Reflections on Vancouver, British Columbia and other topics, related or not
Martyred for his conformity
A cliched reporter lost one job, but more
opportunities await this typical journalist
Greg Klein | June 9, 2023
Journalists don’t always look identical,
but you wouldn’t know it from their work.
People like him aren’t supposed to get drummed out of a job. He gives every impression of being unthinkingly PC, conventional and intolerant—all the traits that normally protect establishment courtiers. Even so, the former Chilliwack Progress editor’s employment setback hardly compares with the career-killing and often dangerous doxxing that wrong-thinkers experience. This Paul Henderson character will likely move into another job soon. Courtesy of the Vancouver Sun he’s already received a lengthy defence/testimonial/employment reference to boost his career.
After all, Henderson’s transgression was nothing more than using a child’s precarious chances of recovery from a very serious accident to express angry hatred of Christianity.
Although more offensive than usual, such vitriol simply reflects the media’s standard anti-Christian bias. Journalists and other ideological conformists will not criticize other religions, let alone manipulate such a disturbing event to do so. They haven’t got the guts.
Henderson apologized, sort of, in a weasel-worded manner that went on to rationalize his bigotry and attack the “evangelical religious right,” a stock American cliche.
Devoid of any sense of irony, he actually said: “It’s hard to understand the level of hatred and vile behaviour out there.”
Sun reporter Cheryl Chan paid tribute to his work in which he won some journalism awards. Actually the industry association distributes lots of those self-congratulatory handouts annually. Over the course of a few years, everyone gets some. This guy’s been around at least 17 years.
Seldom seen now are white shirts and ties,
but journalistic uniformity is stronger than ever.
Of course that’s been a time of profound journalistic decline, although the process began much earlier. There had been a time when reporters were frequently distracted by trivia, often politically biased and always politically correct yet were sometimes capable of fairness and, when PC didn’t interfere, willing to challenge the status quo. Now journalists demonstrate establishment obedience, ideological zealotry and emotional bullshit pushing one wave of hysteria after another.
To that end, the Sun approvingly notes, “Henderson has been outspoken on some issues, including gender identity policies at schools. He has publicly clashed with trustees who oppose sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) curriculum….”
That claim to SJW fame comes from criticizing one or more low-ranking local politicians whose dissent makes them easy targets.
With thoroughly programmed ideology, journalists merge
SJW activism and robotic thinking. Yet their jobs will remain
safe from AI until machines learn how to express emotional hysteria.
Henderson’s not worth attention in himself but he presents a typical example. Thanks to their extreme conventionality, journalists are very easily stereotyped.
Emboldened by their faith in officially approved doctrine, and on the side of power and victory, these servants propel their egos as well as their careers by expressing ideological obedience and demanding it of others. It’s hard to believe Henderson’s career is over.
So don’t be surprised to see his name on another news outlet. Or he might get a tax-funded paycheque as a flack for SJW phonies. Or a J-school teaching position—journalistic ethics, maybe.
Don’t be surprised, either, to see mainstream activists lash back at his ex-employer. Advertiser boycotts and/or smear campaigns are standard tactics. They might work on a local level, picking on small businesses that place ads with the Progress. Maybe more effectively, campaigns could hit much larger entities with Chilliwack branches or franchises that advertise in the paper. Again devoid of any sense of irony, pressure groups could do so under the guise of “diversity.”
It’s debatable whether a few tweets, thoroughly obnoxious as they were, justify Henderson’s dismissal from such an odious line of work. But he got much softer treatment than dissidents get. And his job prospects are by no means compromised. Conventional in his beliefs, intolerant of others and sometimes disgusting in his expression, he’s perfectly suited for further opportunities in journalism.