Did Curt Schilling @gehrig38 delete this tweet b/c the numbers were off or b/c it was a horrible thing to tweet? pic.twitter.com/rK86wyZPmm
— Arash Karami (@thekarami) August 25, 2015
Courtesy of Vox: The argument here is pretty clear, even if the numbers are pure nonsense, but just so it's not lost: Schilling is saying that the religion of Islam is akin to Nazi Germany, and that the world's 1.6 billion Muslims are responsible for the actions of a tiny minority of extremists in the same way that Nazi-era Germans were complicit in Nazi crimes.
Putting aside the many obvious ways this is breathtakingly bigoted and hateful, let's briefly go through the motions of why it is also wrong. Muslims are by far the number-one victims of extremist groups such as ISIS: They are the most likely to be killed by ISIS, and they are the most likely to actively fight ISIS. Nazi-era Germans, on the other hand, overwhelmingly supported and fought for the Nazi regime. So in fact the relationship between Nazi-era Germans and Nazi crimes is the exact opposite of the relationship between Muslims and ISIS.
In response to the tweet ESPN suspended Schilling:
ESPN has taken baseball analyst Curt Schilling off the air after he sent a tweet equating Muslim extremists with Nazis in Germany.
"Curt's tweet was completely unacceptable, and in no way represents our company's perspective," ESPN said in a statement. "We made that point very strongly to Curt and have removed him from his current Little League assignment pending further consideration."
And Schilling himself admitted that he made a bad decision.
I understand and accept my suspension. 100% my fault. Bad choices have bad consequences and this was a bad decision in every way on my part.
— Curt Schilling (@gehrig38) August 25, 2015
There you go, over and done.Not so fast. The peanut gallery had not been heard from yet.
Courtesy of the head peanut:
ESPN IS A JOURNALISTIC EMBARRASSMENT
ESPN - what happened to you? Your intolerant PC police are running amok and making a joke out of you!
By picking and choosing who they'll tolerate and who they'll try to destroy, ESPN has zero credibility as a sound and reasonable media outlet. They suspended former major league great Curt Schilling because of his tweet:
"Only 5-10% of Muslims are extremists. In 1940, only 7% of Germans were Nazis. How'd that go?"
ESPN reacted about as fast as a Schilling pitch, wimpering, "Curt’s tweet was completely unacceptable, and in no way represents our company’s perspective. We have removed him from his current assignment... pending further consideration.”
Two points - well, three, because Curt's a pretty conservative/independent guy.
One - there's been crude, rude bile spewing from the once-great sports network for years now. Trust me. I know. My name and reputation's been in it. One ESPN affiliate's on-air rant featuring their misogynist, animalistic "analysts" grunting and giggling through an entire x-rated celebration of violence against women didn't even draw a chirp from ESPN's wussified leaders. Look it up; I don't want to have to recount it. (Here I'll do it. After all it's my job.) ESPN radio affiliate in Las Vegas got its kicks out of convicted rapist Mike Tyson describing the next rape he'd want to see. (Warning, graphic language throughout that Sept. 20, 2011 broadcast.)
Two - Schilling's tweet - was he wrong? No! In fact his stats were too generous in estimating Muslims' attitudes. Reports show it's 88% of Egyptian Muslims favoring DEATH for anyone who leaves Islam. The majority of Muslims in many other places share the sentiment. In America, these views could be correctly described as “extreme.” The difference between Hitler’s army and the genocidal maniacs of ISIS is that the jihadists don’t have as much power… yet.
By denying the accuracy of Schilling’s tweet, ESPN shows its weakness as it buys into the propaganda of ISIS and other terror organizations, helping mislead the public about the very real threat of terrorism. It shows once again that ESPN would rather concentrate on liberal global politics instead of report well on our beloved sports.
From those of us who used to LOVE the network (to the point of addiction, some would confess!), I say to ESPN - you are awful in this. Stick to sports.
- Sarah Palin
So ESPN should stick to sports? Well you Sarah Palin should stick to....uh...what is it that you know something about again?
So to sum up, according to Sarah Palin, Margaret Sanger should be vilified for all time for her support of eugenics, despite all of the good she has done since. However Curt Schilling should not have to miss a single game due to his insensitive remarks about those who belong to the largest religion in the world.
Could not be more clear.