"In one of the most beautiful films ever made, Jean Cocteau's 'Beauty and the Beast,' a young woman is held captive in a chateau by a man who wears elegant lace shirts and speaks French in a husky, passionate voice. The young woman is clearly attracted to this philosophical and aristocratic beast/man until the night she hears grunts and shrieks from the front lawn. She discovers her host, her captor, gnawing on a stag he has just trapped. Repelled by the carnage, La Beaute reproaches La Bete, but his reply is quick and honest: what did you expect from a beast? It is at that moment that the lace shirts and husky voice begin to pale on La Beaute and she begins to plan her escape."
Thus began a Nov. 15, 1982, article by New York Times sportswriter, George Vecsey, ("The Beastliness in Boxing"), as boxer Duk-Koo Kim lay in a coma following a bout against Ray Mancini. Kim would die from his wounds two days later.
This past weekend's abominable shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona begs the same question. What do we expect from the beast that is the political climate in America since Barack Obama, our first black president, took office? The nation has reacted in horror to this tragedy, but as politicians on the right and left are decrying extremism on both sides, those of us who have lived through too many assassinations and shootings know that these expressions of horror are simply too little, too late. What can we expect when former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin posts a map on Facebook that targets 20 representatives for defeat, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., with the symbol of the circle and cross hairs over their states, and then "tweets" to supporters, "Commonsense Conservatives & lovers of America: 'Don't Retreat, Instead -- RELOAD!' Pls see my Facebook page"; and later refers to this as her "bullseye" list? And now her office is claiming that the gunsight cross hairs "could have been surveyor's symbols."
What do we expect when Florida talk show host Joyce Kaufman, who was offered the job of chief of staff for Republican Congressman Allen West, gets so fired up at a Tea Party rally that she makes the statement, "If ballots don't work, bullets will?" And what can we expect when Republican congressional candidate Sharron Angle defends her statement, "if this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies," and follows that, seemingly by way of explanation, with, "I'll tell you the first thing we need to do is take Harry Reid out."?
And what has gone wrong when a Topeka, Kan., Baptist Church distributes a flier proclaiming, "thank God for the shooter -- 6 dead … Your Federal Judge is dead and your (fag-promoting, baby-killing, proud sinner) Congresswoman fights for her life. … WBC (Westboro Baptist Church) prays for your destruction -- more shooters, more dead carcasses piling up. …"? Why are we so shocked when we have institutionalized all types of bigotry and hate and threats of violence?
Yes, I've heard all the "free speech" defenses of this outlandish rhetoric, and no one is more enthusiastic a supporter of the First Amendment than I am. But having the right to incendiary speech does no more to excuse it than having the right to a concealed weapon makes it prudent for anyone to exercise that right, as was the case with Jared Laughner in a parking lot outside a grocery store in Arizona last weekend. Where have we gone as a country when this sort of vitriol is dismissed as having nothing to do with the actions of deranged fanatics?
I agree with the statement used as a defense on "Meet the Press" last Sunday that "no reasonable person would see Palin's map or Angle's comments as reason to commit violence." But it's not an adequate defense of that type of speech by public figures who know their words will be blasted across the airwaves of our 24/7 news cycle. We're not so concerned about the effect this hateful speech has on reasonable people, are we? It is true that "The Daily Show's" Jon Stewart is a comedian, but his "Rally to Restore Sanity" was certainly no joke. It's beyond time for us to come to our senses as a nation. It's time for our public figures, our shock jocks and talk show hosts -- for all of us -- to plan our escape from the beast of prejudice and hate and intolerance that we live with today.
David Pearlman is a freelance writer who lives in Cooperstown.
Columns
Political climate in America is our beast
- Big Chuck D'Imperio
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My pal Brucie, savior of Sidney's hospital
Ask any hospital administrators if they've ever heard of a closed hospital in New York state that has ever been re-opened. They will say, "Impossible." In a half century of going through records you can't find any.
Continued ... - Catching a whiff of 'Vermont Vapor'
- Selections from the virtual mailbag
- Recalling days of 'Doughnut King'
- Opera great's visit still a thrilling memory
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My pal Brucie, savior of Sidney's hospital
- Cary Brunswick
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We've become our own worst enemies
The past month has been marked by a seeming unprecedented number of man-made tragedies, as distinct from those caused by violent outbursts of the natural world, such as earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis.
Continued ... - Plenty of blame to go around for Bangladesh horror
- Obama is going against his word on Social Security
- Reflecting on a Florida trip
- Those magnificent spies in their flying machines
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We've become our own worst enemies
- Chuck Pinkey
- Guest Column
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Records seizure is an insult to free press
Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to an exceptional level with the disclosure the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.
Continued ... - The evangelical view of same-sex marriage
- Manor's fate will be Otsego board's legacy
- A closer look at our economy - Part II
- Use fracking to fill budget gaps
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Records seizure is an insult to free press
- Lisa Miller
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A view from above
Fire towers in the Catskill Mountains have always been destination points, built to capture some of the region’s best views. These sentinel stations served an important role for the earliest possible sightings of forest fires in the remote mountain ranges. But the fire towers and those who manned them fulfilled a multitude of other roles as well.
Continued ... - Being a parent is a constant learning process
- Healthy doesn't have to mean expensive
- A family era ends with close of Potter series
- Independent stores make up for loss of Borders
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- Mark Simonson
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General Clinton Canoe Regatta got a new home in 1972
Ever since 1963, when Charles Hinkley and a group of Tri-Town businessmen came up with the idea for what we know today as the General Clinton Canoe Regatta, people lined the shores of the Susquehanna to watch the canoeists as they made their 70-mile trek from Cooperstown to Bainbridge.
Continued ... - Sunday movies in Oneonta finally shown in 1934
- Politics, fitness and landmarks dominated local news in May 1968
- Local people sought income in many ways in 1933
- Local windstorm in 1983 caused tense moments
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- Rick Brockway
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Kids have sparkle in their eyes
When I was in my teens, old Bill Naatz told me about a stream north of Lake George where a man had panned out enough gold to make his wife a wedding band. It was all rumors, but to his grandson and myself, it sounded like the makings of a great adventure.
- People make the outdoors even better
- Turkey season has ups and downs
- Spring air isn't always the freshest
- Adriondacks keep growing and growing
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Kids have sparkle in their eyes
- Sam Pollak
- William Masters
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Schreibman tops Chris Gibson on women's issues
As the time to vote draws near, we need to remember how money can run politics more than we can. Raising funds is a prominent (if not the dominant) task of getting elected. Raising issues is also crucial, but those efforts are subject to distortion and fear-mongering.
- Republicans feelentitled to allthey can garner An entitlement is a legal benefit available from the government to individuals who are within a defined category of recipients, such as needing insurance for unemployment or health services.
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Romney focuses on self; Obama emphasizes unity
Mitt Romney criticizes President Obama for saying a person's success is rooted in his community, and is not all his alone. Romney belittles this with his belief in individual initiative. He is better at the put-down than the push-up.
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Romney shows little regard for common man
The Republicans in Congress have voted over and over, 33 times, redundantly and uselessly, to rescind what they call Obamacare.
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Scouts' gay ban creates problem where none exists
The Boy Scouts of America's "emphatic reaffirmation" of its vow to exclude any and all homosexuals from its hallowed ranks is ill-considered and pathetic, especially in view of its having reviewed the matter for two years.
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Schreibman tops Chris Gibson on women's issues
