Whether one believes in God or not, whenever natural disasters strike and deaths are involved, people often ask, “Why?”. They ask: “Why did this happen?”; “Why did this have to happen now?”; and sadly, “Why did ________ have to die?”
The worst response is when somebody tries to politicize such tragedies, especially in the context of assigning bad weather to an “angry God.”
Evangelical Christians such as Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell have been known to enjoy the taste of their own feet as they have, at times, pointed the finger of blame at various behaviors by people as the reason for some kind of natural disaster.
Pat Robertson, in 2012 was raked over the coals for suggesting deadly tornadoes that ripped through the Midwest could have been avoided if people had merely been more willing to pray about it. News outlets that covered it included The Huffington Post, The Daily News, The LA Times, CNN as well as left wing outlets such as Crooks & Liars, Media Matters, Raw Story and others.
Three days ago, Al Sharpton suggested the following with respect to the floods that have claimed the lives of over 20 people in Texas:
Notwithstanding Sharpton’s concern over whether or not the citizens of Texas were spending too much time messing with their thermostats, Sharpton’s “question” is really a political statement aimed at a state that is pretty red politically. Governor Greg Abbott handily defeated Wendy Davis and ended her 15 minutes of fame. The state has two Republican Senators in Ted Cruz and John Cornyn. Former Governor Rick Perry is likely going to run for president, along with Cruz.
What other reason could Sharpton possibly have?
This is also not something that is rare for Sharpton. He has a long history of making outlandish statements and saying outrageous things. Add to that the fact that Sharpton owes $4.5 million dollars in taxes and that he helped perpetuate the “hands up, don’t shoot” lie.
It’s one thing after another with this guy and not only does he not get the media scrutiny he so richly deserves, he’s actually an advisor to President Obama. You know what they say about the company you keep.
Noticeable of course, was the lack of any coverage by mainstream media outlets. Sure it was picked up by conservative outlets such as the Washington Times, The Daily Caller and The Media Research Center but not by the Daily News nor the LA Times.
People who argue there is no bias in the media often argue it from the perspective of how an issue is covered. What they cannot or do not want to understand is that bias exists in the form of not covering an issue as well. Had this been Pat Robertson or a conservative member of Congress, we would have heard about it for days.
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