Of course Obama gets a pass based on his race.
by John Nolte
If you are wondering where anti-war Hollywood has been as Obama proves he’s not Bush, but only by rushing into a Middle East war with no international coalition and United Nations backing, Ed Asner has the explanation: “A lot of people don’t want to feel anti-black by being opposed to Obama,” Asner explained to the Hollywood Reporter.
Apparently, like many of us, the Hollywood Reporter’s Paul Bond was curious about the screaming silence we are hearing from the Hollywood left as our Nobel Peace Prize-winning president pushes America towards a unilateral, pre-emptive war against Syria. Absolutely no one in the Hollywood community has, as of yet, taken it to the streets to speak truth to power. Nothing from Alec Baldwin, Sean Penn, Matt Damon, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, or even Janeane Garofalo.
Could it be that rather than being anti-war they are just anti-Bush?
Well, according to Hollywood leftist Ed Asner, there are all kinds of excuses for this screaming silence, but among them is this: no one wants to be seen as anti-black should they criticize America’s first black president:
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“It will be a done deal before Hollywood is mobilized,” Asner said. “This country will either bomb the hell out of Syria or not before Hollywood gets off its ass.”
Also, said Asner, unsuccessful efforts to prevent war in Iraq led to complacency among left-wing activists.
“We had a million people in the streets, for Christ’s sake, protesting Iraq, which was about as illegal as you could find. Did it matter? Is George Bush being tried in the high courts of justice?” asks Asner. “We’ve been so God-damned stung in this country by false wars, repeatedly, that, how can you believe in any just war with the history we have had?”
Another reason some Hollywood progressives have been reticent to speak out against war in Syria, according to Asner, is fear of being called racist.
“A lot of people don’t want to feel anti-black by being opposed to Obama,” he said.
Other than the fear of being branded a racist, none of Asner’s excuses make a lick of sense. This is not the either/or dilemma he pretends it is. Hollywood does not have the choice of either mobilizing and organizing “millions” or staying silent.
As they have proven time and again, celebrities need not mobilize or organize an entire community to spout off an opinion. Through social media or any number of willing media outlets, if any one of those listed above had the moral courage to speak out against Obama’s unilateral rush to war, they could — and loudly.
Read the rest – Ed Asner: Hollywood not criticizing Obama on Syria because he is’black’.
Tags: Ed Asner, John Nolte
