Consistency

Submitted by J. Keen Holland (United States), Nov 20, 2013 at 10:15

I am old enough to remember the media drumbeat about "the shame of Dallas." Even at 13, I found that notion puzzling. And, a few years later, it was notable that no one seemed to speak of the "shame of Los Angeles" when Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was gunned down in thatt city. Given the politics of the 60s, I suspect that the parallel attribution might have been made if RFK had been assassinated in Orange County. In other words, a truly awful thing can happen almost anywhere, but the commuunity in which it happens tends to be blamed only when opinion shapers have a pre-existing dislike for that place based on political factors unrelated to the act in question.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".