{"id":10145,"date":"2013-07-14T23:11:14","date_gmt":"2013-07-15T06:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=10145"},"modified":"2013-07-14T23:11:14","modified_gmt":"2013-07-15T06:11:14","slug":"zimmerman-verdict-reactions-from-president-obama-vs-fox-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=10145","title":{"rendered":"Zimmerman Verdict Reactions From President Obama vs. Fox News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the next few days (weeks?) There will be plenty of opinions expressed on the outcome of the George Zimmerman trial. Some of them will come from knowledgeable legal analysts and, unfortunately, way too many from partisan political hacks.<\/p>\n

The latter were among the first to weigh in with ignorant and incendiary blowhards like Rush Limbaugh<\/a> predicting, and even yearning for, civil unrest. And then there was wingnut Tea-publican Steve King who blamed Obama<\/a> for Zimmerman being tried in the first place. But Fox News, and their corrupt cousins at Fox Nation (see Fox Nation vs. Reality<\/a> for a detailed examination of their corruption), were not about to be left out of the media Wretch-a-Thon as they elevated a couple of stray episodes of minor vandalism to the front page, leaving the dishonest impression that America was aflame with rioting.<\/p>\n

\"Fox
\nBe Sure To \u201cLIKE\u201d News Corpse On Facebook<\/a><\/center>
\n<\/p>\n

In addition to falsely fear mongering over non-existent riots, Fox managed to insert into their article an already debunked allegation<\/a> that the Department of Justice was of staging anti-Zimmerman rallies. They also dredged up phony assertions that Obama had politicized the trial last year when he merely expressed empathy for the grieving parents.<\/p>\n

However, the best demonstration of the difference between responsible leadership and reckless provocation can be observed in the responses to the verdict by President Obama and the dour visages of Fox News.<\/p>\n

Obama:<\/strong> I now ask every American to respect the call for calm reflection from two parents who lost their young son. And as we do, we should ask ourselves if we’re doing all we can to widen the circle of compassion and understanding in our own communities. We should ask ourselves if we’re doing all we can to stem the tide of gun violence that claims too many lives across this country on a daily basis. We should ask ourselves, as individuals and as a society, how we can prevent future tragedies like this. As citizens, that’s a job for all of us. That’s the way to honor Trayvon Martin.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The President gave us a call for “calm reflection”<\/em> and a challenge to seek solutions for ourselves and our country. And then there was this:<\/p>\n

Tucker Carlson, Fox News:<\/strong> I’m positive that people like Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton do not deserve to be called civil rights leaders. They are not. They are hustlers and pimps who make a living off inflaming racial tensions. They know nothing about this. They\u2019re not residents of Florida. They don\u2019t represent anybody. They\u2019re not elected to anything. They don\u2019t have constituencies. And the only reason they are allowed to do this is because we in the press enable them by calling them civil rights leaders. Why do we do that?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So Carlson’s morning after aphorism begins with racist epithets hurled at African-American leaders who Carlson, a white scion of wealth and privilege, doesn’t think should be leaders – as if he gets to choose. His tirade then spits out a series of criteria that he thinks ought to disqualify people from having an opinion. But, oddly enough, they all apply to him. He doesn’t know anything about this. He is not a resident of Florida. He doesn’t represent anybody. He wasn’t elected to anything. He has no constituency. And the only reason he is allowed to do this is because the press enables him. Why do they do that?<\/p>\n

Sharpton and Jackson have actually earned the respect of the communities they serve. You may have differences with them, but they have been in the trenches for decades and the people who have chosen to stand with them have every right to do so. You do not need to be elected to have a role as an activist. Nor do you need some specific residency. Martin Luther King, Jr. was not elected and he took his campaign for equality across an entire nation.<\/p>\n

Carlson, on the other hand, has no right whatsoever to pick and choose leaders for the African-American community or the civil rights movement. He has been more of an impediment to equality throughout his career than an advocate. And with these comments from his new perch on Fox News, he proves that he is only interested in creating hostility and division, which is probably why he got the job at Fox where racial division is a key component of their editorial agenda.<\/p>\n

