NO PICTURES PLEASE
Political Correctness is a madness that can kill. In Seattle political correctness, commonly called PC, causes the local newspapers to refrain from cooperating with the FBI in a hunt for possible terrorists because of an excessive concern for the rights and privacy of the terrorist suspects. In Arizona, PC causes a school principal to suspend an eighth grader because a doodle on his homework could be construed as a weapon. How odd - protect terrorists, hound little boys.
Political correctness began in the 1960's on elite college campuses as a means of insuring that all students and faculty followed the left’s ideas and behavior. Unfortunately as the addled graduates infiltrated many of our cultural institutions, including the news media, they are now wreaking havoc on the security of the United States. First Seattle’s madness.
In late August, the FBI requested the public’s help in locating some suspected terrorists. Two men had been observed on several occasions over several weeks by different people acting suspiciously on Puget Sound ferries, these ferries having previously been identified as the “ No.1 target for maritime terrorism” by the Dept. Of Justice. After receiving numerous reports, the FBI and Washington Joint Analytical Center (WJAC) began an investigation but could neither identify nor locate the suspects. At that point they enlisted the public’s help in finding the individuals by asking the newspapers to publish this request: “The Seattle FBI and the WJAC are requesting the public’s assistance in identifying the two individuals pictured below. These men have been seen aboard Washington State Ferries on several occasions and have exhibited unusual behavior, which was reported by passengers. While this behavior may have been innocuous, the FBI and WJAC would like to resolve these reports.”
Then something odd happened. The local newspapers, the Seattle Times and the Post Intelligencer, printed the FBI request but eliminated the suspects’ pictures. Imagine an Old West Wanted Poster with a blank spot where the fugitives picture would be and stamped in the blank space “Picture withheld for fugitive’s privacy.” What would Bat Masterson or Wyatt Earp have said to that The P-I’s Managing Editor, David McCumber, said “Based on what we have, it seemed newsworthy that the FBI was trying to find these guys, but it did not seem appropriate to run their photographs.” Huh? McCumber hoped “we are able to get more information on this story, if it exists, from the FBI that would give us a clearer idea of the background behind their request.” I love the qualification “ if it exists” casting suspicion on the FBI rather than on the suspects. These suspects were observed photographing ferry doorways and structures and asking questions about construction and schedules.
On the following day, the Seattle Times relented and printed the pictures but the P-I stood firm in defense of terrorist suspects’ superior rights over public safety. Over 200 leads were received from the public and are now being investigated by the FBI. Ferry ridership has dropped way off due to public concerns over safety. As justification for his continuing refusal to run the picture, the P-I’s Mr. McCumber reports receiving a call thanking him for his refusal. The caller said, “he feared we were moving to some sort of brown-shirt state where hysteria replaced reason.” Mr. McCumber agreed saying the caller “expressed what I consider to be the controlling point here more eloquently than I was able to myself.” Let’s summarize with two equations. Hitler + Brown-shirts = Fascism. History tells us this is bad but true. Bush + FBI = Fascism according to Political Correctness. Is this true? By thwarting the FBI and Pres. Bush, P-I claims to defend freedom from Fascism. Scary, when editors cannot separate reality from the paranoia and delusions that infected them in the 60's.
Even though the PC crowd cannot see a terrorist threat in suspicious men skulking about Puget Sound ferries, they can see the dangers posed by little boys. In Arizona school officials booted out an eighth grade boy because he turned in homework with a sketch that “resembled a gun and posed a threat to his classmates.” The boy’s parents said it was a doodle of a spaceman’s laser gun and showed no targets, bullets or injury. The PC school officials found the drawing so threatening they declined to allow the local newspaper to view the “weapon.” Now Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp knew the difference between “drawing a gun” and “drawing” a gun. Liberal loonies don’t.
I say sane Americans should post a bill for Political Correctness: “Wanted dead not alive. Political Correctness is killing us”, picture withheld for protection of fugitive privacy.
