A horrible, horrible tragedy.
A general media note: I think that we have a big problem with terrorists suppressing criticism of Islamofascism. First, the fatwa against Salman Rushie. Then: The beheading of Daniel Pearl. The stabbing of Theo Van Gogh. And now, Steven Vincent. (For does anybody doubt that he was killed due to his article in the NYT?) If anything has a “chilling effect” on free speech, it’s cold-blooded murder, as anybody who’s lived in a totalitarian society will tell you.
And yet the media have assiduously ignored this very real threat to free speech, while instead they spill oceans of ink on Karl Rove’s possible “outing” of a dilettantish Langley desk jockey?
Aside from the usual political and cultural biases that guide this misplaced focus, I think another, more primal motive lies at the bottom: Fear.
As one who works in Hollywood, I see firsthand that the studios are deathly (no pun intended) afraid of Islamist terrorism. Just drive into any studio lot post-9/11 and you’ll see too. They literally scan the bottom of visitor’s cars with a mirror on a pole and peer inside your trunk. Security is nearly as tight as at the airport — in some cases probably tighter. (Of course, the irony in all this is the cynical belief of Hollywood types aired at all the cocktail and dinner parties that the whole terrorism threat is drummed up and trumped up by Bush. Just yell “Bang!” after such a diatribe and you’ve never seen NBA stars jump so high.)
At this point after Pearl Harbor, Hollywood had made literally hundreds of movies and shorts about the war effort and the nature of the enemy. How many does Hollywood have to show this go-around? Absolutely bupkis. (Perhaps we ought to be grateful, as any films about the war on terror are bound to make America out to be the “bad guy” and the terrorists just poor misunderstood antiheroes.)
Leaving all the politics aside, I think the studios are downright afraid to criticize the Islamists. Deep down, they fear they might wind up like Theo Van Gogh or Steven Vincent. We cannot allow this campaign of intimidation against our artists and journalists to continue. We need more brave men and women like Van Gogh and Vincent. (Hey, Vincent and Van Gogh. What a coincidence….)
What better way for the NYT to honor Vincent’s legacy than by printing more of his past articles. And even more, by shining a spotlight on other such killings, like the Van Gogh murder which it ignored to such a degree. By connecting the dots.
The worst thing the NYT could do is to ignore this one too, especially as it came so soon after they printed one of his pieces. Or to bury it on page A32, which is the same thing. This is bigger than Augusta. Even bigger than Karl Rove. Now is an opportunity for the NYT to make up for some of their past grievous blind spots (Ukrainian famine, the holocaust, etc.). Don’t let critical voices be silenced by the Islamofascists.
