As disturbing as it is predictable, the media and Portland apologists have begun to make excuses for antifa brownshirts’ apparent rule over the Rose City. They now blame this masked group’s violent assault on journalist Andy Ngo upon the fact that he also writes political commentary.
In a piece that buries antifa’s quick-drying cement attack on Ngo, and the brain bleed with which they sent him to the hospital, the New York Times cites Brian Levin, the director at “the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism” at California State University in San Bernardino.
“He’s a political pundit who certainly makes the most out of his conflicts, which sometimes turn violent on him. But to his credit, I’ve never seen him be the physical aggressor in the posts that he’s made generally,” said Levin.*
The Times uses Levin’s quote here to try to erase Ngo’s work as a reporter, implying that because he’s written commentary at mainstream opinion pages such as the Wall Street Journal, he cannot engage in anything less than clickbait gonzo journalism and he practically deserves to be attacked.
Watch any of Ngo’s videos and just try to find an Alex Jones style stunt of him screaming in bystanders faces. You won’t find it. The soft-spoken Quillette editor does what local news reporters are supposed to do: objectively document public events of community interest. If thugs willfully parading and pillaging the streets of Portland don’t want to be caught doing so, they can stop at any time. His offense is bringing transparency to the situation.
Opinion pieces by journalists at other outlets discard the mask altogether. At Haaretz, Ngo’s assailants are credited with “self-defense” from “fascist videographers.” Mike Stuchbery at the Independent reminds you, “don’t worry about Ngo,” who appeared on national television visibly bruised and disturbingly slow from that itty bitty brain hemorrhage.
“Instead, start worrying about the growing power and influence of figures on the far right who use propaganda and bad faith arguments to demonise anyone who opposes them,” Stuchbery writes, as though getting sent to the hospital had been Ngo’s plan all along. And as if opposition to violent hate groups such as antifa constitutes fascism. Ridiculous!
Opinion journalism is also journalism. Ngo and others who write commentary don’t forfeit their ability to find and report objective facts, nor obviously do they forfeit their right to safety in public places. Indeed, Ngo’s case is illustrating that so many of those journalists and commentators claiming the free press is on life support are actually part of the problem.
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* UPDATE: This piece originally characterized Levin’s views in a way unsupported by the facts, attributing the slant of the New York Times piece to Levin.
