July 12, 2010--Glenn Beck's Half-Truths & Big Lies
All I wanted was a cup of coffee and a biscuit so I sat at the counter instead of a booth. The place was crowded and I didn’t want to take up more space than needed.
Two stools to my left there was a beefy guy I had seen before but who wasn’t a regular. The seat between us was empty so we just nodded at each other more in acknowledgement than greeting.
Behind us, in one of the booths, we heard someone say, with irony, that she had seen on the Internet a report that Sarah Palin, in spite of her claims that she was a member of the NRA and an expert in “field-dressing a moose,” didn’t know how to use a gun.
Her companion chuckled but mine turned to them and with no irony, said, “Sarah Palin is a fine person. You should listen to her some time. She makes a lot of sense. More than our current president.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” the women in the booth said.
“The real person the media should go after is Nancy Pelosi. She gets a free ride. Along with Obama she’s ruining this country. Turning it into socialism.”
The woman rolled her eyes and returned her attention to her pancakes. I on the other hand couldn’t restrain myself. Maybe it was all the coffee, maybe I had heard enough of this kind of stuff. “Nancy Pelosi has been vilified by Republicans,” I said as calmly as I could, “and this has been widely reported in all the media. They’ve tried to turn her into the Dragon Lady so they can bring down Obama and the rest of the Democrats.”
“Not a word on NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, and of course that sewer of a network MSNBC. With those socialists Keith whatever-his-name-is and that Rachel horror show. And forget the newspapers. The New York Times is the worst of them all.”
“And where do you get your news and information?” I asked, as if I didn’t know.
“You ever listen to Glenn Beck? I’m sure you don’t. You don’t talk as if you do. You should pay attention some time to what he has to say. You’d find it very educational.”
“I do watch him occasionally just to see what he’s up to. I find in general that he either doesn’t know what he’s talking about or just plain makes things up.” He didn’t respond. He had a mouth full of hash. So I continued, “Give me an example or two of what I’m missing by not watching him. What I’m missing on CNN or when reading the Times. From what you’ve already said I think I know your opinions about a lot of things but I’m more interested in what you base them on. So give me a few facts, some evidence that would support your views and maybe we can go on from there.”
He put down his fork, swiveled slowly toward me, and glared menacingly. In truth, I felt physically intimated. Sensing that he shot me half a crooked smile.
“Fair enough,” he said. “First of all he’s a racist. Obama. Especially his Justice Department. That Eric Holder is the worst. You know about the so-called New Black Panthers?”
“A little bit. What’s your beef?”
“Well, Glenn Beck showed a video the other day—no other channel did, by the way—of these black racists threatening white people trying to vote. I’ll admit it looked like what some whites used to do.” This admission surprised me. I had him stereotyped. “But there’s no excuse for this kind of thing. White or black.”
“About this we agree. But go on.”
“The Obama people refuse to prosecute them, that’s my beef. This is a sheer violation of the law by that Holder. He’s told his people not to touch them. If it was the other way around they by now be bringing out the National Guard. This is racism pure and simple.”
“I admit I’m not fully up to speed about this and when I get home I’ll see what I can learn.”
“If you want to learn the truth you should watch Glenn Beck. You won’t get to the truth about things of this kind unless you do.”
“I think I’ll be able to find out about this without having to get it from the likes of him. There are plenty of sources that don’t have axes to grind. That are objective.
“Suit yourself,” he said with a snicker. “But while you’re at it, I have another one for you. Another example of what the regular media ignores. Something else for you to look up.”
“OK. I’m listening.”
“Did you hear about those 14 pilots from Afghanistan who got their flight training here in America and now no one knows where they are or what they’re up to?” I shook my head. “You’re from New York City, right? ”Sound familiar to you? Make you a little nervous?
“If true, maybe,” I said. “Tell me more.”
“Well, again if you listen to Glenn Beck who has the courage to tell the truth no matter who is affects, again you’d learn that these terrorists . . .”
“So, they’re already terrorists? I think if they were we’d already have heard lots about them.” The woman in the booth had finished and was nodding encouragingly.
“OK, they haven’t done their thing yet. But it’s irrefutable that they’re loose somewhere in America, plotting who-knows-what. And the worst thing of all is that the Obama people are ignoring them just like the Panthers.” With that he took a deep breath, sat back with his arms folded on his massive chest, and smiled smugly at me.
“You’ve got me again. I haven’t heard much of anything about this. But somehow I doubt it’s true. The Obama administration has been very aggressive in tracking down terrorists. Three more were just arrested in Norway, of all places, and Germany. And he’s the one who tripled the number of troops in Afghanistan, which I do not favor, and has greatly expanded the use of drones there to kill al Qaeda operatives. That doesn’t sound weak to me.”
He didn’t respond. He had turned back away from me and was staring into the bottom of his empty coffee mug.
“What do you have to say about that?” I needled him. “Your George Bush didn’t do any of these things. He had, what, 30,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and Obama’s tripling that. As I said, I don’t agree with some of this, but it’s totally unfair to imply or, as you said, that Obama’s soft on these things. He feels macho enough to me and maybe even for you.”
