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“Stamp Out Hate”: Ode to the N.Y. Times

Original Article

Day after day, in editorials and columns, the way the New York Times and similar media organs attempt—against any evidence—to link the Jared Loughner murders in Tucson to political conservatives. It has become the kind of slander that even one of the few moderates at the Times, David Brooks, descries as “vicious charges made by people who claimed to be criticizing viciousness.” He was not naming his own paper, but his observation is so apt as to indicate that he will not be allowed on the op-ed page much longer if he continues in that vein.

Here is the Times editorial that sets the party line:

“It is facile and mistaken to attribute this particular madman’s act directly to Republicans or Tea Party members. But it is legitimate to hold Republicans and particularly their most virulent supporters in the media responsible for the gale of anger that has produced the vast majority of these threats, setting the nation on edge. Many on the right have exploited the arguments of division, reaping political power by demonizing immigrants, or welfare recipients, or bureaucrats…

“That whirlwind has touched down most forcefully in Arizona, which Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik described after the shooting as the capital of “the anger, the hatred and the bigotry that goes on in this country.”…

“Now, having seen first hand the horror of political violence, Arizona should lead the nation in quieting the voices of intolerance, demanding an end to the temptations of bloodshed, and imposing sensible controls on its instruments.” (Italics added.)

The Times editors and their like remind me of a satirical song (lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, music by Mary Rodgers) from the 1960s, when lumpen revolutionaries were preaching “peace” in very unpeaceful ways. The difference between then and now is that then the vicious peaceniks were in the streets and now they are in editorial offices and faculty lounges.

Here is part of the “Hate Song”:

We’re gonna stamp out hate
That’s our creed
Wipe out violence, intolerance and greed
We’re gonna start right now
Tomorrow is too late
We’re gonna stamp out hate.

We’re gonna stamp out hate
Stamp it in the ground
And then take happiness and spread it all around
We’ll put an end to grief
We can hardly wait
We’re gonna stamp out hate.

We’re gonna stamp out hate
Sock it in the eye
Shoot it in the stomach yelling, die, die, die!
We’ll pull its insides out
And look at look at what it ate
We’re gonna stamp out hate.

We’re gonna stamp out hate
Lash it with a switch
Amputate its arms and legs and see how long they twitch
We’ll put its toes on hooks
And dangle them for bait
We’re gonna stamp out hate.

Bruce Chapman

Cofounder and Chairman of the Board of Discovery Institute
Bruce Chapman has had a long career in American politics and public policy at the city, state, national, and international levels. Elected to the Seattle City Council and as Washington State's Secretary of State, he also served in several leadership posts in the Reagan administration, including ambassador. In 1991, he founded the public policy think tank Discovery Institute, where he currently serves as Chairman of the Board and director of the Chapman Center on Citizen Leadership.