History Of Hate

Glenn Beck uses his media platform to disseminate vitriolic hateful rhetoric and stoke racial anxieties.  The Southern Poverty Law Center admonished Glenn Beck for fueling violent hate groups and the Anti-Defamation League aptly describes Beck as “fearmonger-in-chief.” When advertisers sponsor Glenn Beck, this is what they are paying for and associating their brand with:

Glenn Beck said President Obama is “a racist”

On July 28, 2009, discussing President Obama, Glenn Beck said:

“This president has exposed himself, I think, as a guy, over and over and over again, who has a deep-seated hatred for white people, or white culture.“

Adding…

“I’m saying he has a problem. He has a, this guy is, I believe, a racist.“

To date, Glenn Beck stands by his claim that Obama is a “racist” with a “deep-seated hatred for white people, or the white culture.”  Additionally, Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Fox News, recently stated that Glenn Beck was “right.” In a November 10, 2009, interview with Sky News, Murdoch agreed with Glenn Beck’s assertion that Obama is “a racist”, saying:

“And um, that was something which perhaps shouldn’t have been said about the President, but if you actually assess what he [Glenn Beck] was talking about, he [Beck] was right.“

Glenn Beck launched bigoted attack against India

On December 10, 2009, Glenn Beck launched a bigoted attack against India. Media Matters offers this fitting description:

Thus, within the span of a few minutes, Beck implied that there are no quality medical schools in India; implied that medical care in India is a shoddy imitation of real health care; implied that the entire nation is an undeveloped backwater without even so much as indoor plumbing; and compared the Ganges River, a holy body of water for one of the world’s oldest and largest religions, to a disease.

Details and video of this rant are available here.

Glenn Beck has a long history of sexist comments

On December 8, 2009, Glenn Beck said “I don’t hate women, they’re very convenient to have around [but they shouldn't vote].” I’m sure he’ll protest by claiming that he was joking. But, I don’t really see what’s funny about the struggles that women have and continue to face. Moreover, his long history of sexist comments make such an excuse less acceptable.

On December 7, 2009, after noting that Sarah Palin “looks really hot,” Glenn Beck proceeded to mock the appearances of Sec. Hillary Clinton and Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Some excerpts of what Beck had to say:

“Sarah Palin looks really hot in that hot…And, in a completely unrelated note, Hillary Clinton looks tired.”

“Oh, yea sure she [Hillary Clinton] looks professional, Sarah Palin looks hot in the hat. Seriously.”

“I wonder what Nancy Pelosi would look like in that hat. Has she had…Has anybody noticed that Nancy Pelosi…Has she had serious plastic surgery? Either that, or she is a Disney auto-animatronic.”

Is is it appropriate for a political commentator and newsman to speak about female political figures this way? Glenn Beck would seemingly answer yes. On October 8, 2009, just a few months prior to making the above remarks, Glenn Beck mocked the appearance of another female political figure.  Of former Secretary of State, Madeline Albright, Glenn Beck said looking at her “burns your eyes out,” adding, “look at the skin on her neck…she looks like a turkey.”

On November 25, 2009, while discussing a potential Palin/Beck 2012 ticket, Glenn Beck suggested that a woman’s place is in the kitchen. In ruling out the ticket on November 24, 2009, Glenn Beck said:

“Palin/Beck? Ridiculous…I was just thinking, what I’m gonna take backseat to a chick? While you’re at it, go shoot a bear! Make some stew! I’m hungry in here.”

The above are recent examples that Glenn Beck can add to his long history of propagating sexism, which among many instances, includes:

• Glenn Beck called Senator Mary Landrieu a “high class prostitute.” Later that day, speaking about Sen. Landrieu, Beck added to his earlier remarks “so we know you’re hookin’, but you’re just not cheap.” [12/23/09]
• Responding Gloria Steinem’s discussion of sexism in American politics, Glenn Beck said: “You self-centered, self-righteous, socialist, out-of-control, dangerous, man-hating bitch. Shut your mouth. We might have bought into this crap in the 1960s because too many people were doing LSD. We’re not on LSD anymore. You need to start making sense.” [5/3/08]
• Glenn Beck saying “Ugly people, if you’re a guy, you can get past it. I don’t think you can as an ugly woman.” Adding, “you’ve got a double-cross, because if  you’re an ugly woman, you’re probably a progressive as well.” [2/14/08]
• Glenn Beck commenting on Hillary Clinton’s voice: “She’s the stereotypical bitch, you know what I mean?” [3/17/07]
• Or, in Glenn Beck’s distant past, where he called a rival radio DJ’s wife, who had just suffered a miscarriage, and proceeded to mock her for it live on the air. [details of this event are available here.]

Glenn Beck asked the first Muslim Congressman to prove he is not a terrorist

In 2006, Glenn Beck raised the specter of interment camps for Muslims “who have sat on their hands” and not “lined up to shoot the bad Muslims in the head.”  A month later, he issued a similar warning to Muslims if they failed to respond to terrorism the way the he wanted, saying they “will be looking through a razor wire fence at the West.”  Following these claims, Glenn Beck’s anti-Muslim bigotry reached new heights in a November 15, 2006 interview with Rep. Keith Ellison.  Ellison is the first Muslim ever elected to Congress. During the interview Glenn Beck asked the Congressman to “prove” that he wasn’t working with terrorists:

Glenn Beck: OK. No offense, and I know Muslims. I like Muslims. I`ve been to mosques. I really don`t believe that Islam is a religion of evil. I — you know, I think it`s being hijacked, quite frankly.

With that being said, you are a Democrat. You are saying, “Let’s cut and run.” And I have to tell you, I have been nervous about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, “Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.”