“He’s a socialist wimp pure and simple.”
And with that he paid his bill and turned to leave. The woman in the booth applauded softly. And, holding the door open, he looked back at me and mouthed, “Glenn Beck.”
I mouthed back at him, “New York Times.” Then I said, “Be sure to be back here one morning so I can tell you what I learn.”
With a snarl he said, “For sure.” And with that he let go of the door and it slammed shut.
Well, I did do my research. Searching around on the Internet it didn’t take long.
About the New Black Panthers. Yes, it does appear that there is video of them seemingly intimidating what appear to be white voters. From back in 2008, which is key because that was when George Bush was still president and it was his Justice Department that opted not to prosecute them for violating federal voting rights laws. But, during the Obama administration, under the alleged racist Eric Holder, some prosecutions have proceeded. The claims Glenn Beck and his Fox News colleagues have been promulgating ignores this and are based on unconfirmed accusations from a former low-level official from the Bush administration who has a long history of making inflammatory, but unproven, race-baiting statements.
Then, about the 17 (not 14) Afghan “pilots.” This time from a Fox News on-line report. When they went missing, they were in the country for English studies, not flight instruction. Again, this happened during the Bush administration, which did little to track them down since they were not thought to be dangerous. Most have now been found, most in the last year and a half during which Obama has been president. A few are still “missing.” But from the ones tracked down, and sent back home, officials learned that they are more illegal immigrants than a terrorist cell. They reported that they liked life in America and wanted to stay, find jobs, and hopefully some day become citizens!
Thus armed, I’ve been back to the diner every morning since, but there has been no sign of him. I’ve asked around, thinking I might have missed him. Everyone says he hasn’t been by. I am looking forward to running into him again and telling him what I learned.
I’ve also spent a little more time looking in on Glenn Beck. Pretty much everything he has had to say doesn’t stand up to even the most rudimentary fact checking. But everything, and this is part of his perverse brilliance and popularity, does include a kernel of truth. Like, yes, there were these 17 Afghans here, but not up to what Beck claimed; and the Panthers, yes, for a time were not being prosecuted, but that was during Bush’s time while more recently the Obama people have been keeping after them.
Half-truths are Beck’s and his ilk’s stock-in-trade. Which makes them even more dangerous because they provide these kinds of shibboleths with a patina of objectivity and legitimacy. And for those already inclined to believe the worst, even a quarter-truth appears to be enough.
But enough about this. It’s time to head over for coffee. Maybe . . .
Two stools to my left there was a beefy guy I had seen before but who wasn’t a regular. The seat between us was empty so we just nodded at each other more in acknowledgement than greeting.
Behind us, in one of the booths, we heard someone say, with irony, that she had seen on the Internet a report that Sarah Palin, in spite of her claims that she was a member of the NRA and an expert in “field-dressing a moose,” didn’t know how to use a gun.
Her companion chuckled but mine turned to them and with no irony, said, “Sarah Palin is a fine person. You should listen to her some time. She makes a lot of sense. More than our current president.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” the women in the booth said.
“The real person the media should go after is Nancy Pelosi. She gets a free ride. Along with Obama she’s ruining this country. Turning it into socialism.”
The woman rolled her eyes and returned her attention to her pancakes. I on the other hand couldn’t restrain myself. Maybe it was all the coffee, maybe I had heard enough of this kind of stuff. “Nancy Pelosi has been vilified by Republicans,” I said as calmly as I could, “and this has been widely reported in all the media. They’ve tried to turn her into the Dragon Lady so they can bring down Obama and the rest of the Democrats.”
“Not a word on NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, and of course that sewer of a network MSNBC. With those socialists Keith whatever-his-name-is and that Rachel horror show. And forget the newspapers. The New York Times is the worst of them all.”
“And where do you get your news and information?” I asked, as if I didn’t know.
“You ever listen to Glenn Beck? I’m sure you don’t. You don’t talk as if you do. You should pay attention some time to what he has to say. You’d find it very educational.”
“I do watch him occasionally just to see what he’s up to. I find in general that he either doesn’t know what he’s talking about or just plain makes things up.” He didn’t respond. He had a mouth full of hash. So I continued, “Give me an example or two of what I’m missing by not watching him. What I’m missing on CNN or when reading the Times. From what you’ve already said I think I know your opinions about a lot of things but I’m more interested in what you base them on. So give me a few facts, some evidence that would support your views and maybe we can go on from there.”
He put down his fork, swiveled slowly toward me, and glared menacingly. In truth, I felt physically intimated. Sensing that he shot me half a crooked smile.
“Fair enough,” he said. “First of all he’s a racist. Obama. Especially his Justice Department. That Eric Holder is the worst. You know about the so-called New Black Panthers?”
“A little bit. What’s your beef?”
