| | | You were warned, media
The media received a dire warning on July 2 from James A. Gagliano of CNN. He is a retired FBI supervisory special agent. He wrote a column, "We need to pay attention to the attack on Andy Ngo."
Ngo is the editor-at-large of the Post Millennial. His book on covering Antifa -- Unmasked -- will debut on February 2. He was beaten up by Antifa when covering one of their riots.
Gagliano wrote, "The viral images are sickening. Andy Ngo, a photojournalist and editor at the online magazine Quillette, who has made a cottage industry of exposing instances of manufactured hate crimes, was viciously assaulted while covering an Antifa rally held as a counter-protest to a rally of right-wing groups, including the Proud Boys, in Portland, Oregon. Antifa derives from anti-fascist, and is associated with aggressive, hard-left activism. The video shows masked protesters circling Ngo, punching and hitting him and dousing him with a milkshake, then following him as he flees. One hurls something at his back."
The CNN law enforcement analyst wisely saw Antifa as the anarchists they are.
He demanded they be unmasked, citing the attack on Ngo.
The Oregonian ignored Ngo, devoting but the 10th paragraph of an 11-paragraph story ("3 arrested as downtown Portland protests escalate into civil disturbance") to the assault on him.
The paragraph said, "Police said three of the injured people received medical care at area hospitals. Among the people injured over the course of the afternoon was Andy Ngo, the conservative writer who appeared to be attacked by Antifa members."
Appeared to be...
Five months later, Antifa is still in Portland attacking journalists. Only this time, the journalists are liberal, not conservative.
The Oregonian is most upset.
It reported, "Activists work to block journalists from full, accurate coverage of occupation outside ‘red house’ in N. Portland."
The story began, "Journalists attempting to cover the activist-led occupation along a blocks-long stretch of North Portland have been repeatedly intimidated and, in some cases, roughed up by protesters.
"A local television news team and a freelance photographer for national outlets are among those to detail such encounters during the anti-eviction demonstration over the so-called Red House on Mississippi, where a black and indigenous family has lived for decades.
"Photographers for The Oregonian/OregonLive also documented hate speech and rough treatment directed at them while at the site."
None of them wound up in the ER -- unlike Ngo.
The story had the kind of righteous indignation one might expect from liberals. The tone was how dare You People attack us after we wrote editorials supporting You People?
The story said, "For months, reporters have navigated an array of hazards and hostilities as they’ve sought to document the racial justice movement that’s engulfed the city.
"The rights to peaceably assemble and petition the government are enshrined in the First Amendment, which allows protesters to take to the streets of Portland.
"The same amendment also grants protections to the press, which include the right to document and report on events as they happen in public spaces, free of any government restrictions."
Of course, Portland protesters did not peaceably assemble. They rioted and burned and looted.
And really the only protection the press has is the right to print what it wants. The First Amendment does not give exemption to the law, nor does it make the police the bodyguards of reporters. You cover trouble, expect trouble.
The Oregonian quoted photographer Beth Nakamura of the Oregonian, who said, "We’re completely hamstrung to show a realistic and fully dimensional picture of what’s going on."
Waah.
She also said, "I’m not unsympathetic to the issues of gentrification and displacement that people are trying to address here. It’s a very messy moment. It’s a very tense moment. So it’s critical that we are able to communicate what’s at stake."
The press does not get it.
The left does not need them. They served their purpose, now get lost. The newspaper whined about hate speech hurled at its staff. I was not there but I imagine the same names hurled at Ngo were hurled at Nakamura.
Once upon a time, the press understood an attack on one is an attack on all.
A new generation learns the lesson the hard way. I suggest beefing up at the gym and carrying a sidearm. |
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