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Van Susteren To Trayvon Martin Friend: Get Over It

Posted by Ellen -7842.60pc on July 18, 2013 · Flag

Trayvon Martin's former football coach visited On The Record tonight for what host Greta Van Susteren clearly intended as a sympathetic interview. But even so, she couldn't resist (or knew her bosses wouldn't want her to resist) lecturing her guest for not "put(ting) the lid on" the tragedy.

Van Susteren gave Jerome Horton time to describe the Trayvon Martin he knew, including a heart-wrenching anecdote about how Trayvon saved his father's life in a fire and the anguish his father felt at not being able to save his son's life. But two minutes was just about all the unqualified Trayvon liking Van Susteren could take. She said, at about the 2:20 mark:

Is there any way to - the jury's decided the case, the jury listened to the case and I understand, you know, the pain of the family and the friends. Is there any way to sort of put the lid on, this sort of, this simmering hostility. I mean there's no way to mend a broken heart. I got that. But there's a horrible sort of simmering pain in this country that's causing people to say horrible things - and maybe - and hurt other people in terms of what they say.

Well, it's nice to know that Van Susteren cares about the "simmering pain in this country" even if she does paint it in rather menacing terms. But she had no such thoughts about what the Zimmerman family might do to heal the wounds, even when George's brother, Robert Zimmerman, spoke condescendingly, coldly and even hostilely to her recently about the Martin family and their attorneys. Did she ask him if there wasn't any way to reach out to the Martin family and express remorse and sorrow for what they're going through (beyond the family's statement issued in September 2012)? Chastise him for his approving retweet of a comment, "Black leaders make their living stirring hate?" 

 ZimmermanTweetBlackLeaders.png

Or for ginning up racial hostility by attacking the NAACP as anti-American?

 ZimmermanNAACPTweet.png

No, she didn't. Apparently, "getting over it" is only for the friends and family of the slain teen on Fox. But the killer gets unconditional sympathy.

 

 

 

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Desautels Anne commented 2015-03-08 11:00:08 -0400 · Flag
Van Susteren To Trayvon Martin Friend: Get Over It – NewsHounds http://bit.ly/1BkTlCW via @po_st
Carole S. commented 2013-07-20 19:45:46 -0400 · Flag
Ellen,
Greta is a pro at drawing attention to herself, and as you well know, this interview has not been the first time she has shown to be a hypocrite. She denies all allegations that anyone at FOX has any influence at all in what she says and does on her show. She acts as if she is the producer. Those people who don’t see the obvious FOX bias towards George Zimmerman’s brother is blind.
So, before you decide to post a rebuttal to Greta’s comments, ask yourself if it’s worth all the traffic it will generate to her blog. That’s what she is looking for….. she’s smart and a professional con artist!
Your article nailed it! Greta is the one who needs to “get over it.” The comment about you using your first name on this blog is an utter joke! This is typical Greta firing off about things before she actually takes the time to read and digest all that your article pointed out.
Ellen commented 2013-07-19 23:22:43 -0400 · Flag
Thank you, Kevin and Aria for defending me. Kevin, I could not have said it better, myself. I hope to put up some kind of response tomorrow, when I’m less exhausted. I’ve had a heck of a busy week and must get some shut eye now.

As for Princess Peach, frankly, I suspect you are our old troll under a new name. However, I will say that I posted Greta’s full quote and while it’s true she did not literally say, “Get over it,” that’s pretty much what she meant, IMO, albeit in kinder, gentler words. And, by the way, she has also made comments such as “when will this end?” which suggests the same thing, that the Trayvon Martin supporters should put up and shut up or, in my rephrasing, “get over it.”
truman commented 2013-07-19 18:14:51 -0400 · Flag
My my. Greta is very thin-skinned isn’t she?
Kevin Koster commented 2013-07-19 17:51:05 -0400 · Flag
My post is still up, although I suppose it’s possible they could delete it. I’ve had two of the regulars there respond with angry posts that either ignored my points or acted as though the facts were the reverse of reality. I’ve addressed both of those, and we’ll see what happens.

I’m frankly a bit concerned that these guys are openly musing about violent riots as though such a thing is a foregone conclusion, even after we’re a week out from the verdict and nothing of the sort has been seen. That whole perspective is the worst kind of smearing I kind think of, to be frank.
Aria Prescott commented 2013-07-19 17:19:05 -0400 · Flag
Gretawire admins immediately deleted my response to her, because I asked her when she was planning to condemn O’Reilly, Hannity, The Five, Fox & Friends, Geraldo, Wallace, Pirro, Starnes, Coulter, and Malkin for their role in making sure this verdict would be about race with Fox News viewers.

