Cesar Sayoc Jr. was allegedly identified as the