Where independent journalism and manufactured media outrage conflict
The Hump Day Hot Topics!
"I was never more hated than when I tried to be honest. Or when, even as just now, I've tried to articulate exactly what I felt to be the truth. No one was satisfied” ― Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man
***The text messages turned over from the phone of Mark Meadows, the last Chief of Staff for former President Donald Trump, establish very clearly that Fox News journalists Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham pleaded with Meadows to have Trump demand that his followers NOT storm the Capitol last January 6th, this after a rally where the then president loudly encouraged them to go and disrupt the election certification proceedings that his former V.P. Mike Pence was overseeing that day.
Where I find frustration is that both Hannity and Ingraham were two of the leading "Stop the Steal" cheerleaders last December and January, as both advanced Trump's lie that the election was taken from him by Democrats (even in red states). And yet, on the day that "Stop the Steal" moved from a slogan to thousands of armed Trump supporters rioting and causing death and destruction at the Capitol, Hannity and Ingraham both strongly urged the former president to put a stop to it via text messaging. To America's chagrin, two hours and fifty minutes of rioting went by before Trump finally issued a call for law and order, but by then, folks were dying and the Capitol had been totally defiled as Republican and Democratic lawmakers ran and hid for their very lives.
And yet, at no time did Hannity or Ingraham go on air that evening—or any other evening—and tell their viewers what they had texted to the president's right hand man, Mark Meadows, for peace on the day of the rally. At no point did they condemn the riots and call for their friend, President Trump, to take responsibility for his actions. Nope, they took to the air and spouted off the same lies about the election being stolen AND added that the rioters were “paid actors,” "Antifa," “Black Lives Matter,” and every other inane excuse that many of their viewers ate up as the Gospel truth (and still regurgitate on social media).
Hannity and Ingraham's actions show extreme cowardice and intellectual dishonesty; as my own readers can attest, I have NO qualms at all with criticizing President Joe Biden or any other Democrat in the pages of this blog (or on social media) when I feel that a policy or an inane comment warrants criticism. None! I mean, I could not look myself in the mirror every day and call myself an independent journalist if I became captain of the Democratic cheerleading squad—as opposed to being one who is always willing to call a spade a spade...
***Speaking of calling spades, yesterday, Florida State University signed football coach Mike Norvell to a contract extension; the “curious” nature of this extension is that Norvell, after 21 games, has a worse record than his predecessor, Willie Taggart, at the same juncture.
Coach Willie Taggart (with my nephew, Amir Rasul): 9-12 record at Florida State
Coach Mike Norvell: 8-13 record at Florida State
And yet, FSU brass (and quite a few FSU fans) swear that the team is in far more capable hands and performing better under Norvell. Hmmm, I wonder why?
As a detached observer who watched several FSU games this year, including a loss to an extremely below par Florida Gators squad, my reply to those who swear that FSU is better coached now is simply: "if you say so."
As to why Norvell is being praised for a worse record than the one that got Taggart pilloried, I will let you, the reader, decide—feel free to drop your opinions in the comments section or an e-mail!
***As we await next spring's U.S. Supreme Court decision on abortion rights per Roe vs. Wade, consider the following words and chart from a recent NY Times editorial about what a Roe reversal would mean to women seeking abortions: "Around 33 percent of abortions are performed in the 22 states that would be likely to ban abortion if Roe were overturned. There would be fewer abortions in those states post-Roe. But some of those women would travel out of state, and some would end their pregnancies using extralegal means."
Lest we forget
Remembering Christopher Timmons, writer
Back in 1999, I was resting at home the Friday morning before Florida A&M University's Homecoming when the doorbell rang; on the front porch was my little cousin, Ryan Hobbs, along with his childhood friend, Trick Daddy Dollars. Ryan, known as "Tata Head,” was a member of the then extremely popular rapper's entourage that was in town for a homecoming concert.
Trick and Ryan needed me to take them to get some rims installed on several cars that they had driven up from Miami, so as I rode in the backseat giving directions, I found it interesting to observe that Trick was rapping along with every word to a compilation tape that featured New Orleans based rapper Juvenile and Jay-Z. Interesting in that it is always fascinating to learn what (or who) influences artistic sorts, much like how the writings of William Raspberry, George Will, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Dr. W.E.B. DuBois have heavily influenced my own writing style.
The same held true for a fellow scribe and friend named Christopher Timmons, an op/ed writer for the Tallahassee Democrat who, to my eternal chagrin, committed suicide four years ago.
Per this morning's Facebook Memory, I wrote the following upon learning of Timmons's death: "Though slightly over a decade younger, long before Ol' Hobbs joined Facebook in 2011, Timmons and I would exchange the occasional e-mail critiquing our respective published pieces on the pertinent topics of the day. When I first cyber met Timmons in the mid-2000s, his politics were decidedly conservative and at times, his pieces gave ammunition to the Rush Limbaugh/Sean Hannity followers who preferred editorials from Black writers that tacitly or overtly excused systemic white racism for many of the societal ills that plagued Blacks.
Over time, particularly during his time with me on Facebook, Timmons became far more familiar with the writings of giants like DuBois, Franz Fanon, and James Baldwin, and upon my sharing with him, modern intellectuals like Ta-Nehesi Coates, thus causing him to challenge within his columns and blogs the causes of racial strife in America. I would be remiss if I did not note that during his most prolific period of writing for newspapers, that Timmons had not yet earned a college degree—his vast knowledge, much like the fictional Will Hunting, was derived from a well worn library card and frequent trips to local and chain bookstores.
But like the best writers, Timmons was able to express many of the vicissitudes that defined his life in words—some so incisive that they would engender anger or contempt from readers. And yet, he would press on and often remind me when racist trolls would pop up occasionally in my comments section that we have hit the mark with our craft when we inspire passion—even ignorant, misguided passion—from our readers.
After receiving confirmation of his death via text from his aunt yesterday, I scrolled back through over a decade's worth of messages. One in particular made me laugh out loud as I remembered that Timmons, like I, preferred a more formal essay style favored by the greats; wrote Timmons: "(Hobbs) an editor would send prodding notes to me that would say: 'Don't over write; don't use big words when small ones will do; write for clarity; don't go for grand effect or profoundity; don't strain to be George Will. Just be 'Your wonderful self.'"
Indeed, his self—and his writings—were wonderful even when I disagreed with his final opinion on undisputed facts.
While our friendship was mostly relegated to the cyber world, I would occasionally see Timmons when I moderated Village Square Events in Tallahasse, or by chance encounters at the local Barnes & Nobles bookstore. A serious sort, I sensed within him the talent to become one of the leading intellectuals of our era, but alas, he is no more.
As those who knew him reconcile his passing, a Facebook status that he wrote about a year ago provides a far better epitaph than even I can inscribe with my trenchant pen: ‘I have done my own thinking. And have probably more than most have been my own man. There was no father to teach me. No mother. I have done the most I can under the torrent of low expectations and little opportunity. And until more recently with little in the way of encouragement.’ I am still here. Still a proud and independent BLACK man. And that's all I have to say.’
Indeed, nothing more needed to be said, my friend. Though early, you have earned your rest, my Brother—I pray that you have found peace..."
Amen!
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