No News Is Acceptable News

SCENE: Mitch BERG is having a cocktail at a downtown Saint Paul bar when MyLyssa SILBERMAN, Reporter for National Public Radio’s Saint Paul bureau, covering the “Fake News” and “Diversity” beats, happens in.

SILBERMAN: Merg…

BERG: Er, hey, MyLyssa…

SILBERMAN: Last week, Kyle Rittenhouse was aquitted of domestic terrorism for shooting up a Black Lives Matter rally.

BERG: You got one fact correct in that sentence, so I guess that’s a start.

SILBERMAN: What if that would have been a black man? Leaving aside the fact that he’d be dead right now, for a moment, what would all of you white male gun owners be saying about it? Would your reaction be any different?

BERG: Funny you mentioned that. Last week – the same day of the RIttenhouse verdict, in fact – Andrew Coffee IV was acquitted of murder, and attempted murder of police, when he shot at a no-knock raid on his house. No cops were killed, but Coffee was up for homicide in the death of his girlfriend was shot 10 times by a SWAT team. He was acquitted, for exactly the same reasons Rittenhouse was. He was a felon with a gun, so he might get some time for that, but he had nearly exactly the same self-defense case as Rittenhouse.

And we started finally getting some details about the acquittal of Jaleel Stallings, who returned fire at cops who were firing rubber bullets from a van without announcing their presence; Stallings fired back until the cops identified themselves (and beat the crap out of him), and got acquitted – again, for exactly the same reasons that Rittenhouse was.

Both were in reasonable fear of immediate death. Both used appropriate force. Both met their states self-defense rules. Both were acquitted.

And gun owners – presumably including many of us “white males” – supported them, as the facts got out, in their self-defense claims – albeit not necessarily Coffee’s having his illegal gun…

SILBERMAN: Mitch, Mitch, you’re missing my point.

BERG: Which is…?

SILBRERMAN: I asked if you white male gun owners would support a black man with a gun defending himself.

BERG: And I gave you two where the answer was “yes”,and that major media seemed to avoid covering. Including NPR.

SILBERMAN: You gave me concrete examples. I asked an abstract question. Please give me an astract answer…

BERG: Yes, we would and do…

SILBERMAN: …that confirms my prejudices.

And SCENE.

9 thoughts on “No News Is Acceptable News

  1. You can’t truthfully endorse armed militias/vigilante intimidation and then profess to repudiate violence.

  2. It was not so much the verdict — but rather the far right reaction. Like Rittenhouse had just won a gold at the right wing olympics. Like somehow he put one over the top of the liberals, bested them and won the race.

  3. Ha! Really, Emery?!

    You can’t possibly be that hypocritically stupid! Oh. Wait! You obviously can be.

    Of course, you have no criticism of the vile comments and musings of the left, do you?

    You are worse that dog crap on a shoe.

  4. “You can’t truthfully endorse armed militias/vigilante intimidation and then profess to repudiate violence.”

    Take THAT, Straw man. And THAT! See how handily I’ve defeated you! Ha!

    And another thing: “If you seek peace, prepare for war” is totally wrong. Nobody should stand guard to protect their lives or their property, it’s barbaric. The correct statement is: “There will be no war if you surrender quickly enough.” That’s how society avoids violence.

  5. Emery, I’ve read a fair number of responses on the right, and the general tenor is gratitude that the jury did not allow the prosecutor to pull one over on justice, and that they saw the video as it was–a boy beset on all sides with physically larger people trying to kill him. Nice to see you posting your hallucinations, apparently, but do understand that you can get help for that.

  6. How about the violence of World War 2 troll?

    So simple, but not even a troll can see it. Justified violence, unjustified violence.

    Whoa, way too complex, kin.

  7. SILBERMAN: One more thing… I am doing a piece on how the DFL can get racist, sexist, homophobic, uneducated white people to return to the fold. Any thoughts?

    BERG: Why ask me? It’s a story that writes itself.

    SILBERMAN: You are so right. It already did.

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