Fans of the lovely and lively Ms. Finney were overjoyed to see her finally have a go at guest-hosting on Thursday and Friday of last week when she filled in for Martin Bashir. We hoped she would make a big splash and capture the attention of execs at MSNBC who might consider giving her a show of her own. I doubt that any of us ever dreamed that we would see her attacked unfairly, misquoted, and abused the way we have for the past few days on Twitter.
Like some warped version of The Telephone Game, Hate-Tweeters have twisted her words and worse claimed she said things that she did not. People whose attention spans do not exceed 140 characters retweet without checking to see what she really said. The videos and transcripts are all available at the Bashir Live homepage, but let us not waste valuable retweeting time looking for the truth!
Ms. Finney organized and presented some compelling programming. Of course she covered the story of the week, the Trayvon Martin case. The language used by the accused perpetrator, George Zimmerman on 911 record, not Ms. Finney, is what brought race into the discussion. She along with her panel presented the facts as they found them. So what did Karen do to precipitate this hailstorm of hate on Twitter?
There is a “B” word that I have yet to hear in connection with the Trayvon Martin case. With all of the attention being paid in this country to bullying, I have not heard the suggestion that as a self-identified authority figure, George Zimmerman may have bullied Trayvon Martin. We do not like thinking about that kind of bullying. We do not want kids bullying other kids, but I notice a resistance to suggestions that authority figures also bully. Some teachers do, coaches do, and yes, security and police personnel also do. Karen did not raise this issue, but if the latest Zimmerman information, that he is injured, is true, it could be consistent with Trayvon fighting back – against a bully.
Having raised that “B” word, I find what is happening to Karen on the Twitter feed also a form of bullying. The attacks are merciless,and the “quotes” have no basis in fact. It is hate talk and very dangerous. I still cannot fathom why it is Karen who receives this treatment. I hope it is not rooted in sexism, racism or both, and I certainly hope it is not because she is beautiful and brilliant. We have seen enough of that! Thanks to Ryan Olsen for the picture.
I saw some of the truly ugly tweets sent Karen’s way. It was disgusting. There is a place for honest and spirited debate. But those who sent that bile were not nor will they ever be interested in a rational discussion.
Sad.
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Lies, out-of-context twists of her words, and name-calling. Very ugly. Cannot stand by for that I have to hit back.
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Karen Finney = Journalsm Excellence. Period. End of discussion.
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Karen is intelligent and attractive, that alone makes her a target in this ever more backward hateful dangerous ignorant country..
She is also thoughtful and effective that also draws out the Republican hate machine..
You see Republicans as they are today are all about hate.
Hate is what fuels their engines…take out the hate and the whole thing comes unglued..
Perhaps as she is also biracial this also incites these hateful ignorant people who have dragged our country down for the last 30 plus years..
Republicanism is more a Cult and Hate Group than a legitimate political party any longer..
They all are in serious need of deprogramming desperately..just like Moonies or Opus Dei Cult members..
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Sadly, I agree. They need to be deprogrammed. I’ve thought this for a long, long time. It’s no longer a legitimate political party. The should be looking at the Conservative Party in Britain, of all parties, but it’s true. The strides that party has ultimately allowed for make them viable. The Republicans here are just… well they are…. We’ve got a real problem with the right in this country, and I don’t know what the answer is. I have my rants, but I just don’t know where it can come from. The deafness is astounding.
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I should add that in his new memoir, which I’ll likely read when I have time in a few years (haha ;D), former Senator Arlen Spector has said that the Republicans’ war on women is not helping the party. I forget if he used the word “destroying” recently, or not. But that would be accurate. It’s also likely at least part of the reason why Teresa became a Democrat, besides supporting her husband in 2004. The lack of moderates is astounding. G-d bless Meghan McCain.
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She dared to mention ALEC, bringing that shadowy org. into the light of day. That likely triggered the extreme hate reaction. Haters hate truth.
