Cal Thomas says having “Two Eyes”
Doesn’t Arabs have the same “Moral Structure”
Background: On the January 20th “Washington Journal” program on C-Span, nationally syndicated columnist Cal Thomas ridiculed the notion that just because “they have one head, two eyes, some of them even speak in English,” is any reason to believe that “people in the Middle East have the same moral structure as the rest of us.” In a discussion about a possible visit by Arafat to the Holocaust Museum, Thomas said, “He doesn’t need to go to the Holocaust Museum to find out what it’s all about. He knows what it’s all about and this is part of the difficulty in dealing with this region. It’s the idea that Yasir Arafat and people in the Middle East have the same moral structure as the rest of us and if we could just get them to the table, they are just like us. They have one head, two eyes, some of them even speak in English and because we’re reasonable and decent people and we can disagree across a table, everybody must be like that. Yasir Arafat is one of the most evil men on the world’s stage today.”
Talking points:
* Thomas is dehumanizing Arabs. Would papers run a column by someone who said that Jews or blacks don’t have the same moral structure as the rest of us? It should be no less acceptable to say that about “Middle Easterners.”
* Thomas actually adopts a Nazi percept by categorizing a certain group as somehow inferior to others. Will the LA Times Syndicate now run columns by David Duke telling us that blacks are inferior?
* Thomas is one of many Israel-can-do-no-wrong columnists, but there is no real pro-Palestinian columnists. The media should be diverse and open to various perspectives. If they have room for anti-Arab bigotry, the must have room for a reasoned, pro-Palestinian perspective.
Contact:
If your local newspaper runs Cal Thomas, complain to them.
The syndicate the distributes Cal Thomas’ column to hundreds of newspapers
around the country:
Tim Lange
Managing Editor
Los Angeles Times Syndicate
Times Mirror Square
Los Angeles, CA 90053
Tel: 213-237-7987
Fax: 213-237-4992 E-mail: tlange@newscom.com
On January 22, Rush Limbaugh added to the Arab-bashing. Here’s what he said to millions of radio listeners about Clinton’s sex scandals as the president was meeting with Arafat that day: “Did you guys hear that Yasir Arafat gave Clinton some advice? Arafat said, ‘Mr. President, goats don’t talk’.”
Talking points:
* Limbaugh claims that he does not degrade people, that he is not a bigot, but here he shows he is guilty of both.
* He demeans someone by implying that they engage in bestiality and he does so in a context that implies that it is a cultural matter.
* How would it sound if this was said about any other world leader?
Contact:
The Rush Limbaugh Show
Two Penn Plaza, 17th floor
New York, NY 10121
Tel: 212-494-0362
Fax: 212-563-9166
You can also complain to the stations that carry Limbaugh in your area.