> To be clear, I don't really want anyone as liberal as Beck is conservative > to get a regular hearing on television. Those people are insane, and hearing > a crazy liberal does not inform or reassure me any more than hearing a crazy > conservative. But it does distort the public discourse to allow, and even > indulge, the crazy right so much without giving even a little bit of a > balancing POV
What gets my proverbial goat are those in the media who insist on including the extreme pundits and politicians, ostensibly for the sake of balance. There is a clear distinction between offering balance and catering to the lunatic fringe. Based on the sheer number of supporters, homosexual conservatives should have a bigger voice in the media (and in politics) than the teabaggers, but because the teabaggers can always be counted on for a newsworthy soundbite, they get included. And right now, the easiest way to get work as a TV commentator is to have a name like Mohammed al Bindar, because despite the small percentage of Muslims in America, news directors feel more comfortable covering issues like terrorism if someone with darker skin and facial hair is on the panel of experts. And even though the nation still appears to be something like 70% Christian, we seem forced to endure nobody other than Al Sharpton on the left and Pat Robertson on the right as de facto spokepeople for the whole of Christendom. As a school teacher (for a few more weeks anyway), I know that when you have one lone voice raising a ruckus or fomenting unrest amongst the rest of the students, the absolute worst thing I can do as a teacher is to allow such a student to continue distracting the class. And I have to quash the problem in such a way that the student in question is not thought of as some kind of hero by his peers. Pity the media hasn't learned this trick. -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
