In the past couple of days, Glenn Beck has latched onto a gruesome story about CBS correspondent Lara Logan. While covering protests in Egypt she was the victim of a brutal sexual assault by an unidentified mob.
The story was widely broadcast by many news outlets on TV, radio, and print. But there was only one place where it received a peculiar treatment that served to dehumanize the victim.
Glenn Beck raised the subject on his television program on Wednesday, not to empathize with Logan’s suffering, but to confirm his belief that the worst isn’t over in Egypt:
“While everyone was saying, ‘Oh listen, this is great,’ in this crowd, we found out today, that an American woman was being sexually assaulted – sexually assaulted – by 200 men in this crowd.”
And later he tried to tie Logan’s ordeal to progressives in the U.S. by insinuating that they were all responsible for the repulsive remarks of an individual in New York:
“I told you about a woman who is being raped in that crowd. On Friday, a woman who has sexual assault, an American. How is that tied to the universities? Well a fellow at NYU has stepped down now, after the sexual assault of the American in Egypt that we mentioned earlier.”
Today Beck again referred to “an American woman” who was sexually assaulted in Egypt. That was at least the fifth time that Beck referred to Lara Logan without ever mentioning her name. He would only refer to her as the American, the woman, or the American woman. He never even noted that she was a reporter working on a story, nor her position as Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent for CBS News.
Beck certainly knows who Lara Logan is. He even identified her and her affiliation with CBS News on his radio program. But she was invisible on his TV show. It wasn’t enough for Beck to merely demonstrate overt disrespect for an accomplished professional journalist, he went further to deny her humanity by refusing to acknowledge her identity. This information was not private. CBS had issued a press release outlining the details of the assault. But Beck decided to wrap Logan in a metaphorical burka and ignore her suffering and the risk she took on for her work.
Why would he do this? Why would he repeatedly refer to her cryptically as “the American” when he knew her name and used it on the radio earlier the same day? Was he hesitant to give her publicity because she was on a competing network? I don’t know. I just know that it was curious and jarring to hear him struggle so mightily to hide Logan’s face from his viewers.
I’m convinced that Beck is seriously mentally ill and that Fox News is exploiting his mental illness for entertainment purposes the same way circus sideshows once exploited their freaks. The problem is not Beck (Who doesn’t want to see his next loony meltdown, just as who doesn’t want to see The Enigma eat light bulbs and maggots? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Enigma) but his Fox masters. Gabba Gabba Hey, Glenn, we accept you, one of us!
Standard journalism practice in America states that a victim of rape is not identified by name. You apparently forgot that. So have all the other news outlets. In fact, I heard Beck state on his radio show that he didn’t want to identify her for that reason.
No, law enforcement says that usually and the press may or may not comply. However, it is blatantly evident that she doesn’t mind being named, it appears she isn’t quite ready yet for herself becoming the story though. If she didn’t consent to being named I would think she would’ve made some kind of statement by now.
Wow. I’ve read some lame, desperate defenses of Beck lately, and this is the most pathetic.
You’re not paying attention, Scott.
Beck DID identify her by name on his radio show earlier in the same day. Did he forget “standard journalism practice” too? Also, CBS issued a press release about the assault. This would not have been done without the consent of Logan, who is their employee.
Beck first named Lara on his radio show and then stopped doing it, saying he didn’t want to victimze her anymore than she already has been. I should have made that clearer on my first post. But his reasoning for not naming her further makes a lot more sense than any pathetic conspiracy theory you’re trying to concoct.
So you’re changing your story. Now it isn’t some “standard journalism practice,” but an imaginary desire keep from victimizing her, even after the story was widespread and her employer issued a press release.
I’ll give you one thing…you’re persistent. No matter how weak your position.
Mr. Beck is a tool and should be noted for how he distracts from real issues. He is kept by Fox to make the foxsters like O’Reilly appear rational. To analyze what he says is like analyzing Mrs. Palin’s remarks; they are stupid but skillfully so. These people are the bright-and-shinies who, in an entertaining fashion, keep the audience from noticing the true manipulators and their deeds.
Poor taste does not begin to describe the actions Glenn Beck and Nir Rosen. That these cretins even make it into the news is only a testament to an electronic media orgy gone wild and stupid.
He is probably trying to keep out of nexus lexis searches that could be used to find all his slanders and demonizations.
I think he keeps saying “American woman” because he wants to paint America as the victim in situations like this and make it seem like we’re dealing with some kind of terrible dictatorial rule. So, he just says American this and American that (even though she’s really British).
granda osaga mi iceco te cobida guerr fúposondu. latos te obstraza colha nos aciraco o entamo cerado henfipto bien.