I expect politicians to be hypocritical and without integrity. Journalists, however, especially those who engage in commentary, must display consistent principles, values and priorities or be disregarded, ignored and reviled as destructive, unprofessional, untrustworthy hacks.
Anahit Misak “Ana” Kasparian styles herself a progressive political commentator, a media host and a journalist. With the blatant hypocrisy revealed in the tweets above—first, her pious condemnation of anyone who would gloat about someone’s death, followed by her tweets today rejoicing in the death of lifetime public servant Lindsay Graham—Kasparian reveals herself to be a monster by her own standards.
Ethics Alarms 
Graham died suddenly with no ongoing illness leading up to his passing, so no one had a chance to rein themselves in, and what we have here is a complete race to the bottom. I have seen some very imaginative comments like it’s so hot lately because the Gates of hell must be opening. It’s the act of a coward to gleefully post about somebody’s death. It’s the act of a malicious coward to spew hate about somebody’s death before even 24 hours have passed, because you know that’s going to be when the family are going to be at their most vulnerable. It’s the act of a cowardly hypocrite to say in one breath that it is wrong to say bad things about someone who has died and in the next breath cheer the sudden death of somebody you don’t like..
Agreed.
People feel safer spewing behind the padded, protecting walls of X. Sure, she might get a few negative responses, but she doesn’t work for a school or hospital, so it’s not like she’ll get fired. And because she (and others like here) are effectively celebrating a person’s death behind his/her back, it’s not like Graham’s brother will grab her ears and ram her face into his rapidly-rising knee like he might if she were to say it to his face (sorry, re-reading some Robert Ludlum and the violence is top-of-mind).
People steeped in politics and ideology – particularly Democrats but not exclusively limited to them – have lost the volume control for their rage.
It is certainly despicable to celebrate someone’s death, even an enemy, and what she did it similar to them that celebrated Charlie Kirk’s assassination. And not only is it an ethical misdeed it is also a strategic error.
Because I am interested not only in the facts about geo-political struggles and conflicts between nations, but also the “psycho-social” aspects of a nation (the US in this case) beginning to slide into social psychosis of the sort that CG Jung wrote about, I think it productive to stand back from the conflicts that have the power to suck you into them and to lose your discrimination, and thus to participate in the ‘psychosis’. But see? I have just set the ground for a productive but critical exposition about the Middle East situation. And it starts with: Israel and its founding is the core of the problem. That is a statement that no American Christian Zionist (i.e. pseudo-Christian) could ever make, and what that means (if you accept ny analysis) is that Christian Zionism (and a huge part of the American PR position) is based in lies.
Now, is that statement so radical? Does it cause an inner melting? The political world is based on lies, partial truths, ‘spin’ and definitely propaganda so why does this statement cause such spiritual agony? That is an interesting question, isn’t it? Like: what happens when a) you start seeing the truth, and b) telling yourself the truth?
The truth (let me say it this way) about Lindsay Graham is not, and should not, be personalized. His position was utterly ugly. So, there is more to be gained by examining the psychic and psychological content of such a stupid and ugly position (based in lies, distortions and a failure to see a situation in totality).
The US and Israel in collusion just recently committed one of the most despicable acts of treachery of that sort for which the Israelis are world-famous. They assassinated while negotiations were going on an entire echelon of political and religious leadership. That is the truth. The result? Just after the funeral of the prior Ayatollah, his son gave eulogy and said many things. But one NOTABLE thing he declared is that vengeance will be achieved. So prepare yourselves for it. And, if you had any sense of the ‘injustice’ of that treacherous US-Israeli act, and understood human nature, and the vulnerability of the US, of Israel, the precarious position of the US at this juncture of its history, and the historical dangers of hubris, you might — it is merely a possibility — begin to really wonder if that attack, under present conditions, was really so wise.
Again, you can declare that Iran represents Satan himself, and you can make list after list after list of their Evil Deeds (and you would not be wrong) but truthfully, to the degree that you are capable of it, which frankly I personally doubt, there is treachery on all sides, and it must be seen, revealed and talked about.
Yawn…
Can you stay on-topic even one time without reverting to this “the Zionists and the US (namely Trump) were so stupid to attack Iran” schtick? Why does this pattern persist?
