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Beck: When You Censor Diversity of Thought, You‘ve Arrived at Orwell’s 1984

For the better part of a month, TheBlaze has been teeming with articles related to the Chick-fil-A controversy, including details about the progressive-led boycott campaign against the popular chicken eatery and subsequent “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day” held on August 1st. Lawmakers, activists, entertainers and pundits alike have all come out to voice their opinion of what many consider a 2012 campaign tactic driven by the left.

During his morning broadcast, Glenn Beck noted that the issue surrounding Chick-fil-A is not so much about homosexuality as it is about trying to intimidate people into relinquishing their freedom of speech. Since the topic has Beck up in arms, it was also a focus of Thursday’s evening broadcast.

Some of the more egregious acts taken against Chick-fil-A include not just boycotts, but even calls for death. People took to Twitter and other social media in protest of “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day,” saying they hoped white Christians would “choke” and “die” on while eating their chicken. A college lecturer harassed a young woman working at the Chick-fil-A drive-through, telling her that she worked for a “horrible corporation” with “horrible values.” He then asked her how she could live with herself know that she worked for such a company. The goal was simple: Intimidate employees into quitting and intimidate others from seeking employment at Chick-fil-A.

Then, Fox News’ Shepard Smith also made a slur against the eatery and its supporters, dubbing the “appreciation day” a “national day of intolerance.” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and a handful of other lawmakers even went to so far as to tell the chain their city didn’t want its business and to essentially “get out” of town.

While Chick-fil-A founders have every right to express their opinion, and Chick-fil-A opponents have every right to choose not to patronize the establishment, it is not within a mayor’s right — as steward of a city that is home to people of all walks — to attempt to run a local business out of town simply because he disagrees (or, wants to seem as if he disagrees) with its corporate ideology.

On Thursday evening, a passionate Beck asked who the real bigots are, and wondered if there is truly any difference between Code Pink, Westboro Baptist, and the Chick-fil-A protesters. Based on the mounting evidence, there may be little to none.

Beck reviewed the developments in the saga, pointing out the hypocrisy and hate leveled by members of the Left:

 

“Do you actually know anyone who hates somebody based on their skin color?” Beck asked incredulously. Or for that matter, based on a person’s sexual orientation or religion? Beck said he doesn‘t know anybody like that except for leftist’s who attack Christians based on their religious beliefs.

“There are a lot of legitimate reasons to hate people,” but those are not among them. Like Beck, people of good will tend to judge others only on the content of his or her character.

“Diversity doesn’t mean anything anymore because they suppress diverse opinion…then they try to shame people into not saying what they truly believe. We are censoring diversity of thought.” Beck likened this kind of censorship to that endured by Galileo when he posited that the earth rotated around the sun — a declaration for which he was imprisoned. Ironically, no one remembers the name of those who jailed Galileo, but today, centuries later, his name is remembered and written in history books.

The point Beck hoped to make is that those who seek to stifle diversity of though always lose in the end because they can never “counter a point with a point or a civilized debate” they can only run others down with vitriol and intimidation, as in the case of Chick-fil-A.

“When you arrive at a place where you cannot speak, or think, or have an honest debate,” Beck said, then you have arrived at George Orwell’s 1984.

 

Ironically

Comments (39)

  • Tom Ballard
    Posted on August 3, 2012 at 1:29pm

    The Company should give her a raise, she should be the spoke person, I would of threw the water in is face

    Report Post » Tom Ballard  
  • suz
    Posted on August 3, 2012 at 6:10am

    glenn, please do more of those o’reilly spoofs on gbtv. i think you’re on to something there.

    Report Post » suz  
  • West Coast Patriot
    Posted on August 3, 2012 at 1:12am

    Sorry, It is back??? I saw it posted, went to finish up some work, cane back it was gone. I refreshed, it was still gone, posted below and walla, it is back. Not sure what happened, maybe my computer? Looks like it was here for a while as there are replies. Sorry Blaze, you did not censor my post here, but…..you have in the past many times. Maybe Enrico is right below. look into it will ya?

    Report Post » West Coast Patriot  
  • West Coast Patriot
    Posted on August 3, 2012 at 1:06am

    Well, well, I wrote about how The Blaze censors my posts, and by golly, they took it off!

    Report Post » West Coast Patriot  
  • greatgrandma
    Posted on August 2, 2012 at 10:41pm

    When I was younger, single & raising two kids. I had to pay for my own contraceptives. I was making $2.00 an hour.
    Have any of you ever read 1984 or seen the movie? If not, I suggest you take the time. We are just now coming into the 1984 times. Watch or read and you will see…

    Report Post »  
  • West Coast Patriot
    Posted on August 2, 2012 at 10:32pm

    If Glenn is so against censoring diversity of thought, why are a lot of my posts blocked? I do not use foul language, I do not say things that could be considered hate, so why? I mainly defend Paul, his views and Paul supporters. I see more hate from the Paul bashers on here, and they seem to get their posts through just fine. I tried to post quotes from Paul that they will not let through, cut and paste from certain bills that were voted on in Congress, and for whatever reason, The Blaze does not let it go through even after 10 times or so. Sometimes I have gotten them through late at night on the 3rd page or so as they do not monitor as close.

