Asian women, Mamdani, and the media's deadly double standard
The media assailed Trump for fueling dangers against Asian Americans, but refuses to call out the NYC mayor-elect.
In the latest episode, guest Mike Pesca and I discuss deadly impacts of the mainstream media’s double standards. One of the most glaring examples involves how a politician’s rhetoric spurs real-world violence.
In early 2021, a gunman in the Atlanta area killed eight people, six of whom were Asian women. Attacks on Asian people had been spiking throughout COVID.
The media had no problem linking this attack to remarks that Trump made during his presidency. Reports across all the big mainstream media discussed this. Many quoted White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who said the “damaging rhetoric that we saw during the prior administration,” such as calling COVID the “Wuhan virus,” elevated threats against Asian Americans.
CBS assailed Republicans for refusing to condemn Trump:
“This is impossible to divorce from the former president and from what role he may have played with his rhetoric. And then these Republicans have to, even if it’s indirectly, criticize former President Trump. That’s something a lot of them aren’t willing to do. But in this case, it seems like a no-brainer when you’re talking about an entire group of Americans who are being attacked on a daily basis.”
Trump had said he did not want Asian Americans attacked. “It is very important that we totally protect our Asian American community,” he said during his presidency. Nevertheless, the media was clear: His words fueled danger.
⚖️ The Mamdani Exception
Now consider Zohran Mamdani, mayor-elect of the most populated U.S. city. Mamdani’s repeatedly used the genocide lie to build support for his campaign. The claim that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza is demonstrably false.
As I’ve reported, both Ireland and Amnesty International have acknowledged in writing that the term “genocide” would need to be redefined in order for them to get away with their propaganda. (Learn more in Episode 67.)
At the same time, Mamdani says he really wants Jews to be safe. He said so this week after yet another attack on Jewish sites in New York City (a cemetery and a yeshiva). But just like Trump’s, Mamdani’s rhetoric is not harmless. As Mike notes:
“If you are breathing this lie about genocide into the world, who’s going to bear the brunt of those lies? I’m not only talking about insane people taking messages in a way that you can’t anticipate or that is regrettable. I’m talking about motivated people who think they’re doing the right thing. And they’re violent and nasty, but ‘genocide’ is one of the reasons that they’re motivated to go out and attack a person.”
Mamdani talks “moistly” about wanting to protect the Jewish population, Mike says, But pushing the genocide lie “is definitely, and you need to know this, making them more vulnerable.”
Hate crimes are down in America, except against Jewish people. Those are up. Does the media care?
Hear our full discussion about this, and how the media ushered in this era of historic failure, in the new episode.
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