Disgusting/ Selective Focus

By now, we all must be familiar with Shirley Sherrod and her extraordinary story. What this woman has endured over the last seventy-two hours due to the manipulative behaviors of Andrew Breitbart and Fox News is amazing.

Shirley Sherrod's life is a testament to thinking outside box and using one's experiences to make them more compassionate and not bitter. Shirley Sherrod could have been hateful and angry but she made a different choice. This woman upheld the golden rule "due unto others as one would want done to themselves."

The same cannot be said about Andrew Breitbart and Fox News.

I know what many of you are thinking, "What about the NAACP and the White House?" "What about their contribution to this mess?"

I agree that the NAACP and Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack did not do due diligence and acted in a defensive manner. I'm still stunned the NAACP condemned this woman for what she said on that 45 second edited clip that was posted on Andrew Breitbart's blog. Considering that they had the original recording due to the speech being done at their banquet! It's disturbing that no one in that organization thought to look at the tape in it's entirety before making a statement! Hell, nobody from the NAACP even contacted Shirley Sherrod before condemning her.

Yet, I also understand that hindsight is 20/20. It's easy for me to be critical now but under pressure most of us respond in a manner that we usually would not. I'm not giving them a pass, I'm just acknowledging that Benjamin Jealous/Tom Vilsack are human beings and mistakes can occur.

But then again, this is why organizations usually have a policy and procedure handbook that list exactly what should happen in certain situations.

Although, the true tyrants of this story are Andrew Breitbart and Fox news. If they had not tried to manipulate the public into believing Shirley Sherrod was a racist, none of this would have occurred.

It's obvious these tyrants suffer from perverted thinking/selective focus. Selective focus means you pick and choose certain parts of an event or situation and focus only on those parts. What you focus on may be something good or bad. If some facts don't support what you already believe, you block them out. You try to control the focus so you can justify your behavior.

To watch Andrew Breitbart and Fox news reminds me of trying to hold a conservation with an individual who is severely mentally ill and not taking their medications. There is no coherent rational thought to their logic.

Andrew Breitbart continues to claim the NAACP is racist and the crowd that Shirley Sherrod was speaking to were also "cheering" racist rhetoric. If you watch the video, you see this is a distortion made up in the sick mind of Breitbart. There was no cheering or applause, it was just another lie made up by a man who needs anti psychotic medication.

Bill O' Reilly's weak attempt at an apology last night only continues to prove that Fox news is not actual "news" at all. O' Reilly, Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and everyone else at Fox news who was involved with this deception owe Shirley Sherrod a real apology. They can't use the excuse of blaming Breitbart for his lie because they should have checked their source. In journalism 101, I'm sure checking your source for accuracy is mentioned.

But then again, when has Fox news ever really been concerned about telling the truth.

What is the lesson learned from this matter? I think it's simple, truth is paramount. We should no longer side with people due to their political leanings, race, gender or sexual orientation. The only thing that matters about a person is the content of their character, "their truth."

Listening to Shirley Sherrod defend herself the last couple days, only a bigot could come away not being impressed by her. Shirley Sherrod is a counter to every stereotype thrown at black american women today. A brilliant example of "truth" personified.

What we see from Andrew Bretibart and Fox news is something all together different. Either due to mental health issues, fear, narcissism or combination of them all, we see individuals who seem incapable of "truth."

I guess the question becomes what "truth" will Americans listen to? The Shirley Sherrod's of the world or the Andrew Breitbart's/Fox news types?

Forgive me for not being too optimistic.