The obvious differences between the messages of Obama and Carlson are proof of which side holds the moral high ground. Carlson’s rant illustrates the ethical vacancy of Fox News and its conservative minions whose preference for prejudice and hate is all too apparent. While Obama’s words offer constructive inspiration aimed at bridging social divides. What this country needs is more of Obama’s bridge building, and much, much less of Fox’s bridge burning. Particularly the sort of burning in their news photos that are obviously meant to provoke fear and aggravate tensions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the next few days (weeks?) There will be plenty of opinions expressed on the outcome of the George Zimmerman trial. Some of them will come from knowledgeable legal analysts and, unfortunately, way too many from partisan political hacks. The latter were among the first to weigh in with ignorant and incendiary blowhards like Rush […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"#Zimmerman Verdict Reactions From President #Obama vs. #FoxNews","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[183,33,1062,25],"class_list":["post-10145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-barack-obama","tag-fox-news","tag-george-zimmerman","tag-tucker-carlson"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ijg-2DD","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":26509,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=26509","url_meta":{"origin":10145,"position":0},"title":"Will George Zimmerman Be The Next Tea Party Republican For President?","author":"Mark NC","date":"3\/24\/2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Two years ago News Corpse published a satirical article announcing that Fox News had signed teen murderer George Zimmerman to host a new program called \"Stand Your Ground.\" The article purported to have sources inside Fox who confirmed the news and noted that... \"The controversial signing is consistent with Fox\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Election"","block_context":{"text":"Election","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=152"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fox News George Zimmerman","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/zimm-stand-ground1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/zimm-stand-ground1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/zimm-stand-ground1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10051,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=10051","url_meta":{"origin":10145,"position":1},"title":"Why Is The Fox Nation Rooting For George Zimmerman?","author":"Mark NC","date":"7\/3\/2013","format":false,"excerpt":"For the past week a murder trial in Florida has fixated the nation and the media. This sort of thing is not unusual as the past trials of Jodie Arias, Scott Peterson, Casey Anthony, and all the way back to O.J. Simpson have proved. What is unusual is the lengths\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10149,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=10149","url_meta":{"origin":10145,"position":2},"title":"EXCLUSIVE: Fox News Signs George Zimmerman As Host: “Stand Your Ground” Premieres This Fall","author":"Mark NC","date":"7\/15\/2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Now that the jury has delivered a \"not guilty\" verdict for teen stalker\/killer George Zimmerman, Fox News has taken a bold move to extend the ratings bonanza of the trial into the fall television season. Be Sure To \u201cLIKE\u201d News Corpse On Facebook Sources inside Fox News have confirmed that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11097,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=11097","url_meta":{"origin":10145,"position":3},"title":"George Zimmerman: From Killer To Plagiarizing Scam Artist?","author":"Mark NC","date":"12\/18\/2013","format":false,"excerpt":"What do you do as a follow up after killing an unarmed teenager and getting off with no punishment whatsoever? Well, If you're George Zimmerman you start out by domestically abusing your girlfriends and then proceed to perpetrating an eBay hoax to net yourself a cool hundred grand. Trayvon Martin's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"George Zimmerman","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/zimmerman-ebay-painting.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10185,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=10185","url_meta":{"origin":10145,"position":4},"title":"Knee-Jerk Off: Fox News Hammers Obama’s Remarks On Zimmerman Verdict","author":"Mark NC","date":"7\/19\/2013","format":false,"excerpt":"President Obama made a surprise appearance in the White House press briefing room this morning to express his thoughts on the Zimmerman verdict and related matters including race and law. Fox News didn't waste any time to begin smearing the President for having the gall to communicate to the American\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10107,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=10107","url_meta":{"origin":10145,"position":5},"title":"Memo To Fox News: Trayvon Martin Won’t Be Testifying Because He’s DEAD!","author":"Mark NC","date":"7\/10\/2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Throughout the trial of George Zimmerman for his role in the death of seventeen year old Trayvon Martin, Fox News has been conspicuously prejudiced in favor of the defendant. The theme most prominent on Fox has been a regurgitation of Zimmerman's legal team that portrays their client as a hapless\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10145"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10148,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10145\/revisions\/10148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}