Cnn’s Glenn Beck Judges Rosie O’Donnell

I was watching a Glenn Beck show on CNN’s Headline News Network recently and found his judgment of Rosie O’Donnell to be not only hypocritical but also very sad considering that Beck’s own life has not been one without its challenges.

Beck said that he does not like Rosie O’Donnell – has he ever met her? How do so many people these days make up their minds about not liking people they’ve never met and therefore cannot really know?

He also said that even though he doesn’t like her he felt "pity" for her. What? Glenn Beck needs to get a grip. Who is he to pity O’Donnell? Let’s see how this goes now, Beck, a recovering alcoholic, and former drug addict, has pity for O’Donnell because she is, "…so angry." He suggested that after reading O’Donnell’s soon-to-be released new book, "Celebrity Detox" he thought he now at least understood more about why O’Donnell is so angry. Really, Mr. Beck?

I found this fascinating given that Beck was criticising O’Donnell for her anger at the Bush Government and for seeing 9/11 as a conspiracy and for "seeing conspiracies everywhere". O’Donnell who has not said she thinks 9/11 was a conspiracy but who has reiterated often on her blog, "I have questions." Beck’s criticism of what he refers to as O’Donnell’s anger was right after Beck himself had ranted for over 15 minutes at the beginning of this particular show about the loss of common sense in the United States and in the government and justice system in the U.S. Does Mr. Beck know how much he yells at us from his "pulpit"?

Aren’t you a little too angry yourself Mr. Beck? If so, would we be correct to blame that on the fact that you are in recovery and can’t have a good stiff one?

I have pre-ordered O’Donnell’s book and I can’t wait to read it. I have been very saddened to read that it seems that O’Donnell has a history of self harm and alleged sexual abuse. I can totally relate from first-person experience. But, perhaps Mr. Beck doesn’t realize how common this is. It is particularly all-too-common an experience for women who were sexually abused as young girls. Someone needs to educate Glenn Beck that having been sexually abused and/or having self-harmed as a child – and especially as a female child – does not render one "angry" for having opinions that do not agree with Mr. Beck’s. In fact it makes us deeper thinking human beings who know what it means to hurt beyond pain and who tend to be passionate and compassionate. It means that we tend to have opinions that have at their roots a strong sense of what injustice really is. And none of us, that is childhood victims of sexual abuse have self-harmed want your "pity" Mr. Beck. I’m sure Rosie O’Donnell doesn’t need it or want it and nor would I.

I do not believe that Rosie O’Donnell should be fair game for CNN’s Glenn Beck, and his right-wing fundamentalist colleagues over at the Fox Network where they bring a whole new meaning to "news" that is utter fiction just because her views in life come from the left side of the political spectrum. And who taught these guys how to quote people anyway? They rarely quote what people actually say. O’Donnell is a perfect example of this. They take bits and pieces of what she’s said, and/or make up things, and guess what, twist it to suit their narrow-minded and one-sided black-and-white polarized shakey ability to form thoughts as it is you know?

Glenn Beck seemed to try to blame all of O’Donnell’s opinions on anger or childhood issues, while verbal abusers like Donald Trump and Bill O’Reilly et al. try to have people believe that its a lack of intelligence on O’Donnell’s part – ever heard of projection? Frankly the more they talk about those who disagree with them the more we can clearly see the extreme limitations of Mr. Beck et al. when it comes to thinking themselves. Someone should tell them that firstly, there is a world beyond the United States, and secondly that there is plenty of reality that escapes their "world-view". Oh and, all reality that escapes their world-view is not made up of the nonesense that they seem so eager to judge O’Donnell and others as being limited to. Those limits in thought are their own projected onto those who minds are much more open not to mention more expansive and capable.

O’Donnell is far from alone in the experiences she has shared about herself. She is far from alone in the opinions she holds and expresses. She is a caring and talented woman whose opinion should be allowed in the arena of free speech without all the childish attacks and against her from the "men of the right" in media. (And the betrayal of Elizabeth Hassleback when the two were on ABC’s, The View)

What Glenn Beck likely cannot appreciate is that it is men like him, right-wing, talking heads in the media – who are overly fond of the sounds of their own voices by the way – that may well benefit from looking at their issues with strong, out-spoken, deep-thinking women like O’Donnell who make no apologies for wanting the equal right to their speech that these talking heads have hogged for way too long and gotten away with it too.

When will Beck et al. be called on their sexism? Do you see Beck going after, say, Bill Mahar? No, neither do I. And Bill Mahar has opinions that are closer to the neighbourhood of O’Donnell’s.

I like Beck’s way of getting to some very important issues that not a lot of the media give enough air time but I must say watching him judge and criticise Rosie O’Donnell, from his own bruised and broken pedestal has diminished my respect for his ability to be a broad enough thinker to warrant my continued viewership. I’ll watch from time to time but by subject more and not as much for the man that I thought I could respect.

If you have read this far and you wonder why I defend Rosie O’Donnell think about the reality of the world that we live in today. Think about how rare a voice like hers is. Think about how few women we hear such well-informed, all be they left of centre opinions from. Think about how few people are as real and as honest as Rosie O’Donnell is.

To me the greatest tragedy in all of this right now is that the "right" thinks it has more rights than the left. Isn’t the whole point of all of our differences that each end of the spectrum – be it political, social commentary, or what have you, and anywhere in between, is supposed to have equal right to freedom of speech?

As a Canadian watching the struggles of the United States lately, and really struggles that go back to 9/11 it is alarming to watch the Republican Right with its predominant "Right-wing Christian Fundamentalist" (supposed) and yet oh so hypocritical moral highground led by that moron George Bush continue to strip away at the very fabric of what makes America, America – it’s fundamental freedoms guarenteed to its citizens by its constitution.

Beck judges O’Donnell and don’t for a minute think it is so innocent as to not be the sexist and "right-wing fundamentalist" homophobia – that it is.

Who among these "right-wing talking heads" could really debate Rosie O’Donnell – not that she would stoop that low mind you – hmmm, I wonder? They’d be lost in real time with Rosie because they wouldn’t be able to manipulate her words in sound bytes to suit their ignorant rants.

© A.J. Mahari

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