by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Last Friday New York Magazine released a shocking excerpt from a new book by a former advice columnist named E. Jean Carroll which described a physical assault and rape that Ms. Carroll claimed to have suffered from New York businessman Donald Trump in the 1990's. The story blazed through social media for about a day and then quietly began to disappear from view - and by Sunday morning it was of such a low media priority that none of the major Sunday news shows even bothered to address it.
A well-respected journalist describes a horrific rape that she suffered at the hands of an entitled billionaire - a man who is currently the sitting President of the United States - and it is largely ignored and forgotten in less than forty-eight hours.
Donald Trump, however, did not ignore or forget the slight on his character. His people immediately issued a wall of denials, and Trump, being Trump, hurled a few personal insults at his accuser including that she was a grifter just trying to make a few bucks off of her book. Then, a few days later he got a bit more personal by saying the Ms. Carroll was not "his type," leaving some to ponder just what type he preferred to rape.
Trump's responses are perfectly in line with his reputation for being a bully and demeaning others - but the media's response in minimizing a rape allegation is beyond that pale of journalistic and social decency. If the President of the United States stands accused of multiple rape and sexual assault allegations (twenty-four to date), that should make for a story that would demand to be heard, and for American media to dishonor those victims by minimizing their claims is a cruel betrayal of journalistic ethics.
From the media's perspective, it was just a case of Donald being Donald. Move along, no story here!
Citizen Journalist
Last Friday New York Magazine released a shocking excerpt from a new book by a former advice columnist named E. Jean Carroll which described a physical assault and rape that Ms. Carroll claimed to have suffered from New York businessman Donald Trump in the 1990's. The story blazed through social media for about a day and then quietly began to disappear from view - and by Sunday morning it was of such a low media priority that none of the major Sunday news shows even bothered to address it.
A well-respected journalist describes a horrific rape that she suffered at the hands of an entitled billionaire - a man who is currently the sitting President of the United States - and it is largely ignored and forgotten in less than forty-eight hours.
Donald Trump, however, did not ignore or forget the slight on his character. His people immediately issued a wall of denials, and Trump, being Trump, hurled a few personal insults at his accuser including that she was a grifter just trying to make a few bucks off of her book. Then, a few days later he got a bit more personal by saying the Ms. Carroll was not "his type," leaving some to ponder just what type he preferred to rape.
Trump's responses are perfectly in line with his reputation for being a bully and demeaning others - but the media's response in minimizing a rape allegation is beyond that pale of journalistic and social decency. If the President of the United States stands accused of multiple rape and sexual assault allegations (twenty-four to date), that should make for a story that would demand to be heard, and for American media to dishonor those victims by minimizing their claims is a cruel betrayal of journalistic ethics.
From the media's perspective, it was just a case of Donald being Donald. Move along, no story here!
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