"Saturday I was following the news of the shooting in Norway and the explosion in Norway, which happened what on Friday…When we heard the explosion everybody was willing to say, it’s Muslim extremists, it’s Muslim extremists. I don’t think we made a comment on it because we didn’t know other than a bombing had happened, and as the thing started to unfold and there was a shooting a political camp, which sounds a little like the Hitler Youth or you know whatever. Who does a camp for kids that’s all about politics? Disturbing. But, anyway, so there’s this political camp and so crazy man goes and starts shooting kids."
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Funny, Beck didn't seem to mention his own summer camp for 8-12 year olds meant to teach children about "the principles of liberty, free markets, and limited government." You know what that sounds like to me? Hitler. Every child who goes to that summer camp is literally Adolf Hitler.
Aside from the whole 'Hitler Youth' thing, did the language Beck used jump out at anybody else? Breivik -- who is white, Christian, and right wing -- is not a terrorist. He's only a "crazy man." Fox News also refuses to associate him with terrorism, or even as a right winger. They called him a 'domestic extremist.' It's institutionalize racism, and it couldn't be more plain. Why don't they just call him what he is -- a Christian extremist. Beck used the words "Muslim extremist" candidly, what's changed? The terrorist himself isn't even ashamed of it. Breivik unabashedly describes himself as "the greatest defender of cultural-conservatism in Europe since 1950" and "the savior of Christianity" (I thought that was jesus lol).
You know, I've seen this popular idea among progressives that we shouldn't talk about far right political figures like Glenn Beck or Sarah Palin. The theory is that since the media pays attention to what the public is interested in, then not being interested in right wing dumbfucks will force the media to stop talking about them. If we ignore Beck, the media will ignore him too.
To me this idea just seems like a useless symbolic gesture. It gives us comfort thinking we hold power where we don't. Beck and Palin don't give a shit if progressives listen to them or not. They're not talking to us. They have a loyal audience who they know will never abandon them no matter what they say. Those are the sheep they're talking to. If anything, ignoring what Beck and Palin have to say puts the rest of us at a disadvantage. We would have no idea what the Republican base is thinking. And as the Republican party inches further and further towards fascism, it's more important than ever to understand the mindset they're in.
I mean, just think about this in a practical sense. I hate pop music. I think everyone who pays attention to fashion or pop culture is wasting their fucking lives. It's stupid. Since when has ignoring meaningless bullshit ever made it go away? I've ignored pop culture for my entire life, and Amy Winehouse's overdose still got more coverage than the Oslo terrorist attacks. My willful ignorance didn't do a thing. Everyone needs to realize that it is the media's job to guide our opinions -- not the other way around. If we want to change the way the media works, then it requires action, not willful ignorance. What got Beck off the air was an organized boycott of his advertisers. That's what these people pay attention to. That shit works. Even if I did choose to ignore Beck, how would they even fucking know? Do media elites read my blog? Ad revenue and profits are the only language these people understand, and until progressives realize that, everything we try to do to change this situation is just going to be useless circle jerking.
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