Blaming media a poor response to political violence
By Lydia Polgreen / The New York Times
In the aftermath of what appears to have been an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Republicans are accusing the news media of creating an atmosphere that made violence all but inevitable. One widely circulating proof point in this argument is the June cover of The New Republic, which depicts Trump with a Hitler mustache above the headline that declares “American fascism” in red type redolent of the Third Reich.
I’m always hesitant to engage in the game of who started it; that is a question for squabbling children. And yet we would do well to remember that the language of apocalyptic violence has been Trump’s signature throughout his career, long before he descended that golden escalator to declare that rapists from Mexico were invading our country.
From the earliest days of his presidential candidacy, the news media tried in a variety of ways to navigate his norm-busting political rhetoric. I’ve spent some time thinking about Arianna Huffington’s decision in 2015 to consign candidate Trump to the entertainment section of her news site, The Huffington Post.
“Trump’s campaign is a sideshow,” wrote Ryan Grim, who was then the site’s Washington bureau chief. “We won’t take the bait. If you are interested in what The Donald has to say, you’ll find it next to our stories on the Kardashians and The Bachelorette.”
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/comment-blaming-media-a-poor-repsonse-to-political-violence/
= new reply since forum marked as read
Where reality is whatever they want it to be at any given time.
Right now they're blaming other people for the violent political atmosphere that they themselves have created. They want to be seen as the victims, so they can point the finger at these other mean-spirited instigators whose lack of concern for civility has brought us to this point.
Meanwhile, they're still going around wearing shirts like this:
