Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Haven't we reached the point where "balance" is dangerous and nonsense?

Am I the only one who has developed the feeling that a sufficiently large section of the Right has turned so far against the interests of common humanity  that media owners of the Left/centrist variety are wrong to attempt anything like "balance" by incorporating opinion by anyone who supports Trump and/or denies climate change?

Look at the Washington Post, for example.  It's editorial opinion is:

The absurd cynicism of 'Obamagate'

yet it still makes room (to the outrage of every single reader, it seems) for the conservative, always Trump defending dimwit Hugh Hewitt to write:
I don’t know why they won’t confront the mountain of evidence of abuse of power. Much of Trump Derangement Syndrome (the disease that afflicts the left and the media and causes them to see evil in all that Trump does) manifests itself in “attributing motive” to opponents. It’s a cheap debating trick. They should know better, but I don’t know if they do or don’t.

But I know McCarthyism when I see it. To define anyone who uses Obamagate as either a racist or conspiracy theorist is outside the norms of acceptable American political dialogue. McCarthyism of the Left will not work outside of progressive cloisters. Obamagate is here to stay because the abuse of power is already obvious and cannot be erased.
We know Fox News has a trivial amount of "balance" in the form of Chris Wallace and (say) Neil Cavuto, and it enrages Trump to see even that, when 98% of the network's output has the same bias levels of North Korean state media.

You could say that WAPO making room for Hewitt or (equally dumb)  Marc Thiessen is the same thing - a mere token effort at being able to say they provide balance.

But it's absurd, isn't it?   There are certain topics which the media, almost at a uniform international level, agrees just do not warrant exposure in serious, mainstream outlets because to do so gives them a shine of credibility they just do not deserve - the anti vaxxer movement, for example, or Holocaust denial.    Surely the utter obvious narcissistic inanity and inability to listen to credible experts of Trump puts supporting him in the same category.  Not to mention his recent re-Tweeting some blood thirsty conspiracists of QAnon, who literally would get a thrill if it was announced that a 1,000 liberals (up to and including Trump's opponent at the last election) had been executed overnight for (imagined) child sex abuse.   

And why do people with clearly opposite opinions want to be part of the pretence of supplying "balance."    How bad does it have to get for someone like Chris Wallace to say "this is serious, I just can't stand to be in the same company as the extreme sycophants who dominate this network"?

Why can't we just say that people who want sense and decency and non-denial of science consider the Trump supporting Right has gone nuts and does not deserve a voice in sensible, mainstream media?   They can all congregate around their Fox News and Breitbart and other nonsense outlets that will pander to their dangerous lack of judgement, and those networks can kick out their token efforts at balance too.

I think things have just become too serious to continue pretending that balance is warranted.  



4 comments:

  1. When he sacks various inspectors general there is no balance.
    It is a blatant act so there is NO investigation of any matter.

    It is a disgrace.
    I suspect what you have is intelligence deprivation syndrome.
    you can see it in all its glory at Catallaxy

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  2. Yes. The authoritarian sentiments of Trump - whether they be a result of intense narcissism or not - are so extraordinarily clear, and have been since the start of the campaign, you just can't credit his supporters as having intelligence or good faith.

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  3. It would be like getting someone who supports pedophilia and one who does not.

    It is complete and utter bollocks

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  4. You are in no position to understand what is real and what is false information Steve. Here is a Chinese Christian man talking about false flag attack. You wouldn't admit a false flag attach if it bit you on the ass.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HfQX0dza2Y

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