Martin Bashir Resigns From MSNBC After Horrible Sarah Palin Comment

[Penny Lane 8,159]

How were bashir's words sexist in nature?

They were directed at a woman. So obviously it was sexist.

Any time anything unpleasant gets thrown Palin's way, it's because she's a woman. Couldn't possibly be because of anything she's done or said. Nope.

The funny thing is that mentality is what's sexist. The idea that Palin's only defining factor is her gender, not her beliefs or actions.

Edited December 5, 2013 by Penny Lane

[Dan from MI 23]

who?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Her point appears to be that she's targeted because of her gender and for being a conservative by the "media elite bubble" (what does that even mean?).

Its similar to why posters like lostinblue are unable to address people that they disagree with as individuals. Its not the substance of what is said that's important, its that someone said something and that those 'someone's are liberals out to get them. Is it possible to be anymore deluded?

Edited December 5, 2013 by Papa Lazarou

[SMOKE 1,426]

Besides, he said it about a woman so it is OK.

Bashir himself apologized profusely and resigned. He was not fired. You are defending something he, himself, did not defend. Ridiculous.

Please, carry on.

he's an idiot. what do you expect?

[Peikko 1,575]

he's an idiot. what do you expect?

He was certainly an idiot to even bother to critique Sarah Palin, she's a waste of space as a political commentator but what he said wasn't idiotic or sexist. What he said was an insult for sure, and whether the news media should be out to call people names, however deserved those names are is certainly open to debate but the insult itself was pointed and accurate. If anyone were to deserve the punishment meted out to slaves in the modern day, someone who so outrageously abuses what slavery amounted to in order to make a dumb political point would. That was what he said, and that is the meaning of what he said. He did not say she deserves to have someone defecate and piss in her mouth or that someone should do it, or that he wished someone would. He said that were anyone to deserve a punishment that was used against slaves, someone who disrespects the memory of those same slaves by diminishing the value of their very real, very poignant legacy of suffering by some pathetic sound bite comment on something they know little about and care even less about would; Palin's ignorant comments fitted that charge. He's right on that.

Edited December 6, 2013 by The Truth™

[Darnell 8,478]

OMG Madame Cleo - I'm agree-ing with you !

[GandD 5,966]

If anything is sexist, it's considering Sarah Palin as an acceptable female figure head. It's like using Kanye West as a representative of black folks as a whole. Or west baptist for Christians or suicide bombers for Muslims. There now we all have perspective.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

But Palin knows what the definition of slavery is.

[SMOKE 1,426]

He was certainly an idiot to even bother to critique Sarah Palin, she's a waste of space as a political commentator but what he said wasn't idiotic or sexist. What he said was an insult for sure, and whether the news media should be out to call people names, however deserved those names are is certainly open to debate but the insult itself was pointed and accurate. If anyone were to deserve the punishment meted out to slaves in the modern day, someone who so outrageously abuses what slavery amounted to in order to make a dumb political point would. That was what he said, and that is the meaning of what he said. He did not say she deserves to have someone defecate and piss in her mouth or that someone should do it, or that he wished someone would. He said that were anyone to deserve a punishment that was used against slaves, someone who disrespects the memory of those same slaves by diminishing the value of their very real, very poignant legacy of suffering by some pathetic sound bite comment on something they know little about and care even less about would; Palin's ignorant comments fitted that charge. He's right on that.

ok.

[Peikko 1,575]

That said, I don't want to hear any more about him. He's a rubbish journalist.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

If anything is sexist, it's considering Sarah Palin as an acceptable female figure head. It's like using Kanye West as a representative of black folks as a whole. Or west baptist for Christians or suicide bombers for Muslims. There now we all have perspective.

Apparently she sees herself that way, going by the other article.

[GandD 5,966]

Apparently she sees herself that way, going by the other article.

Oh I know she does. So do all the other people/entities I mentioned.

[Teddy B 17,252]

He was certainly an idiot to even bother to critique Sarah Palin, she's a waste of space as a political commentator but what he said wasn't idiotic or sexist. What he said was an insult for sure, and whether the news media should be out to call people names, however deserved those names are is certainly open to debate but the insult itself was pointed and accurate. If anyone were to deserve the punishment meted out to slaves in the modern day, someone who so outrageously abuses what slavery amounted to in order to make a dumb political point would. That was what he said, and that is the meaning of what he said. He did not say she deserves to have someone defecate and piss in her mouth or that someone should do it, or that he wished someone would. He said that were anyone to deserve a punishment that was used against slaves, someone who disrespects the memory of those same slaves by diminishing the value of their very real, very poignant legacy of suffering by some pathetic sound bite comment on something they know little about and care even less about would; Palin's ignorant comments fitted that charge. He's right on that.

Actually, that's exactly what Bashir said because that was the example of abuse he chose to go with. He did not use whipping, beating or any other form of abuse as his object of abuse towards Palin. He directly connected the defecating and pissing to what Palin deserves, exactly his words. Funny thing is, Bashir could have generalized the atrocities of slavery without being so specific, his point would have been conveyed, and he would still have a job today. Instead he chose to go for the shock value and blew himself up in the process.

Edited December 6, 2013 by Teddy B

[B_J 2,752]

I will never understand the fixation on Palin. She ran for VP. That's pretty much it. Now she does nothing except maybe give a few speeches, endorse candidates, and make some posts on the internet. For some reason, people like Bashir pay more attention to Palin than I ever will, and I voted for the McCain/Palin ticket. I will never understand the intense hatred for her.

She ran and lost. That's it. She's not incredibly smart or stupid. She's nothing special. She could talk forever and she will never say the stupidest thing I've heard a politician say (that honor will always belong to Hank Johnson) but she will also never say the smartest thing either. She's just a person that is now totally irrelevant to the vast majority of Americans; until somebody like Bashir makes her relevant again. All of his hatred, and the hatred of others like him, just keep Palin famous. And all the attacks make her a sympathetic figure to those who would otherwise not care about her at all.

Can we move on and talk about important people like George Zimmerman?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Firstly, shock value is what works for the American market. Clearly. Bashir used to work for the BBC and ITV and his style on those networks was very different to his output on MSNBC. It's quite commonplace in US TV news for the anchors (and commentators) to polemicise the issues. Clearly the issue is what the standard is for doing that, and in that respect there is apparently no consistently.

Secondly, generalising atrocities is what Palin did - she hijacked a historical reference and in doing so stripped out it's actual meaning. She invoked slavery purely for shock value. Does that honestly not offend you?