MediaWatch: November 1994
Table of Contents:
- MediaWatch: November 1994
- Conservatism Gets Little Credit After Election-Night Tradition of Blaming it For Losses
- NewsBites: Liberal of the Week
- Revolving Door: On the Campaign Trail
- The New House Speaker's Journalistic Welcome Wagon
- Media Get One Wish in Senate
- Stossel's Stunner
- Reporters Believed Clinton's Sex Tales
- Janet Cooke Award: ABC Devoted Almost Two Hours to New Book Full of Sexual Allegations Against Thomas
Stossel's Stunner
In an October 26 special The Blame Game: Are We a Nation of Victims? ABC's John Stossel examined how traditional American precepts of self-reliance and responsibility have given way to dependence and victimology. Earlier this century, he noted, immigrants "risked their lives to get here...There was no welfare, no Medicare, no safety net except the kindness of friends. Nothing was offered them but freedom and opportunity. What they brought was their self-reliance, the sense that they were responsible for their destiny...the immigrants built the most successful, most prosperous society the world has ever seen." That era is gone.
Stossel explained: "If you steal money, mutilate your husband, kill your parents, it's because you're a victim. If you're caught smoking crack, you're a victim of a racist plot...If we're victims, we're not responsible for what we do...[and] lots of us turn to the government, where good intentions can lead to some pretty outrageous results."
Take the Americans with Disabilities Act. He exposed the "ADA we hear less about. This is a powerful law." He cited an $800 million suit by government workers claiming that because of 'multiple chemical sensitivity,' their building made them sick. Despite eight years and thousands of dollars in renovations, Stossel noted "there's debate in the medical community whether multiple chemical sensitivity even exists." Wondering "what is a reasonable accommodation?" he found "laws this vague invite so-called victims to be inventive." He added "the ADA is just the newest of five civil rights laws establishing special protections against discrimination for lots of other groups. And suing under these laws is now more lucrative than ever."
After interviewing Al Sharpton, who claimed blacks were victims of a racist society, Stossel questioned Caribbean immigrants, "whose skin is just as dark, whose ancestors were also cruelly enslaved. They come to America with no money, sometimes even unable to speak English...the Census Bureau says they are more likely to find jobs, less likely to go on welfare." The difference? "Marcos [an immigrant] says the American welfare system creates dependency."
He concluded on a somber note: "We've come a long way since Ellis Island. To try to make America a kinder place we created huge bureaucracies to help every victim. We built a system that rewards victims. Unfortunately, when you do that, you get more people acting like victims."
