Over the weekend, riots broke out in Atlanta as windows were smashed, police cruisers were burned, and people were arrested. Some blame the media for downplaying the situation. A local Fox TV affiliate aired a live shot with a reporter describing the protests as “mostly peaceful” as a vehicle burned in the background.
Syndicated radio host Erick Erickson, whose show is based in Atlanta, shared Monday that he has become bothered by the media being captured by its own prejudices, beliefs, and bigotries.
“I actually think we as a free people do have to have a free press,” said Erickson. “I think it’s important, particularly at a local level, that we have reporters, journalists, willing to ask tough questions of both sides of the aisle investigating corruption, exposing it for the public, I think that’s actually a very useful purpose.”
Erickson said increasingly we don’t have a free press. He cited an interview on CNN that took place during the riots with independent journalist David Peisner who said property damage didn’t equate to violence.
“I think that there’s a real blurring of the lines in the use of the word violence. Is property destruction violence? To some people it certainly is. But, you know, this idea that breaking windows or other acts of property destruction are the same as actual violence against humans, it’s kind of a dangerous and slippery concept,’” he said.
Erickson said the lack of willingness to label what happened in Atlanta as violent is something you hear from the people committing the crimes themselves.
“This is an echo we hear from a lot of protestors, left-wing rioters, and left-wing terrorists,” Erickson said. “Property destruction is different from physical violence because it’s not real violence because there’s no victims. Except, there are victims you just don’t see. The selfishness of these protestors and the media entertaining this.”