    Report Post » West Coast Patriot  
    • The-Real-Enrico
      Posted on August 2, 2012 at 11:32pm

      I agree. I’m not even a Ron guy and I get the same problems. It is only when I use to many words that the average Ron Paul guy uses. Sheeple etc.

      I come across this problem when I try to plea with some of the fanatical like posters that do nothing but attack. I try to reason by using same terminologies and verbiage to advise to change how they are selling their message. So others don’t go around calling them crazy and marginalizing names.

      When I do this my comment is alway blocked.

      TheBlaze is using some type program that is blocking comments that use some type/list of key words.

      They need to fix this.

      Report Post » The-Real-Enrico  
    • The-Real-Enrico
      Posted on August 2, 2012 at 11:43pm

      Oh and they deleted one of my comment by the demand of morons the other day.

      Told a joke parodying Islamic and Leftist logic and the stupid wasn’t catching on. Plenty caught on/ understood and I even gave a explanation to the slow & mentally incapable that is sarcasm, satire and parody aka a joke. Instead allow free speech even if a was serous (and I wasn’t) the dumb asses who were in control on that forum delete my post anyway!

      Isn’t this that the same type of stuff the conservatives get pissed off at twitter and facebook for?

      Report Post » The-Real-Enrico  
    • Two Trees
      Posted on August 3, 2012 at 1:01am

      I love the Blaze, and I love Beck and GBTV and all of it. He‘s courageous and these days half the time he’s neck-and-neck with if not even occasionally (and importantly) ahead of Rush.

      The segment “Diversity of thought” has an amazingly important point: that being hated for religion or politics is far more prevalent than any other kind of bigotry. That’s a powerful point indeed. It is therefore unfortunate that someone didn’t check facts regarding Galileo. Galileo was NOT censored for his astronomy. What he was censored for was the *theology* which he presented together with his findings. It’s hard to imagine for many Americans, but the Church was then unchallenged as guardian and bullwark of the faith — the repository of truth. It was the Church’s job to present theology. Not as one man’s opinion, but in the manner in which the Magisterium has for two thousand years.

      It’s a good point. But the example is flawed in piling on to anti-Catholicism and in its facts.

      Report Post »  
  • Brother Winston Smith
    Posted on August 2, 2012 at 10:23pm

    “The point Beck hoped to make is that those who seek to stifle diversity of though always lose in the end because they can never “counter a point with a point or a civilized debate” they can only run others down with vitriol and intimidation, as in the case of Chick-fil-A…”

    …and Glenn (1984‘s O’brien) Beck’s Alinskyite attack on CONSTITUTIONALIST Debra Medina for LEFTIST Rick Perry:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8aKN_FaNsk

    This is TEXTBOOK 1984 propaganda/smear tactics. TEXTBOOK!

    Report Post » Brother Winston Smith  
    • The-Real-Enrico
      Posted on August 2, 2012 at 11:19pm

      @Brother (Honest question) Why don’t you go preach you movement of anti-leftist/progressivism etc in the lions den sort of speak at the msm, cnn, cnbc etc websites?

      I’m not trying to come off as a ass. I’m not saying like you should leave stop visiting this site. I honestly want to know why you choose to spread your facts here instead of the mainstream sites that have more traffic and progressives to hear your message?

      Report Post » The-Real-Enrico  
  • UseTP2wipe
    Posted on August 2, 2012 at 10:05pm

    Glenn Beck complaining about “Orwell’s 1984″ is like a drug dealer complaining about the effects of drugs on our citizens. I don’t know of anyone on the right who deals out more pseudo-patriotic, Soviet-era slogans as he does.

    Report Post »  
  • Brother Winston Smith
    Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:44pm

    Beck: When You Censor Diversity of Thought, You‘ve Arrived at Orwell’s 1984.

    When has Glenn (1984‘s O’Brien) Beck talked about or interviewed ANY Presidential candidate of the Constitution Party?

    When has Glenn (1984‘s O’Brien) Beck talked about or interviewed Presidential candidates Virgil Goode? Chuck Baldwin? Michael Peroutka?

    When has Glenn (1984‘s O’Brien) Beck talked about or interviewed ANYONE from the Libertarian Party?

    How much time has Glenn (1984‘s O’Brien) Beck spent on republican candidate Ron Paul, compared with republican candidate Mitt Romney? 99.9% to 1%?

