ESPN's Stephen A. Smith Gets Taste of Out of Context Liberal Wrath

Dignitas News Service ^ | July 25, 2014 | Paul M Winters

[dignitasnews]

Along with being one of America's most honest and entertaining personalities in sports media, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith is member of a distinguished club of individuals who are regularly vilified and edited so as to be taken out of context as a consequence of supporting policies which incur liberal wrath. The latest faux controversy over allegedly controversial statements he made with Skip Bayless on ESPN's First Take.

During the discussion which focused on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's decision to suspend Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice for two games as a result of his domestic violence charges, generally thought to be a light sentence by sportswriters and fans alike. Smith began the statement that has the liberal media in an uproar by stressing that men "have no business putting your hands on a woman. I don't know how many times I have to reiterate that," as Bayless gestured in concurrence from his screen.

I will provide you the unedited clip of the exchange so that you may take it in for yourselves before I give my opinions on the statement and the reaction from the left-wing media and the sycophantic so-called mainstream press. (Don't let the link title confuse you)

WhiteGoodmanGloboGym (via YouTube)

This is what has liberal-Progressives on the left calling out Smith as a misogynist and accusing him of placing the responsibility for violence against the very women who are victimized. USA Today called it a "tone-deaf observation that women shouldn't provoke violence from men," while fellow ESPN commentator Michelle Beadle took to Twitter who mockingly bemoaned "So I was just forced to watch this morning's First Take. A) I'll never feel clean again B) I'm now aware that I can provoke my own beating." She then tweeted again ten minutes later, stating "I'm thinking about wearing a miniskirt this weekend...I'd hate to think what I'd be asking for by doing so."

This was tame compared to the opinions of marginally talented hard-left provocateur Katie McDonough of Salon who called Smith's comments "ignorant and dangerous" in her latest tirade. McDonough herself has been prone to her own controversy, having been lambasted for her hateful and sophomoric attack on New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, in which she called the Republican Latina a "dumb sh*thead."

As the left so often tries to do, they are attempting to demagogue the issue before the general public can view and process the statement in it's entirely. As this story broke in the morning, the left has had precious hours to get ahead of the story, constructing the narrative that Stephen A Smith believes women who are beaten have brought it on themselves. Yet another example of the "war on women" and an inherent misogynistic tendencies within American culture, particularly in the world of sports. But let us look at Smith's statement, word for word and examine the point he was trying to make, not what the opportunistic and agenda-driven old media want his words to be.

"But as a man who was raised by women, see I know what I’m going to do if somebody touches a female member of my family. I know what I’m going to do, I know what my boys are going to do. I know what, I’m going to have to remind myself that I work for the Worldwide Leader, I’m going to have to get law enforcement officials involved because of what I’m going to be tempted to do."

So here he is saying something that most of us can all concur with, in that as men we would be quick to punish any man who harms a female member of our family or a woman close to us. He adds a bit of tongue in cheek as he referenced his professional obligations preventing him from saying what we all know to be in his mind, a thought we share. Certainly nothing here to set off a national wave of backlash from political opportunists and the self-righteous and disingenuous statements of disapproval from his feckless colleagues in the media whose concern for their careers overrides their sense of honor, as they will willingly condemn a fellow sportswriter for saying what they most likely feel as well.

At this point Smith continues, this part of the exchange providing the left the ammunition they need to paint another villain in the "war against women."

"But what I’ve tried to employ the female members of my family, some of who you all met and talked to and what have you, is that again, and this what, I’ve done this all my life, let’s make sure we don’t do anything to provoke wrong actions, because if I come, or somebody else come, whether it’s law enforcement officials, your brother or the fellas that you know, if we come after somebody has put their hands on you, it doesn’t negate the fact that they already put their hands on you. So let’s try to make sure that we can do our part in making sure that doesn’t happen.”

While those words proved to be manna from...well, wherever the Progressive-left aspires to spend their eternity, if you look at what he is saying it is a quite reasonable statement. It is reasonable to those of us who look at women with an eye of intellectual equality. I say equality because, just like with men, there are some women who are incredibly unreasonable and a lightning rod for trouble. As Smith opened up with and to which I concur, that in itself in no way justifies male violence against women or places the responsibility on the victim. In his statement it seems obvious he is speaking esoterically and certainly not limited to the specifics of the Rice case.

Whether we be man or woman, it is incumbent upon all the citizenry to promote domestic tranquility. The guy who mouths off at some guy in a bar, gets punched in the face and has his nose broken may not have deserved that assault for the words he spoke, but he is responsible for mouthing off and creating a situation. This is particularly true if he knows the other person is prone to violence. Now again (as Smith says, you'll never know how many times this must be reiterated), nothing a woman says to us in an argument, or heat the moment justifies a man placing his hands upon a woman violently. Nothing at all. As gentleman we are rightfully expected to find our composure in moments such as this and even if slapped and urged on to retaliate by the women. In that we can all agree.

