A Challenge to Glenn Beck

February 18, 2011

Making fun of Glenn Beck is far too easy. It’s like making a grilled cheese sandwich. Sure, there’s some satisfaction in it, but it’s not too hard and you can’t really gloat over it. However, it’s a mistake to think the man is stupid. He has to know the falsehoods and craziness he spews out. He has to realize he’s doctoring quotes, altering symbols, and otherwise relying on fringe theorists who once would have been relegated to a street corner.

Instead, though, I’d like to offer a challenge to Mister Beck. If you would like to join, simply copy the text below and send it to me@glennbeck.com. Don’t just include the link to this page since odds are the spam filters will block the email. It’s one thing to claim the scary brown people are coming to take away everything we know and love… it’s another thing to say that an entire religion is the personal army of the Anti-Christ. So, without further ado… my challenge.

RESEARCH vs DEBATE by =Twarrior on deviantART

Mister Beck, for going on three years now, you’ve used your platform on Fox News to peddle conspiracy theories and accusations against progressives, liberals, and anyone else you see as a threat to the American way of life.

You’ve promoted the works of self-proclaimed anti-Semites and used their hate-filled speech to vilify people like George Soros who have actually helped topple communist governments.

You’ve had books ghost-written that are an insult to real writers everywhere, then tried to pass one, The Overton Window, as some sort of prophecy of the coming darkness.

You claimed the mantle of Doctor Martin Luther King Jr., and then backpedaled when many called you out on it, eventually distorting even the meaning of Doctor King’s famous rally in Washington DC.

You’ve labeled groups such as Code Pink and NCLR as extremists, often grouping them with actual terror groups like MS13 or Hamas, using nothing but the most flimsy connection, hampering the process of race relations and community outreach in the process.

On February 17, 2011, though, you crossed another line and claimed that Islamic extremists, which according to your own theories must be everywhere, wish to bring the Anti-Christ forth. Your guest, Joel Richardson, took it one step further and claimed these beliefs, that the 12th Imam would lead a holy war against Israel and the West, were shared not by a small minority, but by Muslims everywhere, that this was somehow orthodox and could not be altered.

Mister Beck, you did not correct or chastise your guest for lumping all of Islam together with the extremists. You did not emphasize that these are views held by radicals. If you believe that the majority of Muslims believe the 12th Imam will come and destroy Israel and usher Armageddon, and if you believe that it will lead the end of all things, then you must work to prevent it.

You must denounce the state of Israel since its creation is one of the events that will help usher in the end times.

You must denounce Christians who likewise are working to create the conditions for the End Times.

You must spearhead a crusade against Islam itself.

If you do not do any of these things, then you do not believe your guest’s accusations. Instead, you’ve simply given a platform to a lunatic who believes he is a prophet for God and are using shock tactics to scare your audience into buying gold, buying food, or whatever else you’re peddling this week.

That is my challenge to you, Mister Beck. Either clarify your stance, denounce your guest, or take the actions that someone who truly believes Islam is the vehicle for the Anti-Christ must take.

-A Concerned Member of the Human Community

humanity by ~vicber on deviantART

No links today, but watch for more randomness on Monday! See you then!