Was it just me, or were all three members of the panel strongly religious? They all admit to it, just watch the video again. According to their own story there are 3 million atheists in this country, and CNN couldn't find one to come and debate these wackos. They interviewed someone from the Secular Coalition for America for their piece, why didn't they ask someone from that organization to engage in a real debate? Also, how in the fuck did Stephen A. Smith manage to get on that panel? Last I checked, Stephen A. Smith is an expert on basketball, not the constitutional separation between church and state. Another good question is, why is he the voice of reason in all of this?
The whole video is a great example of how not to have a debate. Big, bright yellow letters that say, "Why do atheists inspire such hatred?" I don't know. Could it be that everyone around is intolerant? Not even one single atheist in the room to make a single counterpoint. Was this Paula Zahn or Bill O'Reilly? I'll make this point nice and clear for both of their panelists who are clearly out of touch with reality. Karen Hunter is African American, so she must know what it is like to be discriminated against. Debbie Schlussel is Jewish, so I think it is safe to assume that she has run up against some ignorance in her time. What if I hosted a panel about why African Americans make up a vast majority of the incarcerated population and asked only members of the KKK and Mike Golic of ESPN to hold a discussion on the issue? I'm sure Karen Hunter would be outraged. Maybe I should host a panel about human rights violations committed against Palestinians by the Israeli government and have an atheist, a Muslim, and John Madden weigh in on the situation. That should drive the point home for Debbie Schlussel.
It is insulting that CNN would air that piece, not only to atheists, but to all Americans who demand even a little intellectual integrity from their news media. Even if this was not such an emotional issue as discrimination, you cannot possibly claim to be balanced when one side is represented by 3 people and the other side by none. I did also appreciate Karen Hunter essentially telling atheists that their place was at the back of the bus when she said, "I think they need to shut up." (It is around 2:17 on the second video.)
I also enjoyed hearing about how atheists are oppressing religious Americans. Yup, that 3% of the population sure has the rest of the country right under their thumb. Wanting enforcement of the separation of church and state, a law that has been in place since our Constitution was ratified, is not oppression anymore than our criminal code is oppressing to murderers. If you violate the tenet of separation, you are breaking the law and you should be taken to task for it. I personally fail to see this as oppression.
So, I wrote to CNN and told them what I thought about this piece. I think you should do the same. This isn't about religious beliefs or anything like that. This is about journalism. If we can't hold CNN to a standard of balance in reporting, then we are in trouble as a society and a culture.
To whom it may concern,
I was greatly insulted by your January 31st piece about discrimination against atheists in America. I am an atheist myself, and while I have not personally experienced intolerance at the hands of my beliefs (and they are beliefs, contrary to the ignorant comments of Karen Hunter), I am aware that it does exist and I applaud CNN for doing this story. Perhaps if more people realized how much intolerance atheists face there could be more informed discussion on this topic. However, informed discussion was not to be on the show. The panelists that you featured included two Christians, one Jew, and zero atheists. It was intellectually insulting to watch such a biased discussion, with biased questions. Perhaps instead of "Why do atheist inspire such hatred?" you could have posed the question, "Why is mainstream America so intolerant toward atheists?" The first question implies that atheist are deserving of the scorn they receive, while the second asks for real justification.
While I respect the opinions of the panelists, I have to say that featuring three religious people in a debate on discrimination against atheists is unethical at best. CNN had a chance to bring about real discussion, and failed to do so in so blatant a way that I feel it damages your credibility. You cannot host such a one sided debate in a forum where balance and honesty are paramount. I personally expect more from a news organization with such prestige and reputation, and I believe that you owe atheists and Americans an apology for that panel.
Sincerely,
John
5 comments:
I've linked to your post in a follow-up to my original February 1 post on the issue.
Great post and letter to CNN. I sent similar feedback too, and am glad to see the kind of organization that is quickly happening amongst reasonable people in reaction to this.
I find it sort of funny that, out of all the panelists, it was ESPN's Smith that presented the most sound and tolerant argument, in the second video at least.
So you found 3 out of the however many hundreds of reporters that work for CNN and think that is an honest platform for your argument? CNN will still always be the biased news network that everyone has come to know it as.
I could not believe the quality of this so-called debate. I was absolutely disgusted watching the two women prattle ignorantly about atheists while patting each other on the back. Thank goodness they had at least one reasonable person involved.
The panel they chose was absolutely ridiculous. I suppose they thought that two blacks and a Jew would make a perfect assortment, since they obviously know so much about discrimination. This is nonsense. As long as there are atheists out there to speak for themselves, there is no reason to hire another minority to cover our bases.
This is yet another display of how bigoted/arrogant some people can be. It isn't good press for any of the parties involved.
Post a Comment