Glenn Beck: Don’t Move to Canada. Talk to the Other Side | Hacker News Reader

Glenn Beck: Don’t Move to Canada. Talk to the Other Side

nytimes.com

16 pointsjohnny31317 comments

From the article, Glenn Beck says:

> "Yet, I still go to church, sometimes with a gun."

I don't know why but, that somehow chills me to the core. As a former religious person. I'm so glad I got out American Christianity. It feels insane.

The rest of the article is actually quite sane and rational. I can be wrong but, it reads as if Glenn Beck had a chance to see himself and calm down. He realizes that his rhetoric got him nowhere. Obama wasn't as bad as he had feared. Trump won't be as bad as people fear.

I find myself agreeing with Glenn Beck as we prepare for a Donald Trump presidency. What a time to be alive.

-edited formatting for clarity

He has a lot to answer for. He doesn't get a free pass on his past just for spouting some redemption rhetoric.

What does a non-free pass look like, then? How do we reconcile with the people on the far end of the political spectrum?

Sorry, get someone other than Glenn Beck who didn't go off the deep end on the right-wing side.

If indeed Beck is the "reasonable voice", don't be surprised when people who think he was nuts don't listen to him now.

A non-free pass would mean Beck actually took responsibility for his actions and apologized rather than than attempt to excuse himself with false equivalence.

Let's be clear, he baselessly demonized Obama's presidency while the man was actively trying to reach across the aisle and even brought numerous Republicans into his administration. Beck fed lies and hate to incite an angry mob, and was a key player in the last eight years of the bitterest partisan divide and obstruction that we've experienced in the modern era. And now he's minimizing Trump's vile words and actions -- arguably a direct product of the climate Beck helped create -- because somehow Beck's own insane apocalyptic fantasies about Obama should normalize them? That is the furthest thing from an apology. It's a gross insult to anyone familiar with the facts, a cynical attempt to abdicate his personal responsibility, and attempts to mainstream the worst of Trump's behavior.

No. What Glenn Beck is doing right now is just pandering to his own audience that he was at risk of losing entirely if he didn't eventually fall in line with Trump.

Oh, but he did apologize. Three weeks ago:

http://www.glennbeck.com/2016/10/19/glenn-apologizes-for-bei...

I wonder whether you actually read the article you linked, because here's how he tries to shift the blame and deny his own accountability:

>Now, I’ve got people on the left accusing me of creating Donald Trump. And I’m like, “But I’m against Donald Trump. I warned against a guy like Donald Trump.” Well, you created the conditions that grew Donald Trump. “No, I didn’t. I think it was the government — both parties that weren’t listening to the people, that the people got so frustrated they wanted to burn the whole thing down.”

And here's the only thing he apologizes for -- a bullshit non-apology for tone rather than substance:

> And so I’ve been ringing that bell. And I’ve been telling you, “This is going to end in disaster. It’s going to end in disaster.” No exits left. There’s a cliff coming. That’s what I want to apologize for. I still believe that: there’s a cliff coming. But that is such a hopeless message that I can barely survive. And it’s because I have gazed upon the problems. That which you gaze upon, you become.

I'm not going to waste more time debating this, because there's literally nothing to debate. Beck did tremendous damage to the political discourse, and he's never owned up to to it. And what he's doing now to normalize Trump's dangerous behavior is only making the situation worse.

I realize you don't want to debate, and I don't either (based on what you've written in this thread, I mostly agree with you). But, I've been listening to the guy on the radio for the last 2 years and I feel like I've heard this change/realization slowly happening over these 2 years. I never saw the guy on TV, and didn't even know who he was until South Park parodied him in 2010. He still has work to do (obviously), and I just think it is best to have these discussions with people so that more empathy prevails in our country. We just need less hate.

I think you've mistaken me for someone who disagrees with you. Upthread I said he doesn't get a free pass; any non-free pass this fuckface gets should be extremely expensive.

  Beck fed lies and hate to incite an angry mob

Specific examples?

Obama's first term was a firehose of this kind of hate from Beck: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/beck-compares-obama-to-the-nazis...

I actually watch Fox with some regularity and follow various conservative news sources. I may not agree with the views, but I want to understand where people are coming from. And Beck's show was consistently so far beyond the pale.

The non-free pass would be that he is rejected from moving toward the center, or even left. Banished to the hellhole he created for himself. He can cry his tears alone in the dark for all I care. His is a poisonous personality.

So - if you go insane and then insane once more you sound almost normal. Seems like Glenn Beck is the Bursar from the unseen university.

Of course there is the little problem with trying to explain away his sins instead of atoning for them.

You were spearhead, the Scaremonger in Chief of Fox News that frenzied the Tea Party. Admit it and own it.

I don't mean to be rude, but you are not coming off as a reasonable, empathetic commenter.

I'm assuming you saw the name and the title and assumed a great deal about the article, which I admit I did as well, but I recommend giving it a read. He directly addresses the divisive nature of the two party system and the equal responsibility both parties have in bringing it about.

It's clearly Glenn Beck's attempt to open up a meaningful dialog between the warring parties, both politically and personally. It's something we're all going to have to do, or all of the great evils we fear will arise from this election's results may truly come about.

And it absolutely must start by not seeking out a label, or a quote, or some ad hominem reason to outright dismiss someone before you've heard them out.

I totally read the article. i said he sounds almost reasonable. But that does not erase his body of work in the 2008-2012 years. You cannot make yourself rich with Fox dough and then - oh well, we must unite, when you are probably guilty for 8 to 10% of that division.

Honestly, who better? He has a following, people who know and respect him as a Conservative leader. How else do you propose getting that message of unity out to a Conservative audience?

Besides that, if a person sees the error of their ways, is truly remorseful, and seeks to correct those errors, who are we to stand in their way? If Glenn Beck wants to start preaching respect, unity across ideological barriers, and social progress, then by all means I welcome him.

There's been a lot of hurt in this country lately, and if we can learn to forgive people instead of punishing them then we'll all be much better off.

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