06-17-2020, 08:29 AM
Wow - I've never heard it even alleged that OAN (or any other media group) is "directly linked to the deaths of thousands in African American communities"!?! I presume you're suggesting that they've published articles questioning various public policy responses to Covid-19? If so, that seems like quite a leap to blame them for thousands of incremental deaths, let alone suggest that they are targeting certain members of the community in doing so?
Maybe I'm giving Ad Fontes and AllSides too much credit (but doubt that Google would feature them prominently, if they themselves were crazed/biased media critics)? I never voted for Trump, and I'm not defending him here, but I have to wonder if the "friend of my enemy" theory isn't leading to some hyperbole in this thread?
I'm also not sure that your argument "that even Mike Gundy realized he couldn't actually defend his attire choice and he lives in Oklahoma" holds much water, as I've read that Trump won the vote in that area by a wide margin. I would humbly suggest that Gandy might have been reacting (in desperate job-preservation mode) to a firestorm of national media and celebrity/athlete critics (who broadly find themselves on the left side of those graphs), as opposed to rethinking the fundamental merits of his personal media consumption, in the context of the Oklahoma electorate? Frankly, in his profession, he didn't have a choice.
Imagine being the coach of an NBA, NFL or MLB team right now, and inviting Thomas Sowell to your home to discuss public policy issues with your team over some drinks. You would not be coaching that team a week later, and that has nothing to do with the merits (or lack thereof) of Professor Sowell's arguments. I would posit that most public figures (be they coaches, actors or CEOs) are simply not allowed to consider, let alone express, certain of their own opinions these days... and that's a real shame, no matter how Liberal or Conservative those views may be.
This exchange has actually inspired me to Google OAN's website (assuming they'll feature the link). Even if I laugh (or cry) at every article or video, I feel like I should know what they are saying... particularly since it's allegedly so dangerous. Call me "old school", but one of the things that I learned at Stanford - way back when - was to take in all kinds of information, then form my own opinions.
Be safe!
Maybe I'm giving Ad Fontes and AllSides too much credit (but doubt that Google would feature them prominently, if they themselves were crazed/biased media critics)? I never voted for Trump, and I'm not defending him here, but I have to wonder if the "friend of my enemy" theory isn't leading to some hyperbole in this thread?
I'm also not sure that your argument "that even Mike Gundy realized he couldn't actually defend his attire choice and he lives in Oklahoma" holds much water, as I've read that Trump won the vote in that area by a wide margin. I would humbly suggest that Gandy might have been reacting (in desperate job-preservation mode) to a firestorm of national media and celebrity/athlete critics (who broadly find themselves on the left side of those graphs), as opposed to rethinking the fundamental merits of his personal media consumption, in the context of the Oklahoma electorate? Frankly, in his profession, he didn't have a choice.
Imagine being the coach of an NBA, NFL or MLB team right now, and inviting Thomas Sowell to your home to discuss public policy issues with your team over some drinks. You would not be coaching that team a week later, and that has nothing to do with the merits (or lack thereof) of Professor Sowell's arguments. I would posit that most public figures (be they coaches, actors or CEOs) are simply not allowed to consider, let alone express, certain of their own opinions these days... and that's a real shame, no matter how Liberal or Conservative those views may be.
This exchange has actually inspired me to Google OAN's website (assuming they'll feature the link). Even if I laugh (or cry) at every article or video, I feel like I should know what they are saying... particularly since it's allegedly so dangerous. Call me "old school", but one of the things that I learned at Stanford - way back when - was to take in all kinds of information, then form my own opinions.
Be safe!
He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. - John Stuart Mill