you don't agree with. As for marginalization, Van Jones marginalized himself by embracing the "truther" kookery.

I do believe this is the first time I've ever seen you stick up for the "truther" ideology. I've been consistently against it. I suppose now that a disgraced hate-group member is known to have embraced it, you see it in some sort of positive light.

If anything takes a lot of nerve, it is embracing or defending the "truther" ideology.

What next? Someone finds out that Van Jones believes that Obama is not a US citizen, and suddenly you embrace the "birthers" too?

The Malcontent said...

Dmark said...""Van Jones was swiftboated."
He "swiftboated" himself.



What a Joke that is!
Swift Boating" is the new leftist nickname for having the truth come out about somebody....
As soon as Obama and the rest of the the Democrats began to see Jones as a liability instead of an asset, he was toast. Never mind that none of the ad hominem attacks had no bearing on his ability to do the job; never mind that he literally wrote the book on green jobs as a way to kill two birds with one stone.
Barack Obama knew in advance about the radical background of Van Jones before appointing him as his "green jobs czar." So where is this "Swift Boating" charge coming from?

Are YOU kidding? Van Jones is a communist, plain and simple!!! Van Jones did call Republicans "assholes" in a public forum and he even admitted it. You want to bl;ame Glenn beck for that also? If so yes, Glenn Beck ultimately DESTROYED Van Jones political career. That's good, because we don't need self proclaimed communists, felons, and racists in the government. Bottom line: Van Jones needed to GO, so Glenn Beck paved the way! So if you want to twist and spin it, so be it...Van Jones was an embarrassment to every real American. He should never have gotten into the federal government, let alone into the White House in the first place. This opens up a huge number of questions for me. Did Team Obama even bother to vet this guy? If they did vet this idiot and not find this? If so, I have serious questions concerning their ability to examine the people they are looking at.
That says as much about our president as it does about Jones that he was given a job. Glenn Beck did our country a service. Good Bye and Good Riddance and Thank you Glenn Beck, for digging up all of this. It is not enough that the jackass has resigned, but now we have people like Authurstone and the Rat pack of Libs defending this dangerous idiot by saying he was “Swift-boated” But if the Obamawacks want to play communist mad scientist with million lives of Americans, I say, keep talking, we need all the help you can give us. Maybe his Komrade Obama will follow suit? If we get real lucky?

It’s lunacy, but KARMA ALWAYS PREVAILS!

dmarks said...

Now, back on topic...

By drawing the wrath of the ADL, Glenn Beck has sunk to the level of filmmaker Spike Lee:

Film Director Spike Lee was criticized by the Anti-Defamation League for his portrayal of Jewish nightclub owners Moe and Josh Flatbush in his 1990 film Mo' Better Blues. The Anti-Defamation League claimed that the characterizations of the nightclub owners "dredge up an age-old and highly dangerous form of anti-Semitic stereotyping," and "...disappointed that Spike Lee - whose success is largely due to his efforts to break down racial stereotypes and prejudice - has employed the same kind of tactics that he supposedly deplores." Lee's portrayal also angered the B'Nai Brith and other such Jewish organizations causing Lee to apologize via an Opinion-Editorial article in the New York Times. (Wikipedia)

Shaw Kenawe said...

What does Spike Lee have to do with Glenn Beck?

dmarks said...

A couple of antisemites as identified by the ADL.

Arthurstone said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Arthurstone said...

Here's some more 'Wikipedia'

For his portrayal of Jewish nightclub owners Moe and Josh Flatbush, Lee drew the ire of the Anti Defamation League, B'Nai Brith, and other such Jewish organizations. The Anti-Defamation League claimed that the characterizations of the nightclub owners "dredge up an age-old and highly dangerous form of anti-Semitic stereotyping," and "...disappointed that Spike Lee — whose success is largely due to his efforts to break down racial stereotypes and prejudice — has employed the same kind of tactics that he supposedly deplores."[1]
Lee eventually responded in an editorial in the New York Times,[2] alleging "a double standard at work in the accusations of anti-Semitism" given the long history of negative portrayals of African-Americans in film: "Not every black person is a pimp, murderer, prostitute, convict, rapist or drug addict, but that hasn't stopped Hollywood from writing these roles for African-Americans." Lee argues that even if the Flatbush brothers are stereotyped figures, their "10 minutes of screen time" is insignificant when compared to "100 years of Hollywood cinema...[and] a slew of really racist, anti-Semitic filmmakers." According to Lee, his status as a successful African-American artist has led to hostility and unfair treatment: "Don't hold me to a higher moral standard than the rest of my filmmaking colleagues...Now that young black filmmakers have arisen in the film industry, all of a sudden stereotypes are a big issue...I think it's reaching the point where I'm getting reviewed, not my films."
Ultimately, however, Lee refuses to apologize for his portrayal of the Flatbush brothers: "I stand behind all my work, including my characters, Moe and Josh Flatbush...if critics are telling me that to avoid charges of anti-Semitism, all Jewish characters I write have to be model citizens, and not one can be a villain, cheat or a crook, and that no Jewish people have ever exploited black artists in the history of the entertainment industry, that's unrealistic and unfair."[3]

Ever seen a Spike lee joint dmarks?

