Roger Ailes: It's your responsibility to stop Glenn Beck's dangerous attacks on Frances Fox Piven
"Somebody tell Frances I have 5,000 rounds ready and I will give my life to take our freedom back"
"...one shot, one kill. The people have to stand up for what's right. A few well placed marksman with high powered rifles... then there would not be any more violence."
"we should blow up Piven's office and home"1
These are just a few of the many comments and threats posted on Glenn Beck's website in the last few weeks in response to Beck's repeated attacks on Frances Fox Piven -- a distinguished professor of Political Science and Sociology at the Graduate Center of City University of New York and former president of the American Sociological Association.
Piven -- who is 78 -- is known for her advocacy work fighting for the rights of the poor and for encouraging voter registration in poor communities.
But numerous times over the past year, Beck has falsely accused her of advocating for violence, called her an "enemy of the constitution"2 and has compared her to the heavily armed Hutaree militia broken up by the FBI for threats to violently overthrow the government.3
The result -- threats on Piven's life -- is exactly what we know to expect from Beck's irresponsible, personal attacks. The only thing we do not know is whether the threats will turn into assassination.
Beck's campaign of repeated falsehoods has clearly put Piven's life in real, physical danger. Beck has once again crossed a line of deceit and common decency. Regardless of one's views about the legality of the situation, this is a moral challenge that can only be dealt with by Beck's employers.
Beck takes some of the threatening comments posted on his website seriously enough to delete them.4Now FOX President Roger Ailes must take them seriously as well, and act responsibly to stop Beck's reckless endangering of Frances Fox Piven.
Tell FOX News President Roger Ailes: Stop Beck's dangerous attacks on Frances Fox Piven.
Sign the petition. Here. http://act.credoaction.com/...
Write to the officers of your discipline’s association and ask them to issue a statement condemning Beck’s attacks on Professor Piven. The American Sociological Association quickly rose to Prof. Piven’s defense and issues this statement: http://www.newswise.com/... Political scientists, historians, planners, economists, law professors, religious studies professors, and others can ask their associations to issue a similar statements.
Write an op-ed column for your local newspapers or a blogsite you read regularly, about some aspect of this issue.
All of the following is from Peter Dreier.
You can get basic information about Beck's crusade against Piven from the following:
• My Huffington Post article http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
• Media Matters for America's piece documenting Glenn Beck’s consistent and inflammatory attacks on Piven. http://mediamatters.org/...
• Barbara Ehrenreich’s op-ed column in today’s Los Angeles Times: http://www.latimes.com/...
• New York Times article on Beck's attacks on Piven: http://www.nytimes.com/...
• Video of Beck mocking the New York Times and Piven: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
• Article in The Nation about Beck's attacks on Piven: http://www.thenation.com/...
In the wake of the Tuscon massacre, we need to take seriously Beck's rhetoric and the death threats it has triggered. On Thursday, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), a public interest law firm, issued a written appeal to Beck's boss -- Fox News chairman Roger Ailes -- to put a stop to the increasing threats against Piven incited by Beck tirades. The letter, asked Ailes to distinguish between First Amendment rights, of which they are "vigorous defenders" and an "intentional repetition of provocative, incendiary, emotional misinformation and falsehoods [that place that Piven] in actual physical danger of a violent response."
Submitted by Duane Campbell