Update on Randi Rhodes
From Talking Radio:
AAR’s official blogger, Nancy Scola, posted the following message on the lib network’s website this morning:
Air America host Randi Rhodes experienced an unfortunate incident hindering her from hosting her show. The reports of a presumed hate crime are unfounded. Ms. Rhodes looks forward to being back on the air on Thursday.
After seeing the comments there and sampling comments on blogs left and right, several points come to mind:
1) Jumping to conclusions about it being politically motivated advances nothing but fear.
2) There’s some pretty hateful folks around, eager to add insults to Randi’s injuries.
3) Despite #1, the online violence and sociopathy women are subjected to makes it prudent to recognize there are sickos afoot who should be institutionalized. Sadly, they can’t turn to standard social ‘protectors’ with confidence anymore, as police forces and the military - because of their authoritarian positions - draw too many sickos like magnets to their ranks.
I continue to look for a greater commitment to civility, no matter what side one’s political opinions are on. Biting one’s tongue has become a lost art compared to the compulsion to prove one’s cruelty. Can’t we leave the flame wars to middle schoolers?
It may be different when one is aiming for the truly funny. But otherwise, here’s where the bar should be set:
A woman was physically assaulted, enough to miss work for several days. Now how would your mother expect you to respond to that if the woman lived next door?
Update: The NY Daily News is now reporting that NO assault took place at all.
A police source said Rhodes never filed a report and never claimed to be the victim of a mugging. Cops from Manhattan’s 17th Precinct called her attorney, who told them Rhodes was not a victim of a crime, the source said.
Rhodes’ lawyer told the Daily News she was injured in a fall while walking her dog. He said she’s not sure what happened, and only knows that she fell down and is in a lot of pain. The lawyer said Rhodes expects to be back on the air Thursday. He stressed there is no indication she was targeted or that she was the victim of a “hate crime.”
If that’s the case, it sounds like Air America’s Jon Elliot sure stirred things up needlessly. However, since Thom Hartmann’s car was hit with bullets in the past wek, I can understand why talk hosts get nervous. And since Rhodes doesn’t know what made her fall, I understand how easy one can jump to paranoid conclusions.
I continue to wish Randi a speedy recovery.
October 16th, 2007 at 10:57 am
thanks for the update, kevin.
October 16th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
I don’t remember any of you libs reacting to real crimes such as the guy who tried to kill Katherine Harris with his car any of the other idiot BDS sufferers.
You all jumped to conclusions and were spectacularly wrong (again).
I especially like the way you disparaged our military men and women who have died so that you can blog about subjects that you have 100% wrong. As a vet, I take great offense to you calling those serving “sickos” and I’m sure when you find yourself in need of a cop you’ll be sure to not address them as Officer Sicko.
As for the hateful people ready to do Randi harm, it appears that the only soul that wished her harm was her dog. That speaks volumes of liberals that even mans best friend means them harm.
October 16th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
Scott: the link went nowhere. I was wholly unaware of any effort to kill Katherine Harris. After Googling, I found an incident you must be referring to: a guy claims he steered his car at them trying to intimidate them. I would have rebuked that completely, had I known.
Stop generalizing, Scott. I’ve seen no sign of you at our website before. You have nothing to base your accusations on except assumptions. In fact, if you read my first post about Randi, I wrote: Lots of speculation about it being a political attack. I’m not going there till more details come in, except to say if it was, they will rue the day, as the country will definitely rise to condemn this.
And I meant I fully expected most - left or right - would condemn it.
And you certainly overstated my position on the cops and military. Just as pedophiles apply to work at daycare centers, and arsonists are drawn to be firefighters, there are violence-lovers attracted to power positions in law enforcement and the military.
I didn’t come close to suggesting that most cops or most troops act that way. I was referring to the ‘few bad apples’. I’m hardly anti-military; I grew up on and around military bases as a military brat and my friends still include veterans. I also have active duty military in my family.
I also don’t know why you accuse Randi’s dog of attacking her. Making that assumption suggests you have a bit of hypocrisy in your arsenal. Not Republicans, not conservatives, just YOU.
Next time, do try to avoid shooting yourself in the foot and planting the gun on me.
October 16th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
No, it wasn’t her dogs fault as it turns out, she was just hammered on Ketel One apparently. This according to an eyewitness who alleges that was the facts.
http://gawker.com/news/developing/was-talk-show-host-randi-rhodes-jumped-by-14-ketel-ones-311453.php
You disparaged the military by saying they attract “sickos” like a magnet. I wonder how your veteran friends as well as active duty family would interpret that.
As for blogging, I wrote for the last nine months at the AOL election blog The Stump–a paying gig as it were. I’ve run my own blog for four years and have been linked to by many big blogs.
As for shooting myself in the foot, I would suspect that I must have hit a sore spot because you quickly retorted and it was long. That says to me that there must have been some truth in what I said and it hit a might bit close to home.
October 16th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
I always respond once or twice, Scott, to folks who don’t know me. I’m not sure what your point is about your blogging history as I made no reference to it.
I stand by my own words and don’t really believe they’ll draw much challenge. As you’re a vet, I’m sure you’ve met some people in the service who made you shake your head a bit. If not, you’re lucky.
And since the point is not to rush to judgment on the basis of hearsay, I’ll believe the Bloody Mary story when it’s verified.
October 18th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
“And since Rhodes doesn’t know what made her fall, I understand how easy one can jump to paranoid conclusions.”
Randi doesn’t know what made her fall? Pah-leeze. I’ve been “walking” for some time now. And whenever I’ve taken a fall, I’ve always managed to know precisely what it was that made me fall. Except, of course, if I’ve had 14 Bloody Marys. Then again, maybe liberals just have a problem walking their dogs and chewing gum at the same time.