Roseanne Barr |
Laurence Tribe |
TV comedian Roseanne Barr was fired, quite justifiably, for her racist Tweet on Valerie Jarrett. How could any sane person justify comparing Ms. Jarrett, a former advisor to President Obama, to offspring of the Muslim Brotherhood and Planet of the Apes? Jarrett is African American and was born in Iran. So what? If you disagree with what she does, criticize that. But never insult persons for their racial or ethnic background. I though we all learned that when we were small children.
Nevertheless, Barr could have complained that she was unfairly singled out, in view of all the other disgusting comments by TV personalities that went unpunished:
• Bill Maher “joked” about President Trump having sex with his daughter Ivanka, and said Trump looked like his father was an “orangutan.”
• Keith Olbermann called Fox News anchor Chris Wallace a “monkey.” Apparently references to apes are offensive only when applied to Democrats, but are acceptable – even laudable – when applied to Republicans.
• TBS hostess Samantha Bee called Ivanka Trump a “feckless c**t.” No doubt Ms. Bee considers herself a feminist.
• Wanda Sykes, who worked with Barr, said she hoped Rush Limbaugh’s kidneys fail. No doubt Ms. Sykes considers herself a humanitarian.
• Kathy Griffin appeared with a mock-up of Trump’s severed head, apologized, and then un-apologized. No doubt Ms. Griffin opposes the death penalty for first-degree murderers.
• David Letterman “joked” that Sarah Palin’s 14-year-old daughter was “knocked up” and implied she was a prostitute, but then “apologized” by claiming he meant the 18-year-old daughter – as if that would be acceptable political “humor.”
• “Saturday Night Live,” a network show, “joked” that Sarah Palin’s husband Todd was incesting their daughters, presumably including the 7-year-old.
• Talking head Ed Schultz called Laura Ingraham a “slut.”
• “Liberals” called Michele Malkin a “Manila whore,” insulting both her gender and her ethnic origin.
• “Comedian” Michelle Wolf mocked Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ appearance and Southern roots, then denied she had done so and claimed she only criticized Sanders’ behavior.
Not satisfied with calling Ivanka the c-word, Samantha Bee went on to advise her to put on something “tight and low-cut” to attract the President’s attention on immigration. Bee thus joins Bill Maher in suggesting Ivanka is having sex with her father. This is truly disgusting. But Ivanka converted to Judaism to marry Jared Kushner. Is it also anti-Semitic? Oh wait ‒ Bee is “progressive,” so she couldn’t possibly be anti-Semitic, or misogynistic, or anything else bad.
Ivanka has three children, aged six, three, and one. Imagine the teasing they may endure at school: “Is he your granddaddy or your daddy?” Oh wait ‒ Maher and Bee are “progressive,” so they couldn’t possibly be anti-child. Yes, leftism is a pseudo-religion. Its adherents are sinless. Its opponents are heretics. And you know what they do to heretics.
To top things off, a few days after Bee’s hateful rant, she received an award from the Television Academy for advancing “social change.” Now we have an idea of what this “change” involves. It’s not a pretty sight.
Of course, this is only a partial list. To compile all the revolting insults hurled at conservatives would require many days of research and a column too long to post. But they all have one thing in common: They were met, at most, by mild criticism from conservatives, but only by applause from leftists.
But what about Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe, a leading constitutional scholar? He Tweeted that Trump opponents should “shoot to kill.” Yes, he was discussing impeachment. Yes, he was modernizing the old adage that if you strike at a king you must kill him. But he said what he said. Words have meaning, even if leftist interpreters of the Constitution ignore this basic fact.
Tribe’s vile statement was not an anomaly. Check out his torrent of hysterical anti-Trump Tweets: https://twitter.com/tribelaw?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Tribe isn’t just a TV personality; he is a leading professor at Harvard Law School. He didn’t just insult Trump; he advocated assassinating him. He then “apologized,” sort of, just as Barr apologized, sort of. Barr blamed Ambien. But Tribe isn’t on Ambien. He is addicted to a more potent, more destructive drug: hatred of those who dissent from his own exalted, noble beliefs.
Barr was fired and her career was ended. The same should happen to Tribe. But will it? Or will his fellow leftists slap him on the back in the faculty lounge? Roseanne Barr made herself a pariah with her crude insult. Lawrence Tribe made himself a hero with his homicidal advice. Barr will disappear from TV. Tribe will be interviewed on more talk-shows than ever.
What does this tell us about the differences between so-called progressives and conservatives? Who are the real purveyors of hate? Who are the real enemies of democracy? Who justify spying on the opposing presidential candidate? Who “joke” about murdering the elected leader of their nation?
Where is the conservative law professor who advised people to “shoot to kill” President Obama? Where are the conservative comedians who “joked” about Obama having sex with his daughters, or posed with a mock-up of Obama’s decapitated head? Where are the conservative TV personalities who called prominent Democratic women obscene, misogynistic names? You see my point.
A leftist I know refers to President Trump as “subhuman.” A middle-school student I know was taught that Trump is a “monster.” But what do we do with subhuman monsters? We kill them. When was the last time you heard President Obama referred to as a “subhuman monster”? Yes, you see my point.
“Shoot to kill” wasn’t merely a poor choice of words. It revealed a hatred that John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald would appreciate. That the words came not from a bar-room drunk but from a Harvard law professor is inexpressibly sad. Civil wars sometimes start when one side shells the fort of the other. But sometimes they start when the so-called intellectual elite descend to the level of street thugs. We can only hope that this is not such a time.
I used an image of Tribe that is larger than the image of Barr. I intended to suggest that Tribe is by far the bigger hater and the bigger threat. Foul-mouthed, hate-filled comedians are bad enough. Smooth-talking, hate-filled law professors are even worse.
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