Sunday, January 22, 2017

The Post the Pilot Newspaper Didn't Want You To See

After 20 years writing a column with pretty much total editorial independence (and winning two NC Press Association Awards for it), The Pilot Newspaper of Southern Pines, NC decided that the column below might make too many Republicans mad. "David is getting tired of people saying they're cancelling their subscription," I was told. The opinion editor, Steve Bouser, demanded a "more hopeful" one (on  Thursday morning, no less).

 I declined, since to do so would have been to write something  I do not believe in. They spiked  it and ran a "let's all give Trump a chance" column in its place.  So I have ended my association with the Pilot as a columnist.

If you're as concerned as I am about dissenting opinions being stifled because of Republican bullying, please contact the publisher at david@thepilot.com, or the opinion editor at sbouser@thepilot.com. Now here's the column they didn't want you to see:

Dear Mr. Trump:

Well, the day has finally come and gone. You’ve risen to the top of the list, a-number-one, king of the hill, all that stuff. You’ve achieved an honor few men can claim. And in that ascension, you’ve helped to set Americans free. Well, some of them at least.

Oh, you think I’m talking about the Presidency? Well, I suppose that’s neat, too. But this week, according to the Twitter feed of your son (and 80’s movie villain) Eric, you’ve also garnered laurels from Golf Digest, who has raised you to lofty heights by proclaiming you “Golfer-In-Chief.” According to the G.D. story, “Sixteen of the past 19 presidents have played golf, but Trump is the best and most passionate golfer among them.”




Now, I remember when “Golfer In Chief” was used as a sneer to question the work ethic of President Barack Obama. I remember it because it was still happening this week.

But, as you’ve taken great pains to make us aware, Donald J. Trump is a great man. Too great to be fettered by little things like consistency or principle. How else would the man who once spent six years questioning the legitimacy and American citizenship of a sitting president get to be all indignant because a Congressman questioned his own legitimacy? How else could the man who tweeted after Barack Obama’s 2012 election that "We should march on Washington and stop this travesty. Our nation is totally divided!" later call Rep. John Lewis, a hero of the civil rights movement, a hypocrite for not attending his inauguration? How else could a man who harshly slams companies for sending jobs overseas nominate a man who’s done just that for Commerce Secretary?

Consistency? Principle? Pshaw. Those are for the little people, not a transformative figure like Trump, son of Trump.

And make no mistake, Mr. Trump, you are a transformative figure. You’ve already done so much to free us from the bonds of “political correctness.” Why, just this past week, Christopher vonKeyserling, a 71-year-old Republican politician from Greenwich, Connecticut, resolved a political argument with a female town employee by following the woman into her office and, according to a criminal warrant filed later by the woman, “reach[ing] between her legs from behind and pinch[ing] her in the groin area.” According to both the Washington Post and the fact-checking website Snopes.com, von Keyserling had earlier crowed that “it’s a new world now. I no longer have to be politically correct.” He also reportedly told police that the pinch, which lesser beings might call a sexual assault, was what he called a “gig,” the type he often used to “embarrass his teenaged granddaughter.”

Yes, Mr. Trump, you have truly changed the world, even before taking office. By your example and your disdain for political correctness, you’ve made 71 year old men feel free to openly grab—sorry, “gig”- not only adult women with whom they disagree, but their teenaged female relatives, by a certain body part.

Finally, you’ve set your party free. No longer do the Republicans have to pretend that they care about things like small government, free markets, and the Constitution--unless, by “small government” you mean having the whole thing shrunk to one person who makes all the decisions, like your BFF Vladimir Putin. No longer do they have to pretend to care about accountability in government, since they were willing to trash the congressional ethics office (until they got caught at it) and perfectly willing to hold sham hearings on your nominees before their ethics reviews are even done. Oh, people like the guy you called “Little Marco” still feel like they need to put up token resistance to your Russian-owned Secretary of State nominee. But we all know he’ll get over it.

 Be proud, Mr. Trump. Your election has transformed the Republican Party by freeing them from pretending they have any actual principles, conservative or otherwise. Just look at the standard response to any criticism of policy or even denial of your awesomeness: “We won. Trump is your President. Suck it up, buttercup.”