I donno whether to press my luck asking again, or just accept that having the inquiry deleted is her answer.
Kevin Koster commented 2013-07-19 16:44:42 -0400 · Flag
Ms. Peach, I believe you will find an answer to your concerns as well within my response to Greta. The clear implication from her discussion with Horton is that the hostility is coming from one side – that of the people who are unhappy with this verdict. Nothing is said about the nastiness coming from the other side, and when Greta had a chance to challenge Robert Zimmerman on it, she didn’t. And the idea of “putting a lid on it” is clearly another way of telling people who are not satisfied with this verdict to move on. “Get over it” is another way of saying the same sentiment. Coming in the context of Fox News trying to ramp up paranoia about riots and mayhem, I find it hard to believe that any regular Fox News viewer wouldn’t get this message.
Kevin Koster commented 2013-07-19 16:40:22 -0400 · Flag
This is the answer I just posted on gretawire. Let’s see if anyone responds with anything:

“It’s fairly clear that Greta did not take the time to actually read Ellen’s article, or even to take one minute to do any research here. This is surprising, as Greta normally prides herself on being prepared and informed. But this time she didn’t. I can only presume she was upset by the headline and decided she didn’t want to actually find out what was being written in the article.

Now, Ellen Brodsky is easily locatable as the person who runs the News Hounds website. She doesn’t need to post with her full name because the people who post the articles on that site post with their first name – “News Hound Ellen”, “News Hound Priscilla”, etc. And this is mostly the same people who did the great work on the “Outfoxed” documentary that Robert Greenwald produced some years ago. Ellen also has a Twitter account in her name for News Hounds. Greta could have found all this if she had simply typed in “News Hounds Ellen” into a Google search. I did it and it took five seconds. Why didn’t Greta?

Next, Greta seems to be unaware of the purpose of News Hounds’ existence, or why her program was mentioned on the site. News Hounds is essentially a continuation of “Outfoxed” – an archive of the many, many examples where Fox News has presented false or misleading information, or skewed its coverage of a story in a manner that may please a right wing audience but doesn’t present the facts in anything approaching a clear manner. For example, Fox News was on the forefront of cheerleading for Mitt Romney last year, to the point of repeatedly airing multiple commentators predicting a large Romney win and attacking the polls for not showing Romney ahead. Which led to Fox News viewers being angrily surprised on Election Day with the reality of what happened.

In the current matter, Fox News has been documented as repeatedly cheerleading for George Zimmerman, with multiple segments over the past 18 months presenting Zimmerman as the aggrieved party and Trayvon Martin as a criminal or a thug who by implication deserved what happened to him. And at times, this has gotten to the point of being both offensive and insulting, not just to Martin’s family, but to the sensibilities of anyone paying attention to the facts of the matter. It’s interesting that Greta accuses Ellen Brodsky of trying to divide the country, of being full of hate and of having a bad motive. And Greta does so without even reading the article to know of what she is speaking. What’s been documented is a clear pattern of divisiveness BY Fox News, by spinning this story in such a manner as to imply that Trayvon Martin deserved what happened to him, to imply that George Zimmerman shouldn’t have been prosecuted, to imply that an acquittal was a given, and finally to imply that there would be massive rioting after that foregone acquittal. It was frankly insulting to see some of this coverage.

This was documented on multiple Fox programs, including Geraldo Rivera making comments about Martin’s clothing (which he wound apologizing on camera for doing), and then saying on the air that the jurors in the case would have shot Martin sooner than Zimmerman did. It included encouraging interviews with Zimmerman’s defense team, and a very friendly interview between Sean Hannity and Zimmerman that somehow got used in the trial. And yes, it included several instances of Greta herself covering the case in a manner that was anything but healing.

For example, on July 1, in an interview with Ted Williams, Greta countered his question about why Zimmerman got out of his vehicle with a defense of that action by Zimmerman. On that same show, she did contrasting interviews of the attorneys in the case – first she spent about five minutes with the Martins’ attorney Darryl Parks, asking him things like whether the Martins or Parks would accept an acquittal. Then she spent over nine minutes with Mark O’Mara, during which she discussed a possible acquittal but never asked how he would deal with a possible conviction. She then asked him a series of light and friendly questions about what it was like to work with Zimmerman and how well he thought the case was going for the defense. On July 2, Greta decided to interview Frank Taaffe as though he was an impartial neighbor and observer, when Taaffe has been out front in his support for Zimmerman and in his questionable remarks in this matter, including a nasty racial comment about a key witness and his assertion that he knew what was going on in the jury room. She notably didn’t interview the neighbors who had been complaining about Zimmerman’s aggressive conduct for some time before this incident.

