All too often, the country of the people, by the people, and for the people doesn't act accordingly. I recently watched the movie Milk, where people found a cause, stood behind it, and made a difference. They formed a movement, produced change at the time, and changed the way we see things today.
The sad part is that took place in the '70's and people don't do that anymore. There aren't sit-ins, protests, and marches like there use to be. Hence, we see less change and the power of the government doesn't protect the people who got them there, it protects special interests and re-election.
It's not a surprise how we ended up in our current situation.
A female blogger, exercised her right to free speech, and spoke her opinion on Bill O'Reilly's insensitivity to rape. The insensitive idea runs along the line that because of the way a woman dresses, she deserves to be raped and is somehow asking for it.
So she spoke out against him and he sent his henchmen to do his dirty work because obviously if he had done it himself he could be seen as the bad person in the situation. So to keep ratings up, he sent two men to harass and intimidate her.
The blogger who wrote about him is part of the group Think Progress. They gathered together and hit him where it hurt. They brought to the attention to of one his sponsors, UPS, his actions and to have them pull their ads from his programming and UPS did so. Story here.
Here is the message UPS put out.
"Thank you for sending an e-mail expressing concern about UPS advertising during
the Bill O’Reilly show on FOX News. We do consider such comments as we review ad
placement decisions which involve a variety of news, entertainment and sports
programming. At this time, we have no plans to continue advertising during this
show."
This was a peaceful and effective means to find resolution. This is the magnitude the voice of the people should have. This is what needs to happen with our politicians, advertisements, and celebrities who take things too far.
Bill has his right to an opinion and so did the Blogger that expressed hers. The problem is the bully mentality and intimidation that pursued. I'm not saying Bill should be exiled, but the idea that he, and most high profile personnel, can inimidate others for the expression of their first amendment right, is reprehensible.
The EGO and nerve of those in the higher ranks must be hit and hit where it hurts. It should not be tolerated. They are not above the people whose voices they represent and who pay their salaries. The 'voice of the people' needs to speak louder and more often if this country is to see any real change.
The American people have been held down far too long, and for any of those participating on behalf of The Smear Machine, you need to bring into question the idea that if THE PEOPLE don't deserve to be heard, can you really say we are living in a free country?
No comments:
Post a Comment