    How much time has Glenn (1984‘s O’Brien) Beck spent DEFENDING republican candidate Romney, compared with republican candidate Paul? 100% to 0%?

    Is Glenn (1984‘s O’Brien) Beck guilty of “censorship?”

    If Glenn (1984‘s O’Brien) Beck is guilty of “censorship”… why is he ACCUSING OTHERS of being guilty of “censorship?”

    Report Post » Brother Winston Smith  
  • Polarized America
    Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:18pm

    Tiffany ..Why did you bury this very important story from Glenn so fast ?
    I’ve been waiting since his cnn days for him to help un-polarize our nation
    and may i add this to the topic of Diversity …lets coexist ;-)
    and id like to say that C-F-A could have avoided this entire conflict if only they also mentioned

    Mark 10:11-12

    Report Post »  
  • UseTP2wipe
    Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:11pm

    Beck declares “look at all the ‘hate’ from the left.” Uh huh….yeah a few people on Twitter and this is “the hate from the left.” And he doesn’t know (or doesn’t care) about the all the money CFA gives to intolerant, extremist anti freedom groups masquerading as religious org’s.
    He goes on to say that he’s against this boycott and what he believes is taking away of the Chic Fil-A‘s boss’s freedom of expression or belief. How ironic is that? Why can‘t the gay community protest and boycott a business who’s philosophy they don’t agree with? The evangelical Christians do this when they do not like a movie, book, or something they don’t agree with. Why is it that only the evangelical Christians get the freedom to protest and boycott? Aren’t we in America?

    Report Post »  
  • UsedToBeLiberal
    Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:10pm

    I give up

    Report Post »  
  • UsedToBeLiberal
    Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:08pm

    nevermind, I had much to say but figured it would be lost.

    Report Post »  
  • TheRooster
    Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:04pm

    The term “bigot” is nothing more than someone who does not share your beliefs. Under the First Amendment there is no such thing as bigots.
    There only exist bigots if you’re a low life communist.

    Report Post »  
    • dmspurlock
      Posted on August 3, 2012 at 10:26am

      “The term “bigot” is nothing more than someone who does not share your beliefs”

      I guess you don’t know the definition of “idiotic” either… the definition of bigot is:

      “1.intolerant person: somebody with strong opinions, especially on politics, religion, or ethnicity, who refuses to accept different views”

      By the way the definition of “idotic”:
      “an offensive term in a now disused classification system for somebody with an IQ of about 25 or under and a mental age of less than 3 years”

      Report Post »  
  • UsedToBeLiberal
    Posted on August 2, 2012 at 9:04pm

    If there was an unlike button, I would click it. You are not listening. Do you as a citizen (if you are) of the USA, want your mayor to tell you what you should like or not like? Just asking. The left took it tooo far, they ingnited a fire.

    Report Post »  
  • Bruce P.
    Posted on August 2, 2012 at 8:49pm

    Suddenly, “freedom of speech” is an issue when a company like Chick-Fil-A is criticized for its position on gay marriage…

    …yet when a company supports gay rights, the people here are not so much concerned about free speech as they are declaring they will no longer support that place with their money. There are only nods of agreement when the “On Million Moms” bigots declare a boycott for a company even employing homosexuals, not an ounce of concern for “freedom of speech.”

    Utter hypocrisy.

    Report Post » Bruce P.  
    • Rayblue
      Posted on August 2, 2012 at 10:04pm

      Gays have “agendas”. “Rights” are reserved for the whole human race.

      Report Post » Rayblue  
  • cliKKer
    Posted on August 2, 2012 at 8:45pm

    This is how the world ends… not with a BANG but a whimper

    Report Post » cliKKer  
  • Pheonix1901
    Posted on August 2, 2012 at 8:21pm

    Love you Brother Beck! Keep speaking with conviction!!!

    Report Post » Pheonix1901  
    • txdave22
      Posted on August 2, 2012 at 8:29pm

      We’ve heard no CARDINALS, ARCHBISHOPS, PASTORS AND LEADERS OF THE MORMON CHURCH CONDEMN————-WHOREMONGERING AND BREAKING OF THE LAW AND THE COMMANDMENTS???———–When is limbaugh going to ask about admitted adulterer?—————

