[Trigger Warning: The following column may contain words, phrases, and/or topics that readers may find unsettling and upsetting. If not; then the columnist isn't doing his job correctly and must apologize.]
If the latest example of Berkeley Liberal thinking, which is called "micro aggression" is retroactively applied to Lenny Bruce's most famous quotes, he wouldn't be considered just a criminal but he would be regarded as an equal of the Nuremberg War Crimes Trial defendants. When the President of the United States recently used the n-bomb, he did not issue a trigger warning and consequently the Republicans became incensed. Their righteous indignation over the use of that word came perilously close to apoplexy.
It seems as if some political commentators do not want a lively discussion about various contentious topics but would rather have a verbal equivalent of the de facto Christmas truce that occurred at Christmas in 1914. Is neutralizing debate a liberal or conservative tactic? Is it an example of microaggression to even ask that question? If so who would approve such behavior other than Lenny Bruce and others from the Golden Age of Sick humor?
If Lenny Bruce were still alive today could he get away with asking this question: "Are the members of the United State Supreme Court acting like drama queens with their coy moves to postpone the announcement of their decisions for the most contentious cases from this year?"
If the conservatively owned mainstream media is satisfied with the Justices shenanigans, who outside the Berkeley city limits will object?
The mainstream media was spared the trouble of taking an
in-depth look at the Berkeley Balcony tragedy that occurred early on June 16
because on June 17 a mass shooting occurred and the new media immediately
switch the country's focus of attention to the mass murder story.
The gun manufacturing industry was spared another round of the gun control debate when the news commentators immediately directed the nation's attention to the Confederate flag issue. The power of political activism was underlined by the fact that several national merchandise chains quickly announced they were suspending the sale of Confederate flags.
Meanwhile, in Berkeley, while the elite of the journalism industry were in town to cover the aftermath of the balcony tragedy, a report by the Berkeley Police Review Commission was released. It immediately was criticized by local citizens for not accurately describing the police conduct on the evening of December 6, 2014 which had sparked the investigation.
It was asserted by some zealous observers to be a "cover-up" or what the kids would call "a white wash job." Is that a subtle way of saying that only honkies try to lie their way out of a nasty predicament?
KCBS news radio reported on Tuesday of this week that in the aftermath of the six student deaths in the balcony tragedy, no police investigation regarding possible criminal conduct was being conducted. The lawyers and the inevitable lawsuits would be the method for providing justice for the deaths.
On Thursday, the Alameda County District Attorney, Nancy O'Malley, announced that her office would be conducting a criminal investigation, which might produce manslaughter indictments.
Meanwhile, teachers were realizing that they had to provide students with "Trigger warnings," if their lectures contained any words, phrases, or topic which might cause emotional distress to the students in the audience.
If these criteria for conduct by teachers were retroactively applied to some of the "teach-ins" spawned by the Vietnam War, wouldn't many of the teachers have lost their jobs?
The item at the center of the microagressions storm was a Washington Post article written by UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh. It should be available via a quick Google News search.
The mainstream media seems to prefer focusing on soap opera news that prominently features sexual hanky-panky. The saga of the prison employee whose sex life caused extensive speculation on the cable news networks was getting more media attention in the USA than was any detailed analysis of the events in the Middle East. It even spilled over onto the network morning show interview of her husband. By Wednesday of this week Getty & Armstrong were asserting that the prison guard had been unfaithful to her husband with a number in triple digits needed for accuracy.
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