Beyond Chron: Profile in lameness

BeyondChron's refusal to publish my letter on Comedy Central's censorhip of South Park nicely confirms my critique last year of that "progressive" online publication, which politically is nothing but an online version of the Bay Guardian.

My letter to the editor of April 26: "Beyond Chron rightly criticizes the National Day of Prayer but has yet to mention Comedy Central's censorship of South Park after threats from Islamic fanatics. What's the deal?" This follow-up inquiry got no response from our online guardian of PC opinion: "Can I assume that you're not going to publish my letter?"

Like those concerned about illegal immigration, are those who worry about how Islamic extremists bully the media also supposedly racists here in Progressive Land? And how is BeyondChron's lameness on this censorhip issue superior to the Chronicle? The latter at least published Phil Bronstein's column, but Beyond Chron won't even publish my letter on the issue.

I don't often agree with Ross Douthat of the NY Times, but he puts his finger on our "cowardice and self-censorhip" problem with Islam:

Our culture has few taboos that can’t be violated, and our establishment has largely given up on setting standards in the first place. Except where Islam is concerned. There, the standards are established under threat of violence, and accepted out of a mix of self-preservation and self-loathing. This is what decadence looks like: a frantic coarseness that “bravely” trashes its own values and traditions, and then knuckles under swiftly to totalitarianism and brute force. Happily, today’s would-be totalitarians are probably too marginal to take full advantage. This isn’t Weimar Germany, and Islam’s radical fringe is still a fringe, rather than an existential enemy. For that, we should be grateful. Because if a violent fringe is capable of inspiring so much cowardice and self-censorship, it suggests that there’s enough rot in our institutions that a stronger foe might be able to bring them crashing down.

My post on our wimpy "alternative" media from four years ago is here.

The Danish cartoons that sparked a previous outburst of violence and bullying by Islamic extremists can be seen here.