double standards in the media

Submitted by Dr. David Cashin (United States), Apr 8, 2011 at 06:48

Dear Dr. Pipes,

There is a very interesting double standard here. You may be aware that the play "Corpus Christi" which depicted Jesus and his disciples as homosexuals is now being produced as a movie with full Hollywood backing to the tune of millions of dollars. Of course in this age when homosexuality is considered normative I suppose this should not be considered an insult. Let them try producing a movie about Muhammad the homosexual and see what happens. Or perhaps Jones should have burned his Qur'an with the title of "artistic bonfire" in which case the media would be called upon to "celebrate" this creative act! Why doesn't anyone react to the double-standards?

Perhaps you and I were the only ones to notice the hypocrisy of the NY Times in refusing to publish the Muhammad cartoons, but gleefully publishing a picture of a crucifix submerged in a jar of urine? What it boils down to is that the street bully journalists are more than willing to insult people that they know are no real threat to them. But when it comes to groups they are truly afraid of, they are awash in deference and tolerance. This has become an institutionalized double standard as insidious as Jim Crow or apartheid, and journalists seem to be leading the charge to destroy their own system of freedom of speech. I don't like what Jones did, but it does serve to make the double-standards crystal clear.

Dave Cashin

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