Here’s a discussion about tweeting double standards when someone dies…”but the Zionists and Trump…”
Let’s look at the silliness of Run Nation Championship…”you know, RNC is the same acronym as the Republican National Committee, which is populated with Christian Zionists who are quietly directing policies so as to bring about an end-time apocalypse…”
Caitlin Clark has become the WNBA’s premier punching bag…”speaking of punches, how stupid was President Trump to bow to the Zionists and start throwing punches at Iran in a war he’s already lost…”
It’s going to be warm and sunny today and I hope to do a bit of cycling over my lunch break…”it’s Jungian to expect Iran to be hot as well…burning with anger because the Jews and those Zionists surrounding Trump coerced him into attacking Iran with little or no cause and no provocation or warning…”
Yeah, I’m mocking you some, but at this point, it’s deserved. Look, we know where you stand on the issue, and your constant attempts to goad readers into this debate (and/or amaze us with whatever author you’ve read or YouTube video you watched) with nearly every response is ridiculous. If the original post deals with or references the US/Iran conflict, go for it! Open forum?…go for it! You might get some engagement and discussion.
Ana Kasparian’s response to a Senator’s death?…give it a rest!
Thank-you, Joel. I consider this legitimate criticism of moderation as well. I just revised, clarified really, the EA Comment Policies to emphasize your point. The policies already stated, “Repeating the same arguments over and over again while not acknowledging or rebutting counter arguments from others” was grounds for Ethics Alarms discipline, but I have added at the beginning (#6) “The habit of using every post to keep making the same point that a commenter has already made elsewhere on Ethics Alarms is called being a “broken record,” “spamming,” a propagandist, and monomania. Whatever you call it, the conduct is disrespectful to the site, me, and other readers. This isn’t your bulletin board.
I can’t read all the comments, especially long ones from commenters who have a history of logorrhea <cough> so please do alert me when the commenst privileges are being abused.
One of the great professors at Hamilton College was Professor David Ellis. Professor Ellis was the foremost authority on New York State history. Whenever he was recognized as such, he’d say, “The secret to becoming the recognized authority on anything is to pick a very narrow topic. The frat boys called Professor Ellis “Spoolie.” Why? Because no matter what topic he began lecturing on, he invariably “spooled” back to … the Erie Canal.
So if I think someone’s got dysentery of the mouth I should say so?
If its a competent and fair diagnosis, I have no problem with it.
Actually that’s part of why I’ve slowed down a little – A lot of these issues are things I’ve already talked about a one point or another, and I don’t want to waste everyone’s time repeating myself.
I was actually reading her comment and then she veered off into the Middle East, so I just skipped past the rest.
I might’ve been interested in a comment on this subject, but alas it was not to be.
As a compromise, maybe Alizia can simply end her comments with “Israel delenda est.” Does that work?
I like it!
Hamas delenda est.
If you say that you might as well say “Jawohl, mein Fuehrer!”
Anti-Semitism and fascism are two separate things, but fascism does become easier with a scapegoat.
On the gripping hand, maybe not a good idea to encourage such a trope.
I mean, just look up Carthage in any modern atlas…….
Good point. Abbreviating verbose condemnations of nations into succinct calls for violence could easily make things worse rather than better, once the historical humor wears off.
Can you stay on-topic even one time without reverting to this “the Zionists and the US (namely Trump) were so stupid to attack Iran” schtick? Why does this pattern persist?
Because it is completely consequential to our present. And there are zillions of ramifications to this blunder. Because this is a major failure on Trump’s part. And because it affects me quite deeply. And, maybe principally, it has caused me to break ranks with those I felt allied with, American Conservatives.
The mockery has no effect. But at this point I will (and I promise) ‘self-exile’ for sure. My assessment is you-plural cannot handle criticisms. I guess you like an echo-chamber! No hard feelings though. I will always check in to read.
Nope. Not an answer or an excuse.
But it is nearly 100% inconsequential to Ana Kasparian’s written responses to Senator Graham’s death.
You are 100% incorrect. 90% of the commentariat didn’t respond to your comments one way or the other, so you have no basis for your conclusion. We are fine with criticism. You cannot handle being told – by a miniscule group of responders here – “don’t be arrogant, don’t be condescending, don’t label yourself as a doomed prophetess, and don’t bash me over the head with the same monologue every time you put finger to keyboard.”
