In Defense of Helen Thomas

[jillian]

The point is for sixty seven years she made no such remarks.

and?

 

[Sky Dancer]

The point is for sixty seven years she made no such remarks.

and?

And she has had a distiniguished career up to this point. Did you read Norman Lear's remarks?

 

[WillowTree]

The point is for sixty seven years she made no such remarks.

and?

And she has had a distiniguished career up to this point. Did you read Norman Lear's remarks?

who died and left norman lear in charge?

 

[Sky Dancer]

I like his levity.

 

[syrenn]

The point is for sixty seven years she made no such remarks.

Right, she is a journalist, she is supposed to keep her personal opinions locked up and just report the facts. For 67 years she kept her views to herself.

The point is if her personal views were known early on would she have HAD her illustrious career? I think not. There would have been no front row assigned seat. She would not have been a presidential press pet.

She slipped. She answered a question asking her about her personal views. That is something totally different then reporting the news. She is now the new.

 

[jillian]

The point is for sixty seven years she made no such remarks.

and?

And she has had a distiniguished career up to this point. Did you read Norman Lear's remarks?

which means what about her being an anti-semite?

i am not discussing her body of work. i am discussing her hatred of jews.

and if someone said black people should go back to africa, you and the other people defending her would rightfully be all over that person.

i don't think it's too much to ask that a single standard be applied to all racists.

 

[Sky Dancer]

Right. Thomas ended her career with these hurtful remarks. She was professional the rest of her career.

 

[Sky Dancer]

and?

And she has had a distiniguished career up to this point. Did you read Norman Lear's remarks?

which means what about her being an anti-semite?

i am not discussing her body of work. i am discussing her hatred of jews.

and if someone said black people should go back to africa, you and the other people defending her would rightfully be all over that person.

i don't think it's too much to ask that a single standard be applied to all racists.

The single standard was applied. Thomas' career is over. I don't agree with her hurtful anti-semitic remarks.

She has a right to her opinion even if it's wrong.

 

[Mr.Fitnah]

Right. Thomas ended her career with these hurtful remarks. She was professional the rest of her career.

She has been a quarrelsome anti-Semite her entire life.

 

[Mr.Fitnah]

The point is for sixty seven years she made no such remarks.

Not according to the people who have been sitting near her.

 

[Sky Dancer]

If Thomas has to go, then why does Pat Buchanan still have a job?

Helen Thomas' view of the Israeli-Palestinian situation is out of step with mainstream American thought. She's been nearly universally condemned and rightfully so. And I'm not arguing that she's been wronged; words are weapons and sometimes, you shoot yourself. However, people should not be shocked at her comments. She is the daughter of Lebanese immigrants (no, I don't think all Lebanese think like this) and has long had very well know views on the Middle East.

Buchanan, meanwhile, has been able to successfully launder his racism through CNN, MSNBC, and as a syndicated columnist for decades despite that a career including stints in the Nixon and Reagan White House's in which he advised Nixon that Martin Luther King was "one of the most divisive men in contemporary history"; referred to the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre in South Africa as "whites mistreating a couple of blacks" (sixty-seven Blacks were killed and scores more beaten and injured); defended South African Apartheid belittling the Free South Africa Movement, and delivered that disgusting 1992 Republican National Convention speech in which he declared that the country was in a culture war and his side had to "take back our cities, take back our culture, and take back our country." Allow me to translate: Black and Brown people out of the cities, no diversity, immigrants go home.
Michael Fauntroy: If Helen Thomas, Then Why Not Pat Buchanan?

Why is the single standard not applied to Pat Buchanan Jillian?

 

[Mr.Fitnah]

If Thomas has to go, then why does Pat Buchanan still have a job?

Helen Thomas' view of the Israeli-Palestinian situation is out of step with mainstream American thought. She's been nearly universally condemned and rightfully so. And I'm not arguing that she's been wronged; words are weapons and sometimes, you shoot yourself. However, people should not be shocked at her comments. She is the daughter of Lebanese immigrants (no, I don't think all Lebanese think like this) and has long had very well know views on the Middle East.

Buchanan, meanwhile, has been able to successfully launder his racism through CNN, MSNBC, and as a syndicated columnist for decades despite that a career including stints in the Nixon and Reagan White House's in which he advised Nixon that Martin Luther King was "one of the most divisive men in contemporary history"; referred to the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre in South Africa as "whites mistreating a couple of blacks" (sixty-seven Blacks were killed and scores more beaten and injured); defended South African Apartheid belittling the Free South Africa Movement, and delivered that disgusting 1992 Republican National Convention speech in which he declared that the country was in a culture war and his side had to "take back our cities, take back our culture, and take back our country." Allow me to translate: Black and Brown people out of the cities, no diversity, immigrants go home.
Michael Fauntroy: If Helen Thomas, Then Why Not Pat Buchanan?

Why is the single standard not applied to Pat Buchanan Jillian?

I dont know or care , why not start your own thread on instead of deflecting?

 

[jillian]

And she has had a distiniguished career up to this point. Did you read Norman Lear's remarks?

which means what about her being an anti-semite?

i am not discussing her body of work. i am discussing her hatred of jews.

and if someone said black people should go back to africa, you and the other people defending her would rightfully be all over that person.

i don't think it's too much to ask that a single standard be applied to all racists.

The single standard was applied. Thomas' career is over. I don't agree with her hurtful anti-semitic remarks.

She has a right to her opinion even if it's wrong.

why defend her?

 

[Sky Dancer]

I am a fan of Helen Thomas. I've grown up watching her in the White House press corps. What I'm not going to do is apolgize for having liked her. I disagree with her anti-semitic remarks and it is right that she lost her job over it. What I don't know if why someone like Pat Buchanan gets to keep his.

 

[Mr.Fitnah]

Well we wont hold a Nuremberg trial for that.

 

[California Girl]

The point is for sixty seven years she made no such remarks.

Yea, she hid her true opinions well. So she was able to achieve and benefit despite her despicable views.

This is a perfect example of why I believed that business should be allowed to discriminate. If they did, we - as a tolerant society - could punish them for their views and not allow them to profit and benefit despite their abhorrent views.

All her achievements count for nothing now.

 

[California Girl]

which means what about her being an anti-semite?

i am not discussing her body of work. i am discussing her hatred of jews.

and if someone said black people should go back to africa, you and the other people defending her would rightfully be all over that person.

i don't think it's too much to ask that a single standard be applied to all racists.

The single standard was applied. Thomas' career is over. I don't agree with her hurtful anti-semitic remarks.

She has a right to her opinion even if it's wrong.

why defend her?

I'm not sure that Sky D is defending her views - just her achievements. That's not the same. However, in my view - all her accomplishments count for nothing now. The woman is evil.

 

[Sky Dancer]

I disagree with you calgirl. I feel the last remarks and the anti-semitic view she expressed are indefensible but the career of Helen Thomas for over half a century is still impressive. I don't thijnk Helen Thomas is evil. Hitler was evil. Helen Thomas is no Hitler.

 

[syrenn]

SkyDancer I have a question.

Do you think HT would have gone so far and achieved so much had her personal views had been public record as they are now?

 

[Sky Dancer]

SkyDancer I have a question.

Do you think HT would have gone so far and achieved so much had her personal views had been public record as they are now?

I don't know that Helen Thomas or any journalist would have advanced in her/his career if his personal views were known.

There is a code of ethics in journalism to be objective unless you're writing an editorial. We're living in a time where the boundaries between news and opinion are blurred.