With the interview with Jerome Horton, Greta didn’t use the exact words “Get over it”. But she did discuss putting “the lid on, this sort of, this simmering hostility”. She went on to say “there’s a horrible sort of simmering pain in this country that’s causing people to say horrible things – and maybe – and hurt other people in terms of what they say”. And this is interesting – she’s talking to a teacher and friend of Trayvon Martin about hostility after the verdict, implying that the hostility is coming from one side – that of people who believed Zimmerman should have been convicted after shooting Martin to death. She asked no such question of Robert Zimmerman when she interviewed him, nor did she discuss the multiple outrageous comments he has made. Nor did she challenge him on multiple shocking and even racial comments he made while on her show with her. What is a viewer to conclude from this? Obviously, that she’s tipping her coverage in a direction to favor the defendant in this case.

It’s interesting that Greta and others on Fox News have taken the position that “the jury has spoken, the case is over, move on”. That’s not the position that Fox News took when it came to the verdict in the O.J. Simpson trial, nor when it came to the convictions of Ramos & Compean. In those cases, Fox News felt it was very appropriate to challenge the verdicts and cry out about the injustice. In this case, Fox News and even Greta would have us believe that we should take a different course. Because this is a verdict that Fox News could agree with.

Greta absolutely has taken admirable stands in the past, and every time she has done so, Ellen Brodsky has spotlit them on the News Hounds blog. Greta could have confirmed this for herself if she had taken any time to look into it. News Hounds has noted Greta’s stands against multiple instances of sexism and nastiness, even from Greta’s own colleagues. Among other things, Ellen applauded Greta’s joining of the National Institute for Civil Discourse. But when Greta says something objectionable or takes a position that needs to be challenged, Ellen has done so. That’s not being hateful or being divisive. It’s speaking the truth and I would think that Greta would value it rather than attack it.

I have no doubt that Greta works to promote civil rights and that she’s done plenty to aid poor people and people of other ethnicities. But that’s a sidetrack. So does anyone of good conscience. We all do this, as does Ellen. It doesn’t change the fact that if Greta promotes a position in her segments that is clearly divisive, that she should be challenged on that matter. Just saying that she’s done good things outside of her show doesn’t obviate problems happening on her show. And I think Greta knows this, which is why her defensive response here is so puzzling.

If Greta van Susteren really wants to understand why Ellen wrote this article, and if she really wants to get some clarity on how Fox News’ coverage of this issue truly has been problematic, I encourage her to actually take a minute to read Ellen’s articles and not just overreact to a headline."
Princess Peach commented 2013-07-19 15:56:07 -0400 · Flag
Link? Its posted right above the comments.

And I dont support Zimmerman in this. I think he killed a young man and should have been locked away for many, many years. But that doesnt change the fact that this is a gross misrepresentation of what Greta said.
doors17 commented 2013-07-19 15:47:09 -0400 · Flag
I would still like to hear a responds from anyone who supported Zimmerman and agreed with the verdict, what exactly did Trayvon Martin do wrong that justifies the actions from Zimmerman?

All he was doing was walking home peacefully minding his own business going through the neighborhood when he was approached and threatened by a stranger for doing so. What would any of you do if faced with the same situation? Just stand there and take a beating?

Regardless of the color of skin, if this were an 80 year old walking with a cane, or someone wearing a suit and tie, or wearing a cheerleader outfit, do you really believe Zimmerman would have found it necessary to take the action he did? Being a black teenager wearing a hood does not make someone a criminal it means they are wearing the style that is popular with his generation. I use to have long hair, but no one ever mistaken me for a rock star but for what I was, a young man wearing a modern haircut for that era.
Mark Jeffries commented 2013-07-19 15:41:24 -0400 · Flag
Link, please.
Princess Peach commented 2013-07-19 15:38:49 -0400 · Flag
Here is the quote:

Is there any way to – the jury’s decided the case, the jury listened to the case and I understand, you know, the pain of the family and the friends. Is there any way to sort of put the lid on, this sort of, this simmering hostility.

Do you see where she says “Is there a way”? That means this is in the form of a question, not a statement. She is asking if there is a way to put a lid on the simmering hostility. She did not say for him to “put a lid on it”. She certainly didnt tell him to “get over it”. To say otherwise is to flat out lie about what she said.
Janet Tuhey commented 2013-07-19 15:26:20 -0400 · Flag
Princess Peach – Did you watch the video? Are you deaf? The documented proof of morons is in the responses from fools believing Greta said something that she clearly did.
Aria Prescott commented 2013-07-19 15:14:46 -0400 · Flag
Mark, Momo is a typical long time viewer of only Fox News- They do this all the time, and they learned it from Fox. I found clips from 1996 showing the tactic from them- You brought all your notes to the set, or you were a liar. If you did have your notes, which the only clip I saw that happen on, he was a via satellite guest, you had an unreasonable time limit for presenting your source on them, and failing to meet said time limit was their excuse for just telling you to put it back and “stop embarassing yourself.”