You kind of returned here with a singular axe to grind…and when the responders here didn’t give you what you wanted, you’re packing up and leaving.
Alizia,
No one wants you to leave the blog. You have provided a different perspective on some of the issues. But, reducing everything to “Israel bad and is the cause all world badness” gets tiresome and uninteresting, especially when it bears little relation to the topic at hand. When your responses/posts are relevant to the topic, then by all means post away.
But, the issue in this blog post is Kasperian’s hypocrisy when she dances on Graham’s grave but is horrified at Graham’s reaction to deaths in Gaza. But, Kasperian can’t hide her joy that Graham died, seemingly oblivious to her prior statements or comments. But, I suspect her response would be, “well, innocent Gazan children are dead and Graham is responsible for it because he supports Israel. Ding, dong the witch is dead, the wicked witch of South Carolina is dead!”
I get it. Graham was a war hawk – probably owned by defense contractors – and couldn’t find a country he wouldn’t have bombed into oblivion. He was also an unfettered defender of all things Israel. I found some of his positions difficult to accept. His legacy/record is open to debate, review, criticism. or rejection.
Here, I get where Jack is coming from – news people should be fair and objective. Where I disagree, is that Kasperian is not a news reporter but an advocacy pundit – much like that bozo Cenk Uygher (sp?), Rachel Maddow, or Sean Hannity. I expect bias or ideologies from them, which is to say that I am not offended that Hannity would interview a Lindsey Graham or Gavin Newsom and let his bias show. They are not reporters; they are political people advancing their agendas. My choice is to watch, read, listen, or do something else.
jvb
Erm . . . Kasparian” . . .
jvb
Oh, by the way, cut the “if I’m not wanted here I’ll take my alt-right toys and go home” self-exile martyrdom bullshit. It is manipulative, sophomoric, and insulting. If you are going to post your alt-right epistles on every post because there just might be a tangential – however remote – connection to Israel, then you should expect pushback, some of it most direct and cutting.
jvb
What people such as Kasparian making comments like this fail to realize — Lindsay Graham was not one of the far out nut jobs. He was a mainstream Republican politician, better than most in my opinion.
When people say things like ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if Trump were to die.” or anything in that vein, they are really just expressing their hatred toward Trump. If ever they thought about what the consequences might be, one could hope that they would abort that type of remark (see there is a valid function for abortion after all!).
Do they really want a President Vance? I mean, sure he would be better than Harris, but that is a mighty low bar. Would they prefer President Mike Johnson, or whoever the heck is the president pro tempore of the Senate right now (surely that isn’t McConnell, but it could have been……). I mean, Vance might be a good president and we might get a chance in 2029 to see, but via assassination? Surely providence has more regard for the United States than that.
Regardless, wishing or celebrating death or illness is a very bad rabbit hole to go down. There are plenty of hawks circling, just waiting for an unwary rabbit.
I parted ways with John McWhoter (and Glenn Loury, for that matter) when John said after Butler he was kind of hoping Trump had been assassinated. A credentialed public intellectual and a tenured professor at Columbia! Stunning.
Ana Kasparian is the daughter of Armenian parents. Why is she commenting upon American public policy? does she even understand America? Why are all these first-generation immigrant children given megaphones? Why are they being elected to public offices here? What’s going on? Why doesn’t she go to Armenia and fix that country?Why is Mamdani here rather than in Uganda? Why isn’t he rooting out the settler colonialist Indians stealing all the wealth from the natives of that country? You know, like his parents and grandparents. Why does anyone listen to Ana Navarro in this country? Why isn’t she in Nicaragua straightening that country out? Why isn’t Alizia lecturing the unfortunate inhabitants of her native former Spanish colony country? Why is Ihan Omar in congress instead of in Mogadishu fixing that country? Why isn’t Tlaib in Gaza cleaning that place up? Why isn’t Sandy Cortez in Puerto Rico fixing that place? Why? Because they’re grifters and the U.S. is the greatest place in the world to run a grift because it’s so safe and it’s very hard to ever get caught. Buzz off.