      Bill O’Reilly: ‘I Don’t Think Vitter Should Be There. Absolutely Not’
      ————-By Judd Legum on Jun 17, 2011 at 11:10 am
      Yesterday, Anthony Weiner resigned a few days after admitting he sent lewd messages to women he made over the internet. ———————————-Weiner’s announcement came after pressure from Leader Nancy Pelosi, DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, and President Obama. Nevertheless, top Republicans criticized Democrats for “protecting” Weiner.
      ————————–1,432 days ago, Sen. David Vitter admitted to being a regular customer of a prostitution service. ——————–(An activity that is, incidentally, illegal).—————– Days after his admission he was welcomed back with open arms by the Republican party.
      ——————Thus far, the Republican leadership has not been pressed to explain the blatant hypocrisy of their divergent reactions to the two scandals. ———————-Last night, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly weighed in. His message was simple:———————————– “I don’t think Vitter should be there. Absolutely not.”———–Your tax dollars at work: paying salary of admitted GOP senator, adulterer, whoremonger, anothe

      Report Post »  
    • kaydeebeau
      Posted on August 2, 2012 at 10:03pm

      OK, let me try this again. Everyone already agrees that adultery is wrong. (Unless of course you are advocating for acceptance of adultery as a societal norm). Since everyone already agrees that adultery is a sin and against the morals of society, what is your point?

      If you are wondering why there is not an equivalent “out cry” against adultery – please see paragraph 1.

      Just to further clarify, if and when there arises a powerful bully lobby favoring the societal acceptance of adultery as normative behavior, trust me, you will see the same indignation for this sexual sin as for the sexual sin of homosexuality.

      Any questions?

      Oh and by-the way – you may want to alter your formatting – hard to read and equally hard to follow….

      Report Post » kaydeebeau  
  • Rayblue
    Posted on August 2, 2012 at 8:19pm

    Orwell had his moments but wore a little thin in the last three or four decades.
    He was British and as such didn’t comprehend the fierce, monumental, racing, overheated engine of American spirit. The stand we take is not book learned. It’s as seminal as breathing. As steady as heartbeat. As unmoved as the mind of God. And hotter than the suns core. We come by our heritage through blood. And will not shy away from more. It’s what we are in the center of our souls. Free. To live and die free. Forever as Americans.

    Report Post » Rayblue  
  • TheRooster
    Posted on August 2, 2012 at 8:07pm

    I love Glenn but he’s gotta get by “1984”. We’re well into “Brave New World” but our soma is a different industry,commonly known as the “war on drugs”

    Report Post »  
  • Meyvn
    Posted on August 2, 2012 at 8:04pm

    The bottom video was a good one Glenn. They‘ve perverted the concept of diversity and they’ve perverted the meaning of the word hate.

    Report Post » Meyvn  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on August 2, 2012 at 8:04pm

    We’re almost there as it is; the main problem will be after the election and until Romney takes office, that Obama will initiate a final, mad, desperate grab for absolute power and take the nation down around his ears.

    If for some reason he gets a second term, our nation is history.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • UsedToBeLiberal
      Posted on August 2, 2012 at 8:56pm

      I agree! I live in Ohio and am very sad to hear that women are buying the crap about Repubicans not caring about women’s issues. I am a woman and I do take care of my own health/business. Two things that really worry me. 1) That people believe the Government can take care of them, than they can themselves! 2) Obama gets another 4 years in office without being worried about being re-elected! how scary is that!

      Report Post »  
  • justangry
    Posted on August 2, 2012 at 8:03pm

    “There are a lot of legitimate reasons to hate people,”

    But Christians are supposed to love their enemies.

    “When you arrive at a place where you cannot speak, or think, or have an honest debate,” Beck said, then you have arrived at George Orwell’s 1984.

    Is Big Brother deleting my posts?

    Report Post » justangry  
    • bullcrapbuster
      Posted on August 2, 2012 at 8:15pm

      The left has changed the meaning of the word hate by their constant misuse of it. To them disagree=hate, Gay = homosexual. So now the socialists are using their new speak to do what they do best,divide and cause chaos.

      Report Post » bullcrapbuster  
    • TheRooster
      Posted on August 2, 2012 at 8:20pm

      There is not one legitimate reason to hate anyone. Hate is self destructive.

      Report Post »  
  • Steelhead
    Posted on August 2, 2012 at 8:01pm

    Glenn you always want people to think like you so that makes you the bigot.

    Report Post » Steelhead  
    • TheRooster
      Posted on August 2, 2012 at 8:22pm

      Son? You need to investigate the term “bigot”.

      Report Post »  
    • trinklefinder
      Posted on August 2, 2012 at 8:27pm

      wha?????!!!!!!!!

      Report Post » trinklefinder  
    • Steelhead
      Posted on August 2, 2012 at 8:57pm

      rooster- G Beck and the Blaze is infested with bigots. I’m sorry but it is you who should look at a dictionary.

      Report Post » Steelhead  
    • dblaess
      Posted on August 3, 2012 at 6:56am

      Better to think like him than you. Doesn’t Glenn always say check the facts yourself, make up your own mind? You have talking points to get out for a paycheck so can not use the same process as Glenn.

      Report Post »  

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