“Well, Glenn Beck showed a video the other day—no other channel did, by the way—of these black racists threatening white people trying to vote. I’ll admit it looked like what some whites used to do.” This admission surprised me. I had him stereotyped. “But there’s no excuse for this kind of thing. White or black.”
“About this we agree. But go on.”
“The Obama people refuse to prosecute them, that’s my beef. This is a sheer violation of the law by that Holder. He’s told his people not to touch them. If it was the other way around they by now be bringing out the National Guard. This is racism pure and simple.”
“I admit I’m not fully up to speed about this and when I get home I’ll see what I can learn.”
“If you want to learn the truth you should watch Glenn Beck. You won’t get to the truth about things of this kind unless you do.”
“I think I’ll be able to find out about this without having to get it from the likes of him. There are plenty of sources that don’t have axes to grind. That are objective.
“Suit yourself,” he said with a snicker. “But while you’re at it, I have another one for you. Another example of what the regular media ignores. Something else for you to look up.”
“OK. I’m listening.”
“Did you hear about those 14 pilots from Afghanistan who got their flight training here in America and now no one knows where they are or what they’re up to?” I shook my head. “You’re from New York City, right? ”Sound familiar to you? Make you a little nervous?
“If true, maybe,” I said. “Tell me more.”
“Well, again if you listen to Glenn Beck who has the courage to tell the truth no matter who is affects, again you’d learn that these terrorists . . .”
“So, they’re already terrorists? I think if they were we’d already have heard lots about them.” The woman in the booth had finished and was nodding encouragingly.
“OK, they haven’t done their thing yet. But it’s irrefutable that they’re loose somewhere in America, plotting who-knows-what. And the worst thing of all is that the Obama people are ignoring them just like the Panthers.” With that he took a deep breath, sat back with his arms folded on his massive chest, and smiled smugly at me.
“You’ve got me again. I haven’t heard much of anything about this. But somehow I doubt it’s true. The Obama administration has been very aggressive in tracking down terrorists. Three more were just arrested in Norway, of all places, and Germany. And he’s the one who tripled the number of troops in Afghanistan, which I do not favor, and has greatly expanded the use of drones there to kill al Qaeda operatives. That doesn’t sound weak to me.”
He didn’t respond. He had turned back away from me and was staring into the bottom of his empty coffee mug.
“What do you have to say about that?” I needled him. “Your George Bush didn’t do any of these things. He had, what, 30,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and Obama’s tripling that. As I said, I don’t agree with some of this, but it’s totally unfair to imply or, as you said, that Obama’s soft on these things. He feels macho enough to me and maybe even for you.”
“He’s a socialist wimp pure and simple.”
And with that he paid his bill and turned to leave. The woman in the booth applauded softly. And, holding the door open, he looked back at me and mouthed, “Glenn Beck.”
I mouthed back at him, “New York Times.” Then I said, “Be sure to be back here one morning so I can tell you what I learn.”
With a snarl he said, “For sure.” And with that he let go of the door and it slammed shut.
Well, I did do my research. Searching around on the Internet it didn’t take long.
About the New Black Panthers. Yes, it does appear that there is video of them seemingly intimidating what appear to be white voters. From back in 2008, which is key because that was when George Bush was still president and it was his Justice Department that opted not to prosecute them for violating federal voting rights laws. But, during the Obama administration, under the alleged racist Eric Holder, some prosecutions have proceeded. The claims Glenn Beck and his Fox News colleagues have been promulgating ignores this and are based on unconfirmed accusations from a former low-level official from the Bush administration who has a long history of making inflammatory, but unproven, race-baiting statements.
Then, about the 17 (not 14) Afghan “pilots.” This time from a Fox News on-line report. When they went missing, they were in the country for English studies, not flight instruction. Again, this happened during the Bush administration, which did little to track them down since they were not thought to be dangerous. Most have now been found, most in the last year and a half during which Obama has been president. A few are still “missing.” But from the ones tracked down, and sent back home, officials learned that they are more illegal immigrants than a terrorist cell. They reported that they liked life in America and wanted to stay, find jobs, and hopefully some day become citizens!
Thus armed, I’ve been back to the diner every morning since, but there has been no sign of him. I’ve asked around, thinking I might have missed him. Everyone says he hasn’t been by. I am looking forward to running into him again and telling him what I learned.
I’ve also spent a little more time looking in on Glenn Beck. Pretty much everything he has had to say doesn’t stand up to even the most rudimentary fact checking. But everything, and this is part of his perverse brilliance and popularity, does include a kernel of truth. Like, yes, there were these 17 Afghans here, but not up to what Beck claimed; and the Panthers, yes, for a time were not being prosecuted, but that was during Bush’s time while more recently the Obama people have been keeping after them.
Half-truths are Beck’s and his ilk’s stock-in-trade. Which makes them even more dangerous because they provide these kinds of shibboleths with a patina of objectivity and legitimacy. And for those already inclined to believe the worst, even a quarter-truth appears to be enough.
But enough about this. It’s time to head over for coffee. Maybe . . .
posted by Steven Zwerling at
4:25 AM
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