Paul Harvey's Tribute to Slavery, Nukes, Genocide

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Fri, 1 Jul 2005 14:54:14 -0700

Paul Harvey's Tribute to Slavery, Nukes, Genocide

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ACTION ALERT:

Paul Harvey's Tribute to Slavery, Nukes, Genocide

Hateful rant shows Disney's double standard on speech

 

July 1, 2005

 

Disney/ABC radio personality Paul Harvey, one of the most widely

listened to commentators in the United States, presented his listeners on

June 23 with an endorsement of genocide and racism that would have been

right at home on a white supremacist shortwave broadcast.

 

Harvey's commentary began by lamenting the decline of American wartime

aggression. " We're standing there dying, daring to do nothing decisive

because we've declared ourselves to be better than our terrorist

enemies--more moral, more civilized, " he said. Drawing a contrast

with what

he cast as the praiseworthy nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

in World War II, Harvey lamented that " we sent men with rifles into

Afghanistan and Iraq and kept our best weapons in their

silos " --suggesting

that America should have used its nuclear arsenal in its invasions of

both countries.

 

Harvey concluded:

 

 

" We didn't come this far because we're made of sugar candy. Once upon a

time, we elbowed our way onto and across this continent by giving

smallpox-infected blankets to Native Americans. That was biological

warfare.

And we used every other weapon we could get our hands on to grab this

land from whomever.

 

" And we grew prosperous. And yes, we greased the skids with the sweat

of slaves. So it goes with most great nation-states, which--feeling

guilty about their savage pasts--eventually civilize themselves out of

business and wind up invaded and ultimately dominated by the lean, hungry

up-and-coming who are not made of sugar candy. "

 

 

Harvey's evident approval of slavery, genocide and nuclear and

biological warfare would seem to put him at odds with Disney's

family-friendly

image. The media conglomerate syndicates Harvey to more than 1,000

radio stations, where he reaches an estimated 18 million listeners.

Disney recently signed a 10-year, $100 million contract with the

86-year-old

Harvey.

 

In 2004, Disney forbid its Miramax subsidiary to distribute Michael

Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11, even though Miramax was the principal

investor in the film. A Disney executive told the New York Times

(5/5/04)

that it was declining to distribute the film because, in the paper's

words, " Disney caters to families of all political stripes and

believes Mr.

Moore's film...could alienate many. "

 

One wonders whether Disney executives are worried about alienating

families who oppose slavery, nuclear war and Native American genocide.

 

 

ACTION:

Ask Disney why it finds Paul Harvey's nostalgia for slavery and

genocide and his calls for nuclear war acceptable, but deemed Michael

Moore's

film unacceptable.

 

 

CONTACT:

ABC Radio Networks

abcradio

John.E.McConnell

Phone: 212-456-5387

 

Paul Harvey

Irma.N.Aviles

Phone: (312) 889-4085

 

Disney Corporation

Phone: 818-560-1000

 

 

As always, please remember that your comments have more impact if you

maintain a polite tone.

 

 

 

Read a transcript of Harvey's comments (courtesy of the Chicago

Tribune's Eric Zorn):

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ericzorn/weblog/archives/2005/06/p\

aul_harvey_ah.html

 

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