Media / Media Bias
Sometimes the media goes too far
By Arthur Weinreb
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Rep. Tom Delay (R-Texas) has been a vocal critic of the American judicial system and became extremely outspoken when the U.S. and Florida courts were refusing to intervene to save the life of Terry Schiavo. The storyline in last week’s episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent dealt with the murder of a federal judge, a not unheard of occurrence in the United States. One of the police officers in the show said, "Maybe we should put out an APB for somebody in a Tom Delay T-shirt". Delay was understandably upset and wrote a letter criticizing the show to NBC. The network’s response was essentially that, aw shucks, it’s only a television show.
A more egregious example occurred in Canada when Rabble.ca published a cartoon of Pope Benedict XVI. The cartoon showed the Pope giving the Virgin Mary a Nazi salute while saying, "Heil Mary". The response of Rabble.ca’s publisher, militant feminist Judy Rebick, was that it was that it was biting satire; it was funny.
Not only was the cartoon insulting to Catholics but it trivialized Hitler and Nazism. If the Pope was indeed "a Nazi", there’s nothing funny about it. And, if he was not, calling him one is an extreme insult to the head of the Roman Catholic Church.
It is no coincidence that the network and Rebick are firmly established on the left of the political spectrum and the butt of what they think are "jokes", Tom Delay and the Pope, are known conservatives. If the situation had been reversed and so called fun was made of liberals, people like Rebick would have been the first to express shock and outrage. If the name of Ted Kennedy, who is constantly attacking the judges that George Bush is trying to elevate (and, who in real life actually killed someone), had replaced the name of Tom Delay, the line never would have made it on the air. And if by some chance, Kennedy’s name had been thrown into a television show in the same manner that Delay’s had, heads would have rolled.
Similarly, had women, gays, or Muslims been the subject of a "biting" satirical cartoon instead of Christians who are considered fair game by Rebick and her feminist friends, Rebick would have been the first to complain.
Those on the left definitely have a double standard. But in any event, both these items crossed the line. Conservatives are always viewed by those on the left as fair game.
Arthur Weinreb is an author, columnist and Associate Editor of Canada Free Press. His work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Men's News Daily, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck and The Rant. Arthur can be reached at: letters@canadafreepress.com
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