Blame the White Man
Editorial, Washington Times, May 5, 2010
{snip}
The widely distributed videotape of a lighter-complected suspect near the [Times Square] attack scene–almost universally reported as a “white man”–raised expectations in some quarters that this could be the work of right-wing extremists, maybe even–oh dare it be hoped?–a Tea Party Republican.
The right-wing bomber story line quickly established itself in the meme stream. New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, prompted by CBS News reader Katie Couric, speculated that the culprit was “homegrown, maybe a mentally deranged person or someone with a political agenda that doesn’t like the health care bill or something.” MSNBC’s Chris Matthews and NBC News “terrorist analyst” Roger W. Cressey dwelt long on the idea of the bomber being someone with a “right-wing” agenda. Geraldo Rivera seemed fixated on the idea that the bomber was a “white man.” Similar unsubstantiated musings and outright accusations were rife in the liberal blogosphere.
But then a suspect was apprehended on a Dubai-bound airplane, and his name was Faisal Shahzad. Talk about an inconvenient truth. It would be nice if this were just another opportunity to mock the haplessness of those liberals who are so captive to their agenda that they subordinate reality to their warped worldview. Delusions like this, however, place the country in danger.
{snip} Muslim extremists should be considered the default culprits in every random act of terrorism unless compelling evidence exists to the contrary. {snip}.
{snip}
Blaming the white American man is an ingrained habit, driven by political correctness and unapologetic biases. This is the same knee-jerk response that occurred over the October 2002 D.C. snipers. The prevailing view at the time was that the perpetrator was some kind of white, male, veteran, right-wing, religious nut. Commentators, self-appointed terrorism experts and security officials discussed the profile as though it were incontestable. When the shooters turned out to be two black males under the spell of radical Islam who virtually worshipped Osama bin Laden, the narrative collapsed. {snip}
Those who style themselves as the intellectual class are so captive to hatred for a particular kind of American citizen that they immediately and without evidence ascribe acts of violence to them. These liberals should reflect on the fact that they’ve become the most bigoted people in America.
