Fox News Channel: Where being a disrespectful jerk is very often a good career move

When you're a dick, you're a dick...and probably due for a raise

It never ceases to amaze me that in times of amazing human suffering somebody says something that can be so utterly stupid.

• Robert Gibbs

I’ve never quite figured out what it is that allows fire-breathing Conservatives to believe that they’re the smartest person in any room they’re in. Therefore, because of their genuine brilliance, they have a license to disrespect those they disagree with however they believe appropriate.

No one will ever accuse Mark Levin of having overdosed on social graces…or native intelligence, for that matter. That hasn’t stopped him from believing he’s f*****g brilliant…because he’s constantly reminding those within earshot of his intellectual superiority.

For the second time in two days, the White House denounced Fox News over remarks by a host relating to the Israel-Hamas war, following condemnation of Jesse Watters’ apparent incitement of violence against Arab Americans with condemnation of Mark Levin for calling two CNN anchors “self-hating Jews”.

Andrew Bates, a spokesperson, said: “President Biden believes in an America where we come together against hate and don’t fan its flames. But not only is Fox News aligning with those who fan the flames of hate – Fox is paying their salaries.”

Levin, who hosts Life, Liberty & Levin, a Fox News weekend show, attacked Wolf Blitzer and Jake Tapper of CNN on The Mark Levin Show, his daily radio show[.]

It’s one thing to disagree with someone. We all do that, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with Levin laying out his disagreements and his reasons for why he feels as he does. For someone who works for Fox News to be allowed to engage in such hate speech…and to hear nothing from his employer…is reprehensible.

Then again, this is how Fox News operates. They’ve never had a problem with their talking heads creating controversy because that creates more publicity (and higher advertising rates) for the network.

Though Levin, who is Jewish, acknowledged Blitzer’s family history – all the CNN anchor’s grandparents were killed in the Holocaust – Levin said Blitzer’s parents “weren’t victims”. Regarding Blitzer’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, Levin called the host “a dumb bastard” with “a hearing problem and an IQ problem” who “wants Israel to die”.

Blitzer was a “self-hating Jew”, Levin said, reaching for a label he previously applied to Tapper.

CNN called Levin’s comments “wildly uninformed, inappropriate and shameful”, adding that his “antisemitic rhetoric is dangerous, offensive and should be universally denounced”.

On Friday, the White House did so.

Again, there’s nothing wrong with Levin disagreeing with whatever he feels Wolf Blitzer is doing “wrong,” but calling him a “dumb bastard?” And a “self-hating Jew?” Seriously?

Has he looked in the mirror recently? Because I think what he’d see looking back at him is someone suffering from an almost complete lack of self-awareness.

Are we no longer adults? Is it no longer possible to have civil disagreements without it immediately descending to name-calling and cheap insults?

Or is Levin so insecure in his arguments that the only way he can sell it is with character assassination and cheap personal insults?

As if I need to answer that….

“Lying to insult the pain that families suffered in the Holocaust has absolutely no place in America,” Bates said. “None. Sadly, this is not the first time in recent months that a Fox News host made sickening remarks about the Holocaust.

“Despite condemnation from the Auschwitz Memorial, Fox has not even disagreed with Greg Gutfeld’s reprehensible claim that Nazi labour camps taught Jews to be ‘useful’.”

In July, during a debate over the rightwing claim that some Black people benefited from being enslaved, Gutfeld said on air: “Did you ever [read] Man’s Search for Meaning? Vik[tor] Frankl talks about how you had to survive in a concentration camp by having skills. You had to be useful. Utility. Utility kept you alive.”

Once upon a time, the Holocaust was off-limits. It was recognized that those who’d survived that time or who’d lost relatives, friends, and loved ones mustn’t be subjected to insults or jokes based on the Holocaust. It was simply a bridge too far, metaphorically pouring a pound of salt into an emotional laceration.

Now, classless hacks like Mark Levin, Greg Gutfeld, and Jesse Watters recognize no limits and respect no boundaries. If they disagree with someone, they immediately play dirty.

If you can’t beat ‘em, call ‘em names and toss a few cheap personal insults their way. It’s a great way to distract the Fox News viewers, most of whom don’t care about facts and evidence, anyway.

If someone on MSNBC or CNN said what Greg Gutfeld said on-air at Fox News, not only would they very likely be suspended immediately, but the resulting uproar- including from Fox News- would mean they’d soon be out of work.

Be a low-class buffoon on Fox News, though, and the network execs are counting up the ad dollars generated by the controversy.

On Friday, in his statement on Levin’s comments, Bates said: “It isn’t even the first time this week that a Fox host chose to abuse their platform and spread hate.”

A day before, Bates condemned comments in which Watters, discussing instances of pictures of Israeli hostages held by Hamas being taken down from public display, seemed to advocate violence.

Watters said: “If you’re an Arab American in this country, and you rip down posters of Jewish hostages, American hostages, no. No, no, no. Someone is going to get punched in the face.”

First of all, no one should be ripping down posters of Jewish hostages, American hostages, ANY hostages. It’s disrespectful and an almost certain incitement to violence.

Second, why would Jesse Watters need to advocate violence? What is there to be gained by that?

What too many Fox talking heads seem incapable of understanding is that having a platform such as they do comes with the responsibility to be sober and level-headed. They should refrain from doing or saying anything that might inflame tempers. That’s not rocket science; it’s basic common sense.

Referring to a recent killing in Illinois, now the subject of murder and hate crime charges, Bates said: “Even after the heartbreaking killing of a six-year-old Palestinian American child and a surge in violence against Muslims and Arab Americans, two nights ago Jesse Watters made vile comments that attack the dignity of all Americans, saying he’s ‘done’ with Arab Americans and Muslims.

“And Fox News continues to promote the cynical, dangerous lie that fighting against Islamophobia is somehow at odds with fighting antisemitism, even as they permit hosts to hurt their viewers with foul antisemitic comments.

“President Biden will always stand up against antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of hate. Fox News needs to stop standing up on behalf of hate.”

Fox News had no comment on all of this, of course. They never do, and why would they? The controversies created by Levin, Watters, and Gutfeld help their bottom line. So why would they do or say anything to upset that gravy train?

Unfortunately, in our current dysfunctional climate, being an asshole is a far more lucrative career move- particularly if your paycheck happens to come from Fox News, where nice guys finish last.

For those of us who prefer to be able to look at ourselves in the mirror without wanting to vomit, we’ll have to settle for relative poverty and self-respect.

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