General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrayvon, the Rightwing, and Obama’s 'Mockingbird' Moment - MUST READ
http://www.thenation.com/blog/167273/trayvon-rightwing-and-obamas-mockingbird-moment<snip>
From a rightwing perspective, President Obamas one-minute introduction to the 50th anniversary screening of To Kill a Mockingbird at the White House (airing tonight on USA Network) is a major propaganda coup: Hes using the1962 film as an opportunity to pose as an Atticus Finch hero, though all that he and the liberal media really want is to divide the country along racial lines and blame whitey.
The elements for such a paranoid vision are all there: The country and the media are passionately torn over the Trayvon Martin caseFoxs Bill OReilly has argued that the liberal media wouldnt mind inciting racial violence against accused shooter George Zimmerman, while MSNBC host Al Sharpton has led protest rallies in Sanford, Florida, where Martin was shot dead. Further, NBC made a grievous error by editing a tape of Zimmerman's 911 call that made it sound as if he had volunteered that Martin was black, when in fact he was asked Martins race by the dispatcher. NBC has fired the producer in charge of that tape. (Sure, Fox News has misleadingly edited tapes and promoted liesfor Fox, its a minor error and almost no one ever gets fired--but when mainstream media does that, its evidence of a hidden bias against conservatives. Foxs bias is anything but hidden.)
And conspiracy theorists take note, the big-deal White House screening of Mockingbirdendorsed by Harper Lee, author of the 1960 book on which the film is based--is also tied to the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Universal film studio. The studio and USA Network are both owned by NBC Universal, as the Times writes.
That is, by the rights lights, liberals and NBC are cynically using the venerable film is to further Obamas reelection chances. They believe Obama is posing as the reincarnation of the beloved, beyond-reproach character of Atticus Finch, the small-town attorney who defends Tom Robinson, an innocent black man who is accused of raping a white woman. And by extension, many conservatives say, Obama is making Trayvon Martin out to be Tom Robinson, who was lynched. Some commenters on the Breitbart.com site Big Hollywood feel sure about whats really going down. WALTER90 writes:
southernyankeebelle
(11,304 posts)mouths up. Any normal human being wouldn't act the way these nut jobs are acting. President Obama made a simple speech. The right wing takes it out to the crazy train. They are the ones who are walking the streets in Sanford. Who is the guy that killed 3 in Tulsa only because they were walking while being black.
malaise
(269,144 posts)They are batshit crazy
The Magistrate
(95,249 posts)You probably think the whole encounter just took place by chance....
malaise
(269,144 posts)The Magistrate
(95,249 posts)Think about it....
malaise
(269,144 posts)but remember that this Kenyan-born Marxist socialist Muslim (who had his birth announced in the Hawaii newspapers) has magical powers so he arranged everything for effect in this election year. Remember he is Barack the magic negro!
pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)malaise
(269,144 posts)See that black power fist before he could creep.
Voice for Peace
(13,141 posts)what a beautiful baby boy. his grandparents must have been so in love with him.
malaise
(269,144 posts)Better we laugh than we cry because they really are sick.
southernyankeebelle
(11,304 posts)"Hes using the1962 film as an opportunity to pose as an Atticus Finch hero, though all that he and the liberal media really want is to divide the country along racial lines and blame whitey."
Yeah right, it's not like the right has been spewing the most vile racist shit ever since the president was elected. It's all the liberal media
I love how republicans act like racists then when you call them on it they accuse you of being a racist.
malaise
(269,144 posts)Their world is a complete inversion of reality
BeyondGeography
(39,377 posts)Which is another way of saying they don't feel truly at home in America.
They can't be helped.
malaise
(269,144 posts)Number23
(24,544 posts)demgrrrll
(3,590 posts)oh no they are going to be able to turn this into something it isn't. I find I am less and less afraid and view their activities as a somewhat detached observer. No real fear or emotion. I sense that they know that this is over in many respects. Not that I don't think there will be a dying gasp groundswell in November, I do think that will happen, but I still feel that the President will prevail.
WCGreen
(45,558 posts)Just like they did with West Side Story and Casablanca before hand, movies like this help define a moment in time for most Americans have been retouched to preserve them and then celebrated the craft and message.