To the Left, Only the Right can be Truly Racist

Trump calling COVID -19 the Chinese Virus  (News18)

Updated*

‘If you stay here much longer, you'll all be slitty-eyed.’ The ‘here’ in that comment is China. Which is a racist comment by any definition. 

How ‘Trumpian’.  The mainstream media is so obsessed with racism… so sensitive to comments like this, that when they are made by a conservative media personality, they will be  all over them like a cheap suit. Often resulting in being ‘canceled’ because of a zero tolerance policy towards racism. Surely it would be hypercritical to give anyone a pass if they made a comment like this. Looking the other way is no longer an option. 

When the former President made comments like this he was anything but ignored. As was the case when he called the COVID-19 virus the ‘China or Chinese virus’. They saw it as a racist comment against Asian Americans. (Not sure why no one ever considered it racist to call an earlier deadly epidemic ‘the Spanish flu’. But I digress.) Trump has been hammered for calling it the Chinese virus more times than I can count - even now 2 months after he left office. He is being blamed for fomenting the current wave of violent attacks against Americans of Asian descent. 

That Trump would make a comment like the one above should not surprise anyone. Except that he didn’t make it. It was made by the late Prince Philip - husband to the Queen of England. Prince Philip died early this morning at age 99. 

The Late Prince Philip

Watching the news bulletin announcing it and then listening to the liberal media personalities discussing his life made him sound like a beloved hero who could do no wrong. Even though they reported that he made that comment, it didn’t matter. They could not praise the late Prince enough. Acknowledging that it was not politically correct they nevertheless said that comments he made like this were eccentric and part of his charm. Adding that he was a beloved figure among his wife’s royal subjects, the British people. How admired he was.  They loved him there. Despite his oft heard vulgar language and a derogatory racist ‘slitty-eyed’ comment. (Among many other un-PC comments). 

The reaction by the media to racist comments is clearly influenced by their politics. I don‘t think that‘s arguable. Trump is a racist. Prince Philip is charming. 

The world doesn’t seem to care. Not that these ancient and irrelevant relics of a once glorious past mean anything to me. They do not. But – again – it illustrates the double standard that exists among many people in the media that pretend to be fair and balanced. Oh… they try and put on a good show. But it does not work with me. Nor should it with anyone else paying attention.

Just to be clear, I do not absolve the former President of any of his race bating comments. They all deserve to be condemned. But it should now be abundantly clear (if it hasn’t been until now) that accusations of racism are clearly a function of one’s politics. 

What really fueled the liberal media hatred of Trump were his policy decisions. His character – or lack of it - gave the liberal media all the ammunition they needed to paint him – and thereby his policies as evil.  

Just to cite one example of that is the border wall he built to shut down illegal immigration through Mexico. Which he was unable to complete - leaving many gaps . The media was quick to characterize that wall as racist - based on Trump’s supposed hatred of Hispanics.  

But now that the current President is considering closing those gaps... not a word of criticism is heard. Its all good now that Biden wants to do it. The media is silent. Instead they blame the border crisis (which is now far worse than it ever was under Trump) on Trump’s draconian immigration policies The current administration can blame the former President all they want. But what is happening now is happening under Biden’s watch. It is clear from the statements of many illegal immigrants now streaming across the border that they were encouraged to do so by the Biden’s more openly sympathetic attitude towards them. Apparently Biden’s answer is to ‘...build that wall’.  Where is the media criticism? I haven’t heard any. 

Off my soapbox.

*Update

It appears that this post about double standard of the media in how they react to racist comments by public figures  - has been taken as a criticism of Prince Philip. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have no particular animus towards the late prince - even though his comment would clearly be seen today as racist by any standard. I don't think that the prince was personally any more racist that the ex-President - despite comments by both that would seem otherwise. 

Furthermore - it is my understanding that he had a favorable attitude towards Israel and the Jewish people. Something he must have inherited from his mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, who rescued Jewish lives during the Holocaust.

Just want to make this clear.