Bigmouths Who Never Risked Anything
for Anybody Should Shut Up About Jesse Jackson
August 18, 2001
What could be more
infuriating than hearing bigmouths who never risked anything for anybody
continually criticizing the peccadillos of people who risked everything for
others?
The bigmouths I refer to are
those like Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and others of
their ilk who continually criticize Jesse Jackson for alleged financial
irregularities and/or for having an affair. Sure Jackson can be
criticized if he acted improperly. But perspective and a sense of
proportionality are key.
Hannity, O'Reilly et al
elevate the wrongdoing to the sum total of the man, and then ask questions
about whether Jackson is through as a leader, blah blah blah.
People with half a brain and
an ounce of decency take into account that Jackson has for decades devoted
himself to speaking out for the voiceless. Do the conservative pundits
not realize that Jackson risked his life over and over again doing
civil rights work in the Deep South with Martin Luther King, Jr.? It
could have been Jackson who was shot on that balcony, not Dr. King. It
could have been Jackson, not Medgar Evers, who was shot to death.
Such courage and long-term
dedication mean a whole lot to unbiased, not-blinded-by-ideology people.
And what have Sean Hannity or
Bill O'Reilly ever done for anybody? I don't know every detail of
their lives, but I'd wager they've never risked their lives fighting for
social justice. I'd wager they've never risked even getting beaten by
a hostile police force, or bitten by dogs, or water hosed, fighting on
behalf of others.
Oh sure, Hannity and O'Reilly
may claim they're speaking for "the average American," for
"the little guy," for "working Americans." Well,
even if they were, talk is cheap, and speaking from the comfort of an
air-conditioned TV set for a huge salary doesn't go very far in granting
criticism rights against others who do far more.
But of course, they don't
really speak on behalf of those they claim to. Quite the contrary, the
policies they espouse and the guests they have (and exclude) show that in
reality Hannity, O'Reilly et al are just shills for big bucks corporate
America, befitting the status these two hosts enjoy as part of the top 1% of
income earners in the country.
I wish they'd shut up and
realize their criticisms merely emphasize how small they really are.
Jackson has more courage and integrity in his pinky than Hannity, O'Reilly
et al have in their entire being.
Sean Hannity, go risk your
life on behalf of others.
Bill O'Reilly, go put it all
on the line.
Until then, you and the other
bloviating fraud conservatives should SHUT UP about Jesse Jackson!
[Jesse Lee Peterson, Phony African-American
"Leader," Should Also Shut Up About Jesse Jackson] |
