I imagine that Conservatives will hate me (even more than they already do) for speaking the truth about one of their fallen heroes. Before those on the Far Right fall all over themselves in the rush to beatify Andrew Breitbart, though, we should take a long and honest look at Breitbart’s legacy. It ain’t pretty.
As you can see from the above video, Breitbart wasn’t exactly renowned for trafficking in rational, reasoned, and dispassionate debate. Truth be told, Breitbart brooked no dissent from his rabidly Conservative beliefs. Those who disagreed with him were branded as fools and idiots, and ridiculed as if they were America-hating Communists bent on destroying this great country. Liberal was an epithet which only served to mark one as a potential target of Breitbart’s rage and lust to utterly destroy those who dared to think, believe, live, and/or love differently. If you think I’m engaging in hyperbole, and that Breitbart didn’t make a career of out rearranging the truth to serve his nefarious ends, I have only two words in response: Shirley Sherrod.
I have no idea what Andrew Breitbart was like as a private person. By all indications, he, like most of us, had a family and friends who loved and cared about him, and I sincerely hope that’s the case. It’s the least any human being can hope for.
The public Andrew Breitbart is not someone I’d use “human being” to describe. A decent human being with even a modicum of decency wouldn’t have danced so gleefully on Teddy Kennedy’s grave. That people are doing the same in his memory speaks volumes about the odiousness and vitriol with which he conducted himself in public. It’s no stretch to say that the public Andrew Breitbart was a miserable human being and one who represented everything that’s wrong with America today. That there are those who choose to defend and beatify his legacy is something that sickens me. I can’t imagine how Breitbart could inspire anything but contempt among decent, tolerant human beings.
There are those on the right who are already beating the drums of beatification and castigating Liberals for “lying” about Breitbart- “lies” in this case being anything that doesn’t support and advance their propaganda. I find it interesting that even the man’s death is managing to inspire outpourings of bile and vitriol directed at Liberals and Progressives like me. I suppose that’s the most fitting memorial for Andrew Breitbart’s… a good, Two-Minute Hate (apologies to George Orwell).
Breitbart may have been a patriot, and he may have loved America; he just had a funny, and frankly disgusting, way of showing it. He clearly failed to grasp that America’s strength lies in its diversity, a diversity that finds it within itself to tolerate even hateful bigots like him. He could have been a positive force. He could have worked positively to create an America that reflect his values. Instead, he trafficked in hatred, intolerance, and disrespect. The world is today a better place for his absence. As much as it pains me to say that about a fellow human being, there’s no way to sugarcoat Breitbart’s odious and objectionable public persona.
Fittingly for someone who trafficked in hatred, rage, and paranoia, his fans are remembering in one of the most appropriate manners I can think of: they’re putting forward all manner of conspiracy theories. Beautiful….
Andrew Breitbart wasn’t the part of the solution; he most definitely was a big part of the problem. I see no reason at all why any thoughtful American should mourn his passing. If we’re to remember Andrew Breitbart- and I see no compelling reason why we should- we should at least be honest about what he did and how he conducted himself during his 43 years on this Earth.
Then again, when it comes to Rush Limbaugh’s rememberance of Breitbart, honesty seems in short supply.