That’s the response of someone with no moral center whatsoever, to whom the only thing that matters is raw power and the exercise of it. It’s the response of the kind of bully who reads or hears George Orwell’s nightmare vision of a totalitarian future—“imagine a boot stamping on a human face, forever,” and thinks “hey, that sounds pretty cool.” 

This is the world you’ve already made, Mr. Trump. And you’ve just begun. God help us all.


Dusty Rhoades lives, writes, and practices law in Carthage, North Carolina.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dang. :( It's like they've never actually read any of your columns before.

J.D. Rhoades said...

I know, right?

Laini Giles said...

Thank you JD. Perfectly said.

Alan Hope said...

A boot stamping on a human face, not stomping. Orwell was very much an Englishman, and write in British English. Show some respect.

JD Rhoades said...

LOL. Edited.

Unknown said...

Aaaarrrrggghhh!!! Is it just the last of my nerves, or is everything just crumbling into a silent scream of suckitude??? What's happened to a fearless editors??? Why is everyone cowering in the corner of the playground while Biff pisses in the sandbox???

Unknown said...

Oh, plus,Happy Birthday!

Unknown said...

And so it begins...the silencing of opposition voices. First action from the "Dictator for Dummies" playbook.

Unknown said...

You are a very talented columnist and it is a great loss to The Pilot. It is also a great loss to stifle a voice that we clearly need to hear. I left a message for you at your office.

Peggy Wohlford said...

You will be a great loss to the Pilot. This column was eloquent and spot on. Your editor needed to have for back. You do speak for me!

JD Rhoades said...

Thanks, everyone. Interesting developments are occurring. More later.

SUZY MORGAN said...

You will be missed .... Don't Stop Sharing ..... I love it when someone responds with "WHAT PART OF NO DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND " !

Deborah Wilson said...

Thank you for representing the other view. When did newspapers eliminate opinion and equal reporting? Just returned from Washington Women's March with renewed hope that my voice may be heard. This just crushed that glimmer of hope.

OI mama lion of two said...

What a wonderful article not posted. Facts are facts unless they are alternative facts which are just lies by any other name. Great Job and I will pass it on.

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

Dusty.... you say it so well!! I am greatly bothered that the Pilot chose not to run your article and I will express my disappointment to them. However I hope that you do not stop writing for The Pilot, your messages are so important and we need people with your insight to expose this man. If good writers and reporters like you start to back off then the bullies win and we can't let that happen. So please continue to submit your column to The Pilot.

Anonymous said...

The Pilot sucks.

Billy Marts said...

Thank you for letting us share this article with our readers on AberdeenTimes.Com - to all of us here at AT freedom of speech has a real meaning. The Column has gotten a HUGE response this evening. It was an honor to publish a piece written by someone of your talent and hope to be able to do so again in the future

Deborah Wilson said...

Thank you Dusty for finding an avenue to publish your article. I am most concerned at the "new normal" for media reporting. We absolutely should not allow "Alternative Facts" to become the norm nor the First Amendment to become a figment of our imagination. THANK YOU

avbear11 said...

hope u didn't cut off yer nose despite yer face. ty

Unknown said...

As a 50-percent Tarheel by matrilineal descent, I remember when North Carolina was a progressive state with a forward-looking press . . . about a half century ago. Roy Cooper seems like a decent guy, but man does he have a tough row to hoe. On Trump, what else is there to say.

Unknown said...

The cherries you picked will make a sweet dessert for some. You should have a high time the next (however long cheeto-in-chief lasts). That being said, and disagreeing with the on-going political vivisection of the new guy, I am disappointed The Pilot chose to not run your opinion. I guess I will rock myself to sleep thinking they are trying some noble cause of respecting the Presidency by respecting the rank and not the person. This type of silliness is only new to us - not the country. The late 19th century to early 20th century certainly had similar scandals and concerns. Guess what? We survived that as well.

JD Rhoades said...

" On Trump, what else is there to say."

Oh there's so much more, Fred. So much. And I'll be saying it, come hell, high water, or angry Trumpkins.

Anonymous said...

Excellent column. The Pilot, after the days of Sam Reagan, changed. The newspaper caters to the wealthy of this county, terrified they might step on a toe. And by the way,has anyone ever noticed that the TV in the ER at First Health stays tuned to Fox News?

Anonymous said...

Love it! You expressed precisely and eloquently how many of us (over half those who voted) in this country truly feel!