CANCEL CULTure: Fox News Attacks Olympic Athlete for Exercising Free Speech

The emergence of a new buzzword in Fox News is always a treasure trove of asininity. And as their embrace of their new and thoroughly contrived concept of “cancel culture” has spread across their airwaves, Fox News has proven that they are the foremost abusers of it.

Fox News, Censorship

Fox News has courageously stood up in opposition to the injustices suffered by esteemed, albeit imaginary, Americans like Dr. Seuss and Mr. Potato Head. Because of Fox, they now represent the class of victims who have been “canceled” by systemic intolerance of cartoon characters and plastic toys.

However, no one is more guilty than Fox News of “canceling” real people who dare to go against the grain of whatever narrative Fox News happens to be espousing. Just ask all of the Republicans censured and cast aside for their perceived disloyalty to Donald Trump. Or check with the American companies that Trump has targeted for boycotts.

Now we can add to those casualties Olympic hopeful Gwen Barry. Upon winning a bronze medal in the recent Olympic trials, Berry took the opportunity to express her commitment to social injustice. That act of free speech earned her a mention at the White House daily press briefing. The Fox News White House correspondent, Peter Doocy, chose to use his privileged position to focus on an issue that he believes far outweighs the other petty concerns of the President of the United States, such as the resurgent COVID pandemic, or the Florida condo catastrophe, or how the pending infrastructure bill will impact the economy and jobs. Nope, Doocy wanted to know about this:

Doocy: This weekend Gwen Berry, who represents the United States as an Olympian on the hammer-throwing events, won a bronze medal at the trials, and then she turned her back on the flag while the anthem played. Does President Biden think that is appropriate behavior for someone who hopes to represent Team USA?”
Psaki: I haven’t spoken to the President specifically about this. But I know he’s incredibly proud to be an American, and has great respect for the anthem, and all that it represents, especially for our men and women serving in uniform all around the world. He would also say, of course, that part of that pride in our country means recognizing there are moments where we as a country haven’t lived up to our highest ideals. And it means respecting the right of people, granted to them in the Constitution, to peacefully protest.

Was it really necessary for Doocy to ask that particular question? Did it advance the public’s knowledge of matters that actually affect them? Didn’t he know that the obvious answer would be a defense of the Constitution? Is he really that stupid? (Don’t answer that).

And if that weren’t enough, Fox News had already addressed this critical subject on their early morning program, Fox and Friends. Co-host Ainsley Earhardt put the question to Republican congressman Dan Crenshaw:

Earhardt: [Berry] turned her back on the flag during the anthem, and she also put a black t-shirt over her face that said “activist athlete.”
Crenshaw: We don’t need anymore activist athletes. She should be removed from the team. The entire point of the Olympic team is to represent the United States of America. That’s the entire point. It’s one thing when these NBA players do it. We’ll just stop watching. But now the Olympic team? And it’s multiple cases of this. They should be removed. That should be the bare minimum requirement, is that you believe in the country representing.

So Crenshaw doesn’t believe we need “anymore activist athletes.” That implies that we have some already and that the quota has met. Which leaves one to wonder exactly how many activist athletes we need? And if we’ve exceeded that need, are the rest just canceled/removed?

Crenshaw makes the bizarre assertion that “The entire point of the Olympic team is to represent the United States of America.” Most people probably thought it has something to do with athletic competitions. And he makes a distinction between the Olympics and the NBA because you don’t have to watch basketball. Does he think that watching the Olympics is legally mandated? Plus, he’s being profoundly disingenuous because he wouldn’t support the free speech of professional athletes either. Just ask Colin Kaepernick. And Fox News can tell you something about their demands on NBA players to Shut Up and Dribble.”

Finally, Crenshaw is asserting that a peaceful gesture of protest amounts to not believing in your country. That’s the opposite of the truth. Wanting to improve your country is an act of patriotism. If Berry didn’t care about America, she wouldn’t have felt compelled to make any statement at all. It’s the protestors who love America. It’s the “love it or leave it” types who refuse to acknowledge the nation’s flaws who really don’t care.

And that’s precisely what’s wrong with the attitude of Crenshaw, Fox News, and their audience. The same people who are offended by a woman of color peacefully protesting by turning her back to the flag, have actually defended violent protestors who used the flag as a weapon against police officers at Trump’s January 6th insurrection.

The Crenshaws and Foxists of the world wear blinders that keep them satisfied with America as it is. Don’t bother to resolve problems or help those who are not enjoying the full spectrum of the nation’s benefits. And to hell with anyone who thinks we can do better. Contrary to what Fox News and Crenshaw believe, that is not the true spirit of America.

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How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Hypocritical GOP Rep Says Insults are ‘Intellectually Void’ – But Ignores Trump and Fox News

The competition for rank hypocrisy in American politics has rarely been as one-sided as it has been since the advent of Donald Trump. He and his Republican Nationalist Party have dominated the field with brazenly dishonest rhetoric that stretches the outward boundaries of Olympic-grade duplicity and deceit.

Fox News Trump

Trump is the most shameless purveyor of pretense this country has ever seen. He says that he supports access to health care for every American while he’s cutting services and sabotaging the Affordable Care Act. He says that he’s for the environment while slashing regulations and dismantling the EPA. He ways that no one is a stronger advocate for women while he nominates judges who have sworn to decimate their civil and human rights. There are many more examples of Trump’s perfidy and that of the party that has devolved into little more than his blindly devoted pep squad.

One of the worst offenders is Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas. He recently sought to criticize Sen. Elizabeth Warren for her honorable decision to shun a Fox News invitation to do a town hall. She correctly called the network a “hate-for-profit racket,” which is an apt description for an alleged “news” enterprise that exists only to malign Democrats and liberals. Crenshaw was obviously upset with Warren’s brave and well -articulated position, so he tweeted smugly:

First of all, someone needs to help Crenshaw with his math. On its best night Fox News gets only about three million viewers. That’s less than one percent of America. So Crenshaw was only off by forty-nine percent. What’s more, Warren wasn’t showing any contempt for those viewers at all. She was showing well-deserved contempt for Fox News itself, where “racism and hate” are projected on a 24/7 basis.

Where Crenshaw’s hypocrisy tips the scale though is with his complaint about “labeling and insults.” Has he been in a coma for the past two years? The leader of his party has spent most of his term in office insulting his opponents and critics in the most childish manner imaginable. His infantile nicknames and vulgar put-downs have become the hallmark of his character (or rather, lack thereof). Hasn’t Crenshaw heard Trump’s cholicky whining about “Crooked” Hillary or “Crazy” Bernie or “Low IQ” Maxine Waters? Not to mention the profane slurs directed at Sen. “The Dick” Blumenthal or House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam “Schitt.”

Of course Trump’s State TV operation (aka Fox News) is just as bad. They routinely lash out at Democrats with similarly disparaging comments. If you watch Sean Hannity or Laura Ingraham or Tucker Carlson, you’ll have noticed that they rarely mention any Democrat’s name without appending an insulting preface to it. They usually resort to various versions of “liar, creepy, disgusting, traitorous,” or “idiot.”

So if Crenshaw had any shred of integrity he would renounce both Trump and Fox News for their boorish behavior that he correctly believes is “a cheap attempt to undermine ideas.” But don’t hold your breath. Crenshaw isn’t the least bit interested in decency or fairness. If he were he wouldn’t have gotten literally everything wrong in that impudent tweet. But he can rest assured that he has a bright future with either the Republican Party or Fox News. He could even be the next Jeanine Pirro:

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.