Recent incidents highlight how words and deeds elicit divergent responses. National media worked itself into a furor in late April when a recording of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s racist rant was made public. Baby Boomers can attest that unanimous public condemnation of racist speech is a very recent and still rare phenomenon, which only began to sporadically and inconsistently occur well past the halfway marks of their lives. Speech only slightly milder than Sterling’s odious remarks remains commonplace on talk radio in many parts of the US. So, the media frenzy represents progress of a sort.
If only the media had mustered similar interest and indignation in response to long-known, Justice Department-documented allegations that Sterling engaged in widespread housing discrimination that harmed African Americans, Hispanics and families with children. It seems our media is so accustomed to reporting and reacting to substance-free sound bites and talking points, that it now deems “word” scandals as more newsworthy than such dangerous and damaging deeds. Sterling’s words were awful, but less harmful than his alleged discriminatory deeds. It’s not that media overreact to vile, racist outbursts, but rather that they under-react to vile, racist deeds.
The arc of the reaction to Cliven Bundy also highlights the divergence between responses to words and deeds. For twenty years, Bundy, a wealthy Nevada cattle rancher, refused to pay lawful grazing fees for his continuous use of public lands to pasture his livestock; such grazing fees are well below market rate, and are dutifully paid by his neighbors and competitors as modest compensation for their use of public lands. Though lawsuits persisted for decades, Bundy’s claims were consistently rejected and in July 2013, Bundy was again ordered to cease trespassing on public lands. Bundy disregarded this latest court order, as he had all prior court orders. In March, federal authorities, in full accord with law, began confiscating cattle that Bundy continued to graze on public lands. Bundy then assembled an armed militia, issued threats of deadly violence against law enforcement and federal authorities, and disavowed his US citizenship. For these deeds, which comport with definitions of larceny, terrorism and treason, Bundy was extolled as a hero and patriot by prominent right-wing pundits, Congressmen and Senators. Such support largely evaporated a few weeks later when, during a recorded interview, Bundy wondered aloud whether African Americans were better off as slaves. As with Sterling, the unambiguous condemnation of Bundy’s words is progress of a sort, but the earlier celebration of his nefarious deeds is very disturbing. His words were ugly, but ultimately impotent, while his deeds were ugly and dangerously potent.
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On Memorial Day, Americans solemnly celebrate generations of individuals whose selfless deeds far exceeded any words we may utter in remembrance. Every day on which America continues to expand and perfect the vision of liberty bequeathed by our founders, is a gift from, and tribute to the men and women who gave their lives for our country.
The Ridgefield Democratic Town Committee supplies this column.