CHICAGO, February 29, 2012— It appears the progressive Huffington Post is showing a hypocritical, radical, and hate filled side. Larry Doyle, one of their contributors, published a thoroughly hate filled anti-Catholic screed last week.
He carefully couched his religious contempt as an attack on Rick Santorum.
Within his February 24 column "The Jesus-Easting Cult of Rick Santorum" Doyle viciously attacks the Catholic Church and practicing Catholics exhibiting extreme prejudice, spite, and hate. The same kind of prejudice and hate that persecutors use to justify pogroms and genocide.
It is important to recognize that Huffington Post has a history of anti-Catholic rhetoric with Thomas Peters of CatholicVote.org writing:
"What’s different is the double-standard the Huffington Post applies: a standard which allows their writers to publish literally anything offensive about catholics, however untrue or mean-spirited, while other “protected” groups are never portrayed negatively (just compare the HuffPo Religion section and the HuffPo LGBT section to see what I mean).
Regardless of Doyle's "contributor status" by allowing this article to remain on page, Huffington Post demonstrates they are anti-Catholic. The editors evidently agreed with the prejudicial, bigoted, and hateful tone, most likely shrugging their shoulders while saying excusing it by saying "satire.""
What Larry Doyle wrote and editors approved is not satirical, or humorous. It is a blatant attack on Catholicism and Catholics, and Catholics the world over should be demanding an apology from Doyle, Huffington Post and parent AOL.com.
"Roman Catholics like Santorum take their orders from "the Pope," a high priest who, they believe, chats with God. Santorum has made no secret of his plans to implement his leader's dicta on allowed uses of vaginas and anuses, but has said little about what additional dogma he will be compelled to obey. Will child killers and terrorists go unexecuted on the Pope's say-so? Will we be able to conduct our wars as we see fit, or only the "just" ones? If Santorum is a good Catholic, and he appears to be among the very best, our real president will be Benedict XVI (a "former" Nazi, by the way)."
Doyle even invokes blood libel and mystic dark rituals in his article. “Catholics participate in a barbaric ritual dating back two millennia, a "mass" in which a black-robed cleric casts a spell over some bread and wine, transfiguring it into the actual living flesh and blood of their Christ. Followers then line up to eat the Jesus meat and drink his holy blood in a cannibalistic reverie not often seen outside Cinemax.”
Larry Doyle is a writer. He used to write for The Simpsons, he writes novels, and contributes to magazines. Maybe he is rewriting and planning to publish an updated version of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion; replacing references of Jews with references to Catholics and their clergy.
In progressive political circles it would probably be an instant best seller.
Huffington Post and its publisher, Arriana Huffington, are now sanctioning attacks and religious persecution. The fact she has not apologized or removed the offensive screed is evidence enough.
To compound their sanctioning of hatred, Huffington Post allowed Larry Doyle to publish a more bigoted and spiteful apology that wasn’t an apology. In it he says he is sorry for offending people who he doesn’t mind being offended. He mocked Catholics for being offended.
Face it, those who were offended were just not intelligent enough to get that he was just being humorous.
"I won't say that Catholics need to lighten up or learn to take a joke, because the piece wasn't intended to be light-hearted or funny. It was satire, meaning... well, you can look that up. (It was probably a mistake to put it in the Comedy section; the editors wanted readers to know it was not to be taken literally.)
It's traditional at this point for me to half-apologize, to say that I'm sorry if anybody was offended, but I really don't mind if anybody was offended. I hope they will now think twice before they question the faith of progressive Christians, or Mormons or Muslims. I doubt they will."
Who will Doyle or a HuffPo contributor attack next? Orthodox Jews, Pentecostals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Hindus, or Buddhists? We know they do not have the courage or intestinal fortitude to attack radical Islam. They would have to apologize.
Doyle, in his apology that was not an apology, claims his piece was comedy, which is why it appeared in the Comedy section. It was satire. Intelligent people should have realized that.
Comedy, satire, and even some ridicule are supposed to be amusing. His article and false apology were not amusing. They were pure vitriolic hatred. They were base, crude, and pandered to the worst forms of prejudice and fear.
It was beneath even dignity that the Huffington Post pretends to have.
But he could not stop there. On his Facebook page Doyle has this- “Stupid goddamn Catholics, this is for you”, with the link to his non-apology.
So far Catholics, who practice the religion of peace, are not rioting, setting off car bombs, burning down media outlets, or murdering journalists. The Pope has not issued a kill on sight declaration of death against Larry Doyle.
No one is calling for him to be tried, beheaded, disemboweled alive, burned at the stake, lynched, caned, or stoned to death.
The President of the United States has not issued an apology or letter of “concern” to the Pope. His White House minions will probably not be appearing in Catholic churches to grovel and prostrate themselves begging for forgiveness this Sunday because an American journalist insulted Catholicism.
The media is not condemning Doyle or Huffington Post. It’s not like they drew cartoons, made movies, or burned some books or anything silly like that.
Arianna Huffington, described by a former employee as a “touchy psychopath” (Reuters) will probably not apologize and continue to champion more hatred, prejudice, and bigotry.
Demanding an apology from Huffington Post is foolish anyway. This article is proof that Huffington Post should be now considered an insignificant website.
And with the media outcry against Huffington Post and Doyle, the entire sites validity is being called into question.
Here at the Communities, we don't pretend to be journalists. We are journalists and our editors read what we write and follow the accepted rules of journalism. And we have satarists. But one rule we have is "do not be mean." Be reasonable in what you say.
You know what? Let them publish, and publish even more, hate.
This is America. We have free speech. One of the reasons for free speech is to debate ideas in public in order to educate people. People should be allowed to read and learn about the hatred, vitriol, spite, prejudice, and bigotry of the progressive left and Huffington Post.
Readers will realize the progressive left is based on a mountain of cowardly lies spread by their own media. Self-contempt will do them in.
To channel the famous poem, I spoke up and I dare you to come for me.
Peter V. Bella is a retired Chicago Police Officer, freelance writer and photographer, cook, and raconteur. He likes to be the sharp stick that pokes, prods, and annoys. His opinions are his and his alone.
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