And the response from listeners was predictable:National Public Radio is funded in part by federal tax dollars. The last time I checked, both liberals AND conservatives are required to pay federal taxes. So what’s wrong with having four seven-minute segments out of the year where conservative ideas are brought forth? You know, throw them a Milk Bone once in a while to pretend you care about them while you spend their money on things like Garrison Keillor’s “Prairie Home Companion.”
The problem with many liberals is that while they say they espouse tolerance, love for your fellow man, and discussing problems instead of resorting to fisticuffs, when they’re actually expected to “walk the walk,” things get ugly. To them, just listening to conservative ideas is akin to Dracula finding out about a nationwide tainted blood supply. It’s painful when liberals realize that not everyone thinks the way that they do: that there are unenlightened souls out there who don’t recycle, who go to church once in a while, who respect our military, and who don’t think that the sun shines out of Barack Obama’s nether regions. So, being the enlightened, progressive types that they are, instead of listening respectfully to what the other side has to say — and possibly learning something new — they stick their fingers in their ears, chant “I can’t hear you,” and complain to the person in charge about how awful the experience was.
It’s sort of like the people who believe that vandalizing and bombing military recruiting stations is a great way to get their message of peace out to the masses.
They also institute “speech codes” at universities — ostensibly so that no college student will get his widdle feewings hurt — but in reality limiting students’ First Amendment rights in the name of keeping certain “unwanted speech” off campus.
The Washington Times reports that for daring to air the views of conservatives on its morning drive show during the final four days of February, NPR fielded “more than 60 angry e-mails and phone calls … calling the programming ‘shameful’ and a ‘lovefest with radical, right-wing nuts.’ There were only a few … that praised the series as ‘refreshing’ and ‘articulate,’ among other things.”
3 comments:
Lame article you've linked to... and a bunch of claptrap. The conservative views aired generated a whopping 60 or so complaints. Big Deal. NPR has 10's of thousands of listeners (if not 100's of thousands) and 60 bitched. That's the basis for this blogger to rant that liberals in general are closed minded and want to abolish views other than their own?! Cause 60 people bitched?
What the blog fails to consider is how small a minority of the listeners 60 is compared to the audience. Furthermore, It doesn't consider the many conservatives who may bitch when NPR plays something considered liberal. I've heard them occasionally in the "views from our listeners" segments of shows.
Look, I listen to NPR regularly... They have very few partisans doing opinion / commentary on either side. Not much conservative talk and (despite the line from the right) not much liberal talk.
Again I'm referring to commentators. Most of NPR is news and pretty unbiased in either direction, entertainment, and lifestyle stuff about goings on in the world.
Commentators like Limbaugh and Olbermann are nearly unheard of on NPR.
I don't know the leanings of the journalists behind NPR. As it should be.
This blog strikes me a venomous slander against all liberals from a conservative thinker. All because of some complaints from less than 0.001% of the listeners. Way to go.
This was not a case of 'all liberals are all so narrow minded they can't handle opposing viewpoints'. It was look at those 60 or so people who want to avoid an opposing viewpoint at all costs.
Most people avoid viewpoints that disagree with their world view. I am pretty sure that you yourself told me once that you skip my posts on politics without reading them. You were joking, I think, but it was a case of avoiding a viewpoint that you don't happen to share or agree with.
The blogger is refering to "many liberals" no just the 60 complainers.
But drawing this degree of venom from the complaints of such a small number of listeners. And then saying "many" liberals are intolerant of others views is ludicrous.
Obviously I read your journal articles on politics... Even when we disagree. I read this one didn't I? :)
Quote from the blog:
The problem with many liberals is that while they say they espouse tolerance, love for your fellow man, and discussing problems instead of resorting to fisticuffs, when they’re actually expected to “walk the walk,” things get ugly. To them, just listening to conservative ideas is akin to Dracula finding out about a nationwide tainted blood supply. It’s painful when liberals realize that not everyone thinks the way that they do: that there are unenlightened souls out there who don’t recycle, who go to church once in a while, who respect our military, and who don’t think that the sun shines out of Barack Obama’s nether regions. So, being the enlightened, progressive types that they are, instead of listening respectfully to what the other side has to say — and possibly learning something new — they stick their fingers in their ears, chant “I can’t hear you,” and complain to the person in charge about how awful the experience was.
They also institute “speech codes” at universities — ostensibly so that no college student will get his widdle feewings hurt — but in reality limiting students’ First Amendment rights in the name of keeping certain “unwanted speech” off campus.
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