Political Correctness is a madness that can kill. In Seattle political correctness, commonly called PC, causes the local newspapers to refrain from cooperating with the FBI in a hunt for possible terrorists because of an excessive concern for the rights and privacy of the terrorist suspects. In Arizona, PC causes a school principal to suspend an eighth grader because a doodle on his homework could be construed as a weapon. How odd - protect terrorists, hound little boys.
Political correctness began in the 1960's on elite college campuses as a means of insuring that all students and faculty followed the left’s ideas and behavior. Unfortunately as the addled graduates infiltrated many of our cultural institutions, including the news media, they are now wreaking havoc on the security of the United States. First Seattle’s madness.
In late August, the FBI requested the public’s help in locating some suspected terrorists. Two men had been observed on several occasions over several weeks by different people acting suspiciously on Puget Sound ferries, these ferries having previously been identified as the “ No.1 target for maritime terrorism” by the Dept. Of Justice. After receiving numerous reports, the FBI and Washington Joint Analytical Center (WJAC) began an investigation but could neither identify nor locate the suspects. At that point they enlisted the public’s help in finding the individuals by asking the newspapers to publish this request: “The Seattle FBI and the WJAC are requesting the public’s assistance in identifying the two individuals pictured below. These men have been seen aboard Washington State Ferries on several occasions and have exhibited unusual behavior, which was reported by passengers. While this behavior may have been innocuous, the FBI and WJAC would like to resolve these reports.”
Then something odd happened. The local newspapers, the Seattle Times and the Post Intelligencer, printed the FBI request but eliminated the suspects’ pictures. Imagine an Old West Wanted Poster with a blank spot where the fugitives picture would be and stamped in the blank space “Picture withheld for fugitive’s privacy.” What would Bat Masterson or Wyatt Earp have said to that The P-I’s Managing Editor, David McCumber, said “Based on what we have, it seemed newsworthy that the FBI was trying to find these guys, but it did not seem appropriate to run their photographs.” Huh? McCumber hoped “we are able to get more information on this story, if it exists, from the FBI that would give us a clearer idea of the background behind their request.” I love the qualification “ if it exists” casting suspicion on the FBI rather than on the suspects. These suspects were observed photographing ferry doorways and structures and asking questions about construction and schedules.
On the following day, the Seattle Times relented and printed the pictures but the P-I stood firm in defense of terrorist suspects’ superior rights over public safety. Over 200 leads were received from the public and are now being investigated by the FBI. Ferry ridership has dropped way off due to public concerns over safety. As justification for his continuing refusal to run the picture, the P-I’s Mr. McCumber reports receiving a call thanking him for his refusal. The caller said, “he feared we were moving to some sort of brown-shirt state where hysteria replaced reason.” Mr. McCumber agreed saying the caller “expressed what I consider to be the controlling point here more eloquently than I was able to myself.” Let’s summarize with two equations. Hitler + Brown-shirts = Fascism. History tells us this is bad but true. Bush + FBI = Fascism according to Political Correctness. Is this true? By thwarting the FBI and Pres. Bush, P-I claims to defend freedom from Fascism. Scary, when editors cannot separate reality from the paranoia and delusions that infected them in the 60's.
Even though the PC crowd cannot see a terrorist threat in suspicious men skulking about Puget Sound ferries, they can see the dangers posed by little boys. In Arizona school officials booted out an eighth grade boy because he turned in homework with a sketch that “resembled a gun and posed a threat to his classmates.” The boy’s parents said it was a doodle of a spaceman’s laser gun and showed no targets, bullets or injury. The PC school officials found the drawing so threatening they declined to allow the local newspaper to view the “weapon.” Now Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp knew the difference between “drawing a gun” and “drawing” a gun. Liberal loonies don’t.
I say sane Americans should post a bill for Political Correctness: “Wanted dead not alive. Political Correctness is killing us”, picture withheld for protection of fugitive privacy.
posted by CAROLYN at 4:31 PM
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