Frankly, I’m sick of that bit of childishness- We have to have all our sources up, and ready to post within 30 seconds of being asked. If we take longer than that for any reason, they don’t have to read it, but they can call us a liar…

Yet, they’re allowed to just say “Google it yourself!”? When I do Google, you know what I get? Blogs and opinion columns. Not one actual news article from any source, slanted or straight.

Seriously- Retire the meme and grow up!
Aria Prescott commented 2013-07-19 15:01:01 -0400 · Flag
Momo, you see the video? Click on that, 3:26 mark. In response to Horton basically saying that he’s offended at the double standard of white shooters v. black shooters, Van Susteren’s response was to invoke Fox meme of “black on black” to basically tell him to get over his complaint, while smearing Obama for not addressing black on black violence enough for her liking. I guess the part about Obama’s support for a special task force recruited from the National Guard because both him and the representatives/Illinois state senate are concerned enough to ponder that as a viable option isn’t enough.

Oh, wait- Fox Hasn’t even mentioned that, not even to lie that Chicago and Detroit are “first under martial law.”

Horton knew exactly what kind of “healing talk” this was, too- That look on his face screams “yeah- thought so!”.

Horton set up a test for Van Susteren, and she hardcore failed it. And now she’s mad bloggers noticed and wrote it up.
Mark Jeffries commented 2013-07-19 14:51:33 -0400 · Flag
Then link it. Don’t give me that “Google it yourself” crap.
Princess Peach commented 2013-07-19 14:48:42 -0400 · Flag
The documented proof of morons is in the responses from fools believing Greta said something that she clearly didnt. The quote is there. No where in the quote does she tell anyone to “get over it” or “put a lid on it”.
Mark Jeffries commented 2013-07-19 14:22:58 -0400 · Flag
Documented proof, wingnut teabagger moron traitor to your gender.
Princess Peach commented 2013-07-19 14:04:49 -0400 · Flag
She didnt tell anyone to “put a lid on it” either. Can none of you read? She asked if there was a way to put a lid on the hostility. She never told anyone to “put a lid on it” She never told anyone to “get over it”.
Princess Peach commented 2013-07-19 13:15:27 -0400 · Flag
And Greta didnt tell anyone to “get over it”. Thats a flat out lie.
Princess Peach commented 2013-07-19 13:14:09 -0400 · Flag
Greta has a fantastic response to this. I would suggest Ellen go read it but I dont know if she can handle Greta putting her in her place.
Dave Wright commented 2013-07-19 12:56:02 -0400 · Flag
It’s good business for Fox. the sooner the friends and companions of Mr. Martin realize that, the better we will all be. They continue to walk into the trap Fox has set. as a result, Greta and the rest of the crowd get to stoke things up. That’s show biz.
Lakeview Greg commented 2013-07-19 12:54:29 -0400 · Flag
Congrats, Ellen, GVS wrote a post about about this post! Told ya she was a thin skinned whiney back stabbing get your minions to do your dirty work kind of a gal!
truman commented 2013-07-19 11:32:26 -0400 · Flag
@doors 17. Absolutely correct.
Fux Noise will continue its 24/7 racebaiting as long as its ratings hold with its old, white, scared and angry white audience. Once the audience begins to lose interest, Greta Van Suckup will shift back to young missing white girls and fawning infomercials with the Whore of Babble-On Palin.
doors17 commented 2013-07-19 09:38:26 -0400 · Flag
Get over it? Greta and everyone at Fox will get over it when the ratings take a dip on covering the story then they’ll move on by moving back to their regular programming schedule of demonizing the President and Democrats.
Kevin Koster commented 2013-07-19 05:13:37 -0400 · Flag
A couple of notes. First, Robert Zimmerman quoting right wing pundit Katie Pavlich does not help his cause. This is the same woman who tried to make a big paycheck for herself by compiling a sadly misguided book about the Fast & Furious debacle. Secondly, Jerome Horton actually advanced a gentle and patient position, pointing out that the Martin family doesn’t have the luxury George Zimmerman has in rebuilding his life. The Martin family lost their son and must adjust to the fact that he was killed in this manner. As Horton pointed out, if Zimmerman hadn’t left his truck and stalked Martin, the rest of the events would never have occurred.
NewsHounds posted about Van Susteren To Trayvon Martin Friend: Get Over It on NewsHounds' Facebook page 2013-07-19 01:04:30 -0400
Apparently, Trayvon's family and friends need to "put a lid on it" for the good of the country. The Zimmerman family? Not so much.








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