The tragedy in Norway is a sobering moment. As of this writing, 76 people are confirmed dead, either killed by the blast in Oslo or hunted down by a madman with a gun on Utoeya Island. Most of those killed were teenagers. It's so difficult to to write anything about such an event, and I can barely string together the words to express my emotions at this time. My heart goes to the survivors, the families of the victims and to all the people of Norway.
When such events occur, I take the time to think deeply on the subject, reflect on what has happened. I don't normally write anything when such things happen because words fail me. And I wouldn't say anything now, but for one thing I read. Once again the American media has plumbed the depths of degradation. Once again it has proven itself an international disgrace. It has allowed a pundit airtime to say that the camp attacked "sounds a little like the Hitler youth. I mean, who does a camp that's all about politics?"
It shouldn't surprise me that Glenn Beck was the one to say that. What surprises me is the fact that the man is paid to be anywhere near a microphone. That comment is filled with the hatred and vitriol that Beck and all the other pundits, conservative and liberal, have been able to spew on television and radio. And "all for ratings," a technical term for feeding one's own ego through attracting attention like a spoiled three-year-old.
Besides showing Glenn Beck's complete detachment from reality, it also displays his ignorance of world history. Norway was forcibly occupied by Nazi Germany in World War II for five years. During that time, it formed a major resistance movement to defy that tyranny. Norwegian resistance fighters helped sink the battleships Bismark and Tirpitz, and, more crucially, helped destroy Norsk Hydro's heavy water plant and the stockpile of heavy water at Vermork. They derailed the Nazi's nuclear projects. And many paid with their lives for their defiance. While there were collaborators, just as there were in France and the Netherlands, the majority of Norwegians fought against the occupation and it is obscene to relate the Nazis to Norway
What disturbs me even more, is that many of Glenn Beck's tirades against Islam echo those of Anders Behring Breivik. In the very same broadcast, Beck stated that "evil" Islam is "squeezing the neck" of Europe. Those are the same views that drove Breivik to kill children. Of course, Beck then said that the killer was a horrible person like Bin Laden, but that is a hollow statement. You cannot denounce a man for his actions while affirming his motivations.
There is no hope for reaching a person like Beck. Such people are so lost into their own paradigm that they will never find their way back to reality again. But I hope that statements like those he made will disgust the majority of people. Then again, knowing that this man has an audience of any kind dims such hope.
