Yahoo's David Chalian a Symptom of the Sickness that Plagues the Mainstream Media

David Chalian, former Washington bureau chief of Yahoo! news, said something stupid and was promptly fired. Such sequences seem to happen with increasing frequency these days, as both sensitivities and technology combined to create mini-hurricanes.

In Chalian’s case, it was a hot mic that did him in. Rather than me describe what he did, watch it for yourself.

The hot mic caught two things: Chalian pouring out hatred on the Romneys by accusing them of being happy to party while “black people drown” due to Hurricane Isaac in Louisiana, and laughter from himself and at least one of his peers that followed his remark.

Point of fact: Barack Obama was out campaigning while the same black people might have drowned because of the storm. Mitt Romney is not yet in charge of FEMA; Obama currently is. Which of the two bears greater responsibility at the moment?

David Chalian didn’t make Obama the butt of his joke, and he likely never even thought to do so. He lives in a culture where that joke would never even be thought of, let alone spoken. Had he made that joke, he would not have elicited any laughs at all. He would have been glared at, rebuked and probably ostracized. The atmosphere in the suite would have been so thick you could bounce a quarter off it.

Making such a joke about Barack Obama, among the media’s elite, is taboo. Their culture forbids it. But making such a joke about the Romneys or any other Republican is expected to be greeted with laughs. It is not only not taboo, had the hot mic not caught it and broadcast it, Chalian’s joke would have passed unremarked and he would still have his job.

Let’s think about that for a minute. From my experience around liberals and around the media’s elite, any hate-based smear on Republicans is acceptable. David Chalian is not alone, far from it. His attitude toward “the other,” in this case being Republicans, is commonplace. Control rooms here in Tampa and across the country are chock full of people who make similar remarks, and are greeted with approving laughter, every single day. They’re just lucky that no hot mic broadcasts their inner hater for the rest of us to hear.

Yahoo! had to fire Chalian, and they had to fire him quickly, so that their part of the story goes away. So as far as that goes, mission accomplished. But the hate behind Chalian’s remark is bigger than this single story and that story shouldn’t just go away. The same attitude that powered Chalian’s remark also powered Juan Williams’ “corporate wife” quip about Ann Romney and it powers a thousand similar remarks made by media elites off camera and off mic every day. The seething resentment behind Chalian’s joke even turns up in remarks made by the president himself.

There is a sickness, an epidemic, among the media. Its symptoms include hatred of middle American values, hatred of American history and traditions, intolerance of any opinion that dissents from the leftist line, and aggressive dismissal of anyone that comes up against their messiah figure, Barack Obama.

If you see anyone exhibiting these symptoms, blog immediately to help contain the pathology. If you experience these symptoms yourself, stop what you’re doing immediately and get out of the media. You’re doing a disservice to your audience, you’re hurting your country, and you’re chipping away at what’s left of your soul.