But if we are to believe in true equality between genders, an equal level of responsibility is to be expected in how we conduct ourselves in confrontational situations. If our commitment to gender equality is to be more than obligatory, we must view both opportunity and responsibility on an equal scale. As I gathered, this is all Stephen A. Smith is trying to convey.

At this point he may have gotten the sense that he may have said something that the left will pounce on, so does continue, somewhat clumsily to explain himself in the brief time that the show's format provides.

"Now you got some dudes that are just horrible and they’re going to do it anyway, and there’s never an excuse to put your hands on a woman. But domestic violence or whatever the case may be, with men putting their hands on women, is obviously a very real, real issue in our society. And I think that just talking about what guys shouldn’t do, we got to also make sure that you can do your part to do whatever you can do to make, to try to make sure it doesn’t happen. We know they’re wrong. We know they’re criminals. We know they probably deserve to be in jail. In Ray Rice’s case, he probably deserves more than a 2-game suspension which we both acknowledged."

So again he provides clarity to his opinions about male directed violence against women. Smith has been in the cross-hairs enough to know that the die has been cast and knowing there's no way to backtrack now, to his credit he somewhat "double-downs" and stands by his overall opinion.

"But at the same time, we also have to make sure that we learn as much as we can about elements of provocation. Not that there’s real provocation, but the elements of provocation, you got to make sure that you address them, because we’ve got to do is do what we can to try to prevent the situation from happening in any way. And I don’t think that’s broached enough, is all I’m saying. No point of blame.”

Good for you, Stephen A. Smith. Indeed, there are many issues that are not "broached enough" and thank goodness we have men and women in the media who are afraid to open up discussion and risk incurring the backlash of an intellectually dishonest and lazy liberal media complex. This is not to say that there are no valid disagreeing opinions with Smith, but that's the entire point. Discussion which include all points of view are the surest path the real truth on a subject. Rarely is one person or opinion 100 percent correct or incorrect. It is not only the democratic foundation this republic was founded upon, but also the only way in which our culture grows in understanding of one another.

There is nothing more the Progressive-left fears than open and free dialogue to discuss the issues of our day. Their objective is to shape the narrative and to paint a picture of the individual who expresses any diversity of opinion as a scoundrel whose motives, not methods are incorrect and somehow nefarious. By spreading the narrative that Smith believes women are responsible for violence perpetrated against them, they immediately cease all intellectual discussion of the issue, forcing Smith to take a defensive stand while supporters and opponents on either side bicker that point. Thus there is no evolution of the national dialogue, no greater understanding between men and women, left and right, black or white. And as is the case in all matters of American division, the left profits from this division and misunderstanding.

To truly understand the lefts aversion to Smith you have to go back and look at statements he has made in the past and causes he has championed which veer more to the right side of the political spectrum. He is vocal proponent of school choice and a defender of black conservatives. We at Dignitas News Service were among many who applaud he and other noted personalities who helped put together the following Public Service Announcement (PSA) for the American Federation for Children.

AmericanFederationForChildren (via YouTube)

As conservatives I believe it is important we support men like Stephen A. Smith and as Americans disagree if you will, but respect that his opinions are as valid as any other and whose intentions are driven at the goal we should all have, intellectual equality of all Americans. Unfortunately for ESPN's Stephen A. Smith is being taken out of context and beginning to feel the full wrath of a liberal-Progressive machine who ultimate goals are far different from ours.

Opinion by Paul M Winters Editor in Chief, Dignitas News Service

Sources:

Salon Deadspin USAToday AmericanFederationForChildren (via YouTube) WhiteGoodmanGloboGym (via YouTube) ESPN

[utahagen]

I was in therapy for a year or so (a decade ago) for anxiety issues linked to work. What I liked about my shrink is that he allowed me to ask him questions not directly related to my situation and he would give me straight answers, even if the answers weren’t politically correct. For example, I told him that I suspected some of the women who were victims of domestic violence were not in fact serious about ending the cycle of violence because they often reconciled with the guy who had beaten them up. My shrink said — as if he were relieved to have the chance to speak candidly about the issue — that many battered women engage in “very provocative behavior” and ask for restraining orders they have every intention of inviting their guy to violate.

[dainbramaged]

An old NFL Films episode showed the late Deacon Jones talking about the banned head slap that linemen used to use right when the ball was snapped. He said: "When you slap a man or a woman hard, it stuns them for a second."

[dignitasnews]

Indeed. And its just intellectually dishonest to not openly discuss that situations like this do occur. But in the “all or nothing” mind of a liberal, to simply suggest that implies one believes this is always the case.

And all that means is that men and women are more alike than different. Inviting trouble into one’s life is a human condition, its just a fact..although we know how fond of facts the left is.

[Busko]

Rice is part of the thug culture and the NFL is allowing the thug culture to be part of the game. The NFL is becoming a joke.

[Unam Sanctam]

When did sports get so politicized? I wish our liberal overlords would leave some cultural space for us to breathe without having to intake hard left political correctness all the time.