This is interesting:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/jul/27/spikelee.drama

dmarks said...

"Ultimately, however, Lee refuses to apologize for his portrayal of the Flatbush brothers"

An unrepentant Jew-basher to the end. And his bringing up of negative African-American stereotypes ("heir "10 minutes of screen time" is insignificant when compared to "100 years of Hollywood cinema") is nothing more than a lame attempt at arguing that other racism justifies more racism. He is saying that his bashing of Jews is part of an attempt to make up for bashing of blacks in movies (hey spike: how about this radical idea: No racism of any kind!).

Don't look for Glenn Beck OR Spike Lee to apologize for being antisemitic and wrong. Both men are perfect, at least according to themselves.

Yes, as to the joints: "Malcolm X" and "Do the Right Thing". Since then he has become more and more of a laughingstock (see the exchange between him and Clint Eastwood over the Iwo Jima films).

I look forward to there one day being a great Malcolm X movie. Until then, there's a merely fair one in the film vaults.

Arthurstone said...

Spike Lee is no anti-Semite nor is he is he a racist. He is held to a higher standard though. As are all artists of color when the topic is race.

No one seems much concerned that Clint Eastwood may be encouraging vigilantism and homophobia in his body of work but let Spike ruffle a few feathers and look out.

Laughing stock? Only to the marginal few.

David Denby, The New Yorker regarding When the Levees Broke:

'Surely the most magnificent and large-souled record of a great American tragedy ever put on film.'

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/09/04/060904crci_cinema

dmarks said...

"Spike Lee is no anti-Semite nor is he is he a racist"

On the former, the ADL, which is the leading watchdog on issues of antisemitism, begs to differ. They are the authority, not you or me. Basically, you are proven flat-out wrong when you deny his antisemitism.

On the latter, Lee has a long record of racist statements. He even populrized the term "Magic Negro" before Limbaugh did. And both are equally racist for using it.

"let Spike ruffle a few feathers and look out."

So a little Jew-bashing is OK? Racism against group "B" is necessary to make up for racism against group "A"?

"Laughing stock? Only to the marginal few."

Probably a majority, both black and white. His bizarre and actually racial bashing of Tyler Perry is only the latest. One only has to look at the box-office, especially among African-Americans, to find that Lee is a ludicrous has-been. And before that, there was his demand that Clint Eastwood stuff his Iwo Jima movies with token blacks (Sorry, Spike. Your racism can't undo history. The guys who hoisted the flag were white and Native American).

Lee's last known movie, "Miracle as St Anna", was made for $45 million, and pulled in less than $9. These days, his joints are more and more rolled with pencil shavings. A filmmaker who peaked in 1989, who hangs on for "legacy" reasons.

dmarks said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
dmarks said...

Also: "He is held to a higher standard though. As are all artists of color when the topic is race."

Again with using a version of the colored people term?

The problem here is the opposite of what you claim: you are holding him to a much lower standard for being, as you put it, "colored". You are giving him allowance for racist ravings, apparently based on his skin color. Why not just ignore his skin color (and ignore the excuse of "others do it, so Lee is OK" and just deal with the facts?

Arthurstone said...

Don't pretend race doesn't exist dmarks.

It may feel good to you to type such platitudes but they have no basis in the real world.

Acknowledging the existence of that very simple truth doesn't make one racist.

Deal with the facts.

Bye the bye. Far from a 'laughing stock' (funny how you seem able to speak for large segments of the population without their knowing) Spike seems to be keeping quite busy.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000490/

dmarks said...

"Don't pretend race doesn't exist dmarks."

I don't. In fact, you are the one covering it up here. Race matters only to racists, but unfortunately there are too many of these around.

"It may feel good to you to type such platitudes but they have no basis in the real world."

Name one? This statement appears unconnected to anything.

"Acknowledging the existence of that very simple truth doesn't make one racist."

Unfortunately, I've seen some strongly antisemitic neo-Nazi sites, and they too insist that their racist views are "simple truth".

I am fine with Lee identifying racism. Why wouldn't I be? It's his creation of new racism that is inexcusable.

"Deal with the facts."

Nothing but. That's why I've provided links to support my statements. Which have been factual (except probably for ones like Lee being a has-been. Unlike the assessment of Lee as an antisemite, that's subjective).

Bye the bye. Far from a 'laughing stock' (funny how you seem able to speak for large segments of the population without their knowing) Spike seems to be keeping quite busy."

Here's an interesting interview with someone who points out how ridiculous Lee's racism is, even when his targets are other blacks.

Well, there will always be an audience, however small, for a ranting racist like Lee. He's a petty, small, mean, and immature man. A lot of people outgrow this kind of stupidity, but Lee seems to be getting worse (as shown by his comments about the Iwo Jima movies).

(I'd like you to back up your claims of homophobia and vigilantism in Eastwood movies. Do you have anything recent decades? Anything in the films he directs?)

dmarks said...

correction: I said earlier "Unfortunately, I've seen some strongly antisemitic neo-Nazi sites, and they too insist that their racist views are "simple truth".

Nah. that is too close to calling you a Nazi. Instead, I should have said that I have seen many call their racist views and flimsy stereotypes "the simple truth" many times. But no matter how you try to get around it, it is racism itself that is the lie. Race matters only to racists.

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