Boycott Glenn Beck

Glenn Beck is an evil, homophobic racist, and I as a Mormon, I am ashamed that he considers himself to be Mormon despite the fact that his intolerance and his hateful views violate many Mormon and Christian standards.

It is because of Glenn Beck that I refuse to watch CNN or CNN Headline News, but apparently this personal boycott of mine is not moving CNN towards firing him, even though Media Matters for America has cited many of Beck's statements which would have gotten almost anyone else fired.

There is just something about right-wing extremists (like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Michael "Savage" Weiner, and Glenn Beck) that the traditional media just can't get enough of even though the same extremists despise or even threaten the traditional media. Limbaugh proves himself to be a racist again and again, but he still makes disgusting amounts of money. Hannity is just an outright liar (he still claims Iraq had WMDs when we invaded in 2003), and he is still working. Coulter finally got some much deserved flack for calling John Edwards a "faggot," but there are still many papers that carry her column. Weiner should be committed or even jailed for his hate speech and death threats, but he still enjoys having his own radio show. Then there is Beck with his hate-filled radio show and his CNN show of intolerance.

If any politician had said the things these people have said, they would probably no longer be an employed politician, so why are right-wing extremist commentators still employed?

I know the answer is money (the question is rhetorical). Listeners = ratings = advertising dollars. What I don't understand is why people listen in the first place. Do so many people really hate the truth so much that they would rather be lied to by Limbaugh than know the truth? Are so many people really so racist or homophobic that they enjoy listening to Beck? If that is the case, then I am extremely disheartened. Those people have entered an endless loop where their own lies and intolerance are reinforced by the lies and intolerance of the media they adhere to. Reaching those people may never happen.

However, we can reach the advertisers. Perhaps the listeners do not mind being associated with racism, sexism, or homophobia, but advertisers usually have a problem with such associations. Many advertisers pulled out from Ann Coulter's website after many people complained to them about supporting someone who used a homophobic slur.

I now realize that not watching CNN is not enough to get them to fire Beck. (Apparently, low ratings aren't enough either.) I need to boycott those who advertise on Beck's show. I realized this after ThinkProgress.org pointed out this blog, My Two Sense, and its Glenn Beck Boycott. If you are interested in supporting the boycott, click the link.

Whether the boycott is successful or not, it feels good to at least try. We may not be able to get bigots like Beck off the air, but at least we can choose not to help pay for them to stay on.