The Sound of Silence:Left-lib media commentators zip lips about culture of violence.....

Long before he and his young Jamaican sidekick went on a lengthy killing spree, John Allen Muhammad, a.k.a. John Allen Williams, is said to have mused to a friend about all the damage one might be able to do with the use of a silencer.

Muhammad was talking about a silencer for a gun, of course, but curiously the veteran-turned-sniper?s amazing case has shown us that when it comes to the left-leaning media, being a Black Muslim engenders a silencing of its own sort.

Under normal circumstances, left-wing pundits and media personalities love nothing more than complaining about America?s ?culture of violence.? After the gruesome Oklahoma City Bombings, commentators and reporters worked themselves into a frenzy blaming right wing ?extremists,? conservative talk radio, and the National Rifle Association for creating the culture of aggression that allowed Timothy McVeigh to shed so much blood. The idea was that by criticizing the federal government and advocating gun rights, prominent right-wingers like NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre and radio favorite Rush Limbaugh had produced an environment where a homicidal Tim McVeigh could grow.

Now, whether or not you agree with the media?s reasoning?that environmental factors and influences are so strong they create an atmosphere that causes people to do outrageous things?is up to you. Personally, I think it?s a little like blaming Ralph Nader for Winona Ryder?s shoplifting incident. Yes, Ralph is a consumer advocate who criticizes big corporations, but that doesn?t mean he?s responsible for a spoiled actress lifting a $5,000 hat from Saks. (Or does it? Note to self: Attempt to use expensive law degree to gain big bucks flogging creative anti-Green Party Ryder defense.)

But I digress. The point is, if you are going to buy into the whole idea of a culture of violence, as most of the liberal media clearly does, then surely the time to talk about such a culture and its impact is in the days after violent sniper attacks have killed ten and wounded three in the D.C. area.

Yet the media have been strangely silent on the matter of the atmosphere and the culture that led to Mr. Muhammad and Mr. Malvo?s deadly attacks.

We learned soon after the two were arrested that they had talked sympathetically about the September 11 hijackers, that Muhammad was a strong believer in Islam, and that Muhammad had provided security at the Million Man March, an event organized by Nation of Islam leader and noted anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan. We have since learned that Muhammad and Malvo borrowed the weapons that were used in a shooting in a Washington State synagogue.

Now, you don?t have to be a member of Mensa to take a look at these facts and extract a suspicion that maybe it was some of the hate and/or anti-Semitism and/or anti-Americanism and/or glorification of violence of Islamic culture that led to the DC murders. But the members of the media are loath to make the connection. They have reported Muhammad?s ties to Islam as though such facts were mundane details we might or might not find of interest:

The sniper is a former military man who leads a quiet life. He likes peanuts, praying to Allah, and playing checkers. He roots for the Mets, The Islanders, and Islamic terrorists who blow up the World Trade Center. In his spare time, he collects stamps and shoots up synagogues. It is still completely unclear why he might have committed the attacks.

Those same pundits who were so quick to point the finger at right wing culture when the Oklahoma federal building was bombed do not dare to similarly connect the dots and point out the contributing role that might have been played by the multitude of Islamofascist and/or anti-American statements and sentiments that have been so insistently expressed since last year?s September 11 attacks..................................

A timely reminder of the conservative bashing that has become a regular feature of left-lib media. But then again, why should we be surprised? After all, this is the same bunch who reported Tuesday night's raucous Democratic Party pep rally as a solemn memorial tribute to Paul Wellstone.

The sniper is a former military man who leads a quiet life. He likes peanuts, praying to Allah, and playing checkers. He roots for the Mets, The Islanders, and Islamic terrorists who blow up the World Trade Center. In his spare time, he collects stamps and shoots up synagogues. It is still completely unclear why he might have committed the attacks...

Exactly the way the NY Times or Post would report it.

The vast Media Silence about horrific street crimes (black-on-black) is a manifestation of the same. In Milwaukee, a woman was gang-raped after buying a pack of cigarettes, and the newspaper has hardly covered the story--except to note that it happened and the perps were caught.

At least after the gang of children bludgeoned an adult to death there was coverage--almost all quite sympathetic, of course, to the perps who were under the age of 12.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.