Ken Berwitz

As regular readers know, I'm no fan of Glenn Beck. 

But I know out of control hatred when I see it, and I just read  an example of that kind of hatred from, of all people, a sports writer

The writer's name is rick chandler, and he is with (what else is new?) NBC.  chandler takes exception to the Glenn Beck "Restoring America" rally to be held in Washington DC this weekend, and to the fact that St. Louis Cardinal manager Tony LaRusso and perennial all-star Albert Pujols are going to be in attendance. 

Let me pull an excerpt from chandler's piece so you can see why his comments are repulsive enough to merit space in this blog:

If there were one piece of mail I would handle only with barbecue tongs and a plastic evidence bag, it would be an invitation to Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally in Washington D.C. Yet Tony La Russa and Albert Pujols -- men who have shown no other outward signs of mental imbalance -- have accepted their invites. Going out of one's way to align themselves with Glenn Beck surely is a mystery ... especially for La Russa and Pujols, who don't seem like Fox News types. But I could be wrong. Oh, this just in: Featured speaker at the rally ... Sarah Palin.

 

In case you're not aware, Beck's rally is described by him as a way to "celebrate America by honoring our heroes, our heritage and our future." But it's being held on Aug. 28 -- the same date as the Martin Luther King Jr. "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963 -- and in the same location, the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. This has caused great wailing and gnashing of teeth among some civil rights leaders.

So what do we have here?  We have rick chandler, a sports writer, giving us a hate-soaked, insulting political diatribe against Glenn Beck, his rally, Fox News and Sarah Palin (who is invoked, apparently, in the expectation that you hate her as much as he does, so you will be shocked into hating the event as much as he does too.) 

Then, of course, there is the requisite suggestion of racism that seems never to be overlooked by the chandlers of the world ("This has caused great wailing and gnashing of teeth among some civil rights leaders").

For the record, Beck has said he was unaware that this was the anniversary date of Martin Luther King's speech - and, out of respect for King, he will stand further down the steps, so he will be below where King spoke.

I wonder how chandler felt when perennial all-star Carlos Delgado, an outspokenly anti-War activist, refused to stand up or even be in the dugout at any ballpark that played "God Bless America".  Why do I have a sneaking suspicion that wasn't a problem to him?

My advice to rick chandler and other sportswriters (I have a particular other one in mind who I won't name, but I like very much on a personal level) is to stick to sports.  That's what you do, that's what you're paid for.

And that's what most of chandler's readers want.  If you doubt me, click on the link to his article, read through the comments and see for yourself.