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Ahhhhhh…. true!
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Yes Republicans Love Hate..!
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Well, we love our homegirl, so they are not going to get away with trashing her! She did a great job!
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Funded by whom? The Koch brothers. I’d love to find out how to dismantle them. For sure.
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I watched Karen’s turn on Martin Bashir, I thought her comments were insightful and thoughtful. I am saddened by the vile and angry discourse Karen is receiving. I wish there was more I could do and more I could say that might bring about a change in how we speak to each other
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I think supporting her on the battlefield (Twitter) is very effective. After this post went up last night, I began seeing more supportive Tweets than negative ones. It also helps that we not stoop to their name-calling tactics. I wrote this because I felt so bad about what those people were saying. I felt better when I saw the results on her Twitter feed. They picked the battlefield, let’s keep watch there.
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Thank you for responding to me and for Karen. I don’t know her personally but I like what I see and hear from her
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My pleasure!
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Every time I turn on the TV or surf the Net, there’s a different version of what happened the night Trayvon died. Hopefully, cooler heads will prevail and investigators will look at the facts.
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Hard to know when one eyewitness is dead and the other is at large. Only other evidence – audio from 911, neighbors, and girl friend. This is a bad law when they can’t arrest. I don’t understand.
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I don’t understand that law, either. Can’t arrest, won’t arrest, or the cops truly believe it was self-defense and so they let Zimmerman go? Who knows? The cynic (and the Detroiter) in me says this is what usually happens when a young black man gets killed– the cops do nothing. If Zimmerman was black, we wouldn’t even be hearing about this tragedy. There would be no outcry from Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, no protests, no Miami Heat wearing Trayon shoes, none of that bs from Obama about how his son would look like Trayvon. It would be a story on their local news and that’s it. And the only reason it would make the local news is because Trayon was a minor. My mom worked with a young black man who was killed by his own brother. The cops did nothing. It wasn’t on TV. It didn’t even make the papers.
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Well I sure don’t understand no collection of evidence from Zimmerman and how he is still out there with a firearm which would have been collected he he been police. You just get to say you were threatened and stood your ground and you walk? This is a bad law and 30 states have laws like this! It’s shocking! It’s like the wild west!
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Yes, it’s exactly like the wild west. In a gated community, no less.
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Really! I live in “the naib” and we have “Neighborhood Watch.” We watch, and if something looks wrong, we call the police. They show up right away even though, with budget cuts, we have fewer on the force. Something that would look wrong would be an adult in a vehicle stalking a child.
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I wasn’t born in the US but am now a citizen here. English is my 2nd language and I’ve experienced racism in my time here.
I’ve never heard of Karen Finney until this flare up. I began watching the video but once she said Rush Limbaugh made fun of Barack the Magic Negro i had to turn it off. She lost credibility in my eyes as Rush was mocking a Pro Obama LA Times reporter who created the term. Not Rush.
as I said, I didn’t watch the entire video so she may not have failed to point this out later in the commentary.
I won’t watch any more of her videos but I hope she begins to cover the story of the white college student Bill Kibler gunned down by an african american in MS.
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Her point was not where the phrase originated but the fact that Rush played the song endlessly. I have never been an Obama supporter, but my arguments with him have never been about his race. They have been about his experience, preparation for the tasks, and priorities.
That aside, you really did not give Karen much of a chance. A longtime friend of mine demanded that Karen look into a hate crime. Karen did so, but the friend did not stick around long enough to see the result.
Karen is a busy lady, but she does follow up. Bear in mind that she does not have her own show where she can structure the programming or decide the topics. But she does follow up. If you won’t watch her any more, how will you know when she follows up on that story?
I am having a hard time understanding people who dislike her for not covering stories they bring up and then cut off all communication before she can respond.
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Our family have enjoyed Karen onMSNBC. She is perhaps the smartest on the program. Keep up the good work Karen!
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