I'm sure yesterday was a wonderful day filled with the scent of victory and napalm in the morning for Bill O'Reilly:
I don't believe for a second that O'Reilly cares about abortion as much as he pretends to; he's in it for the ratings and the attention. But he must currently be feeling some bizarre combination of disavowal ("I'm just a journalist, man") a la Limbaugh and total power trip.
I'm not saying that Tiller was killed because of O'Reilly. I do think this kind of intense, emotionally provocative, and hateful rhetoric does encourage crazy people to do crazy things, but it's certainly not just Billo who produces it and it's not just abortion that attracts it. By many standards, Billo here is a model of restraint. But that doesn't change the fact that words do have power and guys like Limbaugh, Beck, and Billo will never accept that when it might require them to back down and learn a little humility.
About Me
- Miwome
- I've kept an online journal for years, but in the past year or so as my academic and independent studies have taken off my journal was overrun with thoughts and links on politics, the Middle East, social justice, et. al. I finally gave in to the inevitable and created a separate blog--this one--for my thoughts on such matters; we'll see what happens. I'm a recent graduate of the University of Chicago with a B.A. in International Studies, geographic focus on the Middle East (and, more peripherally, North Africa and Central Asia). I'm from Boston, I like to travel, and I enthusiastically sang in and co-ran the University of Chicago Voices In Your Head. I'm hoping to move back to the Middle East within the next year to further the practical side of my education (and have a good time).
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