This editor/writer was interested, sort of, about the turnout and the karma for this Beck rally in D.C. today. Sort of, as in sometimes the editor watches the Super Bowl and sometimes the World Series and the NBA* finals on occasion. And, of course, how the news media would give it play and review, was of interest, probably more than watching the main event (which, because of the Internet, could be reviewed easily). Also: This could be interesting, the size of the rally.
Hundreds of thousands were expected but early news reports, though not providing estimates that made sense, reported that tens of thousands had shown up or were showing up for not only Beck’s but one organized by The Reverend Al Sharpton.
A NY Times’ Caucus headline: Parallel Rallies by Beck and Sharpton. Not much interest engendered. Beck has a passionate, pathological animus about people of color. And Sharpton, well, one of my students published an article a while back – Reverend Sharpton Should Read This Article – indicating great distance between him and the students he was trying to reach at Hunter during that period when he was visiting college campuses.
So, it was decided to publish an opine by Ed Kent, a professor emeritus, philosophy, Brooklyn College, City University of New York. He blogs and posts at a number of yahoo groups.
I spent an incredibly boring 3 hours or so watching Glenn Beck's
"Restoring Honor" on C-Span. Most channels had switched to other
things. What seemed to be the content was a series of 20 or more
fundamentalist Protestant sermons given by various invitees -- which
looked to be be boring the Lincoln Center audience as much as me. The
things not included or mentioned while I listened were Roman Catholics,
traditional Protestant denominations or their leadership, Muslims, or
political issues.
This was Beck the nice guy heading up a fundamentalist Christian event
with some kind words thrown in now and again about our battered military
heroes out there. The only recognizable speakers were Beck and, and, of
course, Sarah Palin. The implicit attack on Obama and Democrats lay in
the title of the event.
Traditional Martin Luther King, Jr. commemorators on the King dream
speech were meeting elsewhere and plan to hike to meet Beck's crew at
Lincoln Center when they finish their own event.
What a waste of time!
*I have a mild basketball jones: All-Ivy, MVP, captain, Cornell; Assistant B-Ball Coach, one year; one year, schizophrenic, semi-pro and one year playing for the Sporting Club of Lisbon.
Tags: Al Sharpton, Ed Kent, Glenn Beck, mainstream news media, Restoring honor, Washington D.C. rallies
This entry was posted on Saturday, August 28th, 2010 at 2:26 pm and is filed under Journalism, News/Commentary/Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Glenn Beck’s Restoring Honor: Did Ed Kent Get It Right?
This editor/writer was interested, sort of, about the turnout and the karma for this Beck rally in D.C. today. Sort of, as in sometimes the editor watches the Super Bowl and sometimes the World Series and the NBA* finals on occasion. And, of course, how the news media would give it play and review, was of interest, probably more than watching the main event (which, because of the Internet, could be reviewed easily). Also: This could be interesting, the size of the rally.
Hundreds of thousands were expected but early news reports, though not providing estimates that made sense, reported that tens of thousands had shown up or were showing up for not only Beck’s but one organized by The Reverend Al Sharpton.
A NY Times’ Caucus headline: Parallel Rallies by Beck and Sharpton. Not much interest engendered. Beck has a passionate, pathological animus about people of color. And Sharpton, well, one of my students published an article a while back – Reverend Sharpton Should Read This Article – indicating great distance between him and the students he was trying to reach at Hunter during that period when he was visiting college campuses.
So, it was decided to publish an opine by Ed Kent, a professor emeritus, philosophy, Brooklyn College, City University of New York. He blogs and posts at a number of yahoo groups.
*I have a mild basketball jones: All-Ivy, MVP, captain, Cornell; Assistant B-Ball Coach, one year; one year, schizophrenic, semi-pro and one year playing for the Sporting Club of Lisbon.
Tags: Al Sharpton, Ed Kent, Glenn Beck, mainstream news media, Restoring honor, Washington D.C. rallies
This entry was posted on Saturday, August 28th, 2010 at 2:26 pm and is filed under Journalism, News/Commentary/Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.