Bloomberg pressure kills release of video documenting racist remarks
Reposted from my Examiner article archive (internal links may no longer work)
Pressure from Michael Bloomberg has caused the Aspen Institute and Grassroots TV to spike distribution of a video of his speech in which he advocated for cities to bar minority males up to age 25 from having guns, The Aspen Times reported Friday. The decision not to make the footage available for broadcast and distribution was made at the request of Bloomberg “representatives.”
“He did not give a reason nor did we have any reason to ask for one,” Institute
Chief External Affairs Officer” Jim Spiegelman offered by way of explanation. “We often feature speakers who prefer that their presentations not be videotaped.”
That may be the case for some, but in Bloomberg’s case, he had to be aware that the program was being recorded. As this column revealed in an earlier report, the “sold out” venue only accommodated “almost 400” attendees, and Grassroots TV cameras would not have been concealed. The fact is, the presentation was videotaped with Bloomberg’s knowledge, and Spiegelman has not provided any indication that this was a problem before or during the speech, but only afterward, when the former mayor realized his remarks could be used to cause prominent supporters to distance themselves from him.
That Grassroots Executive Director John Masters also offered excuses for Bloomberg, and tried his best to put an “understanding” face on a mandate he acknowledged was “frustrating,” reveals a betrayal of the principles the “nation’s oldest community television station” espouses on its Twitter feed, “Protecting the first amendment by allowing access to everyone.”
They’re denying access to vital information promoting legislation over a fundamental right to the very community they serve, and admittedly doing so in order to allow Bloomberg to cover his tracks.
“Occasionally somebody says something, and they just don’t want it out in public, and that’s a prerogative of whoever we’re collaborating with,” Masters admitted, making an interesting word choice. So rather than uphold his station’s mission statement and values that declare “Just solutions are only possible with the active participation of, and free flowing communications between, literate citizens and their organizations,” Grassroots TV has decided to put those aside this time.
Instead, this decision advances “communal” sympathies, protects its access and ensures the will of a control-all billionaire prevails over that of a community that provides the venture with significant revenues (compared to totals). Perhaps the station’s failure to put the public trust above all else can be pointed out the next time the city of Aspen decides which groups truly serve the community and merit generous grants. Perhaps they should be told to make up their shortfall with Everytown.
“Bloomberg’s racial disarmament proposal a key to distancing supporters,” this column observed, and it looks like the mayor and his supporters recognize that fact, and are doing their best to protect the narrative they wish to control. As with everything else about an Opposite Day “progressive” agenda that would take us back to a state monopoly of violence, erasing inconvenient truths from history is also not without precedent. (And speaking of that, did the Aspen Institute just never tell its Twitter followers about Bloomberg's appearance?)
On a side note, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have been pretty quiet on all this, haven’t they? I wonder if it’s because they haven’t heard about it yet, or if there are other compelling reasons a billionaire's call for racial disenfranchisement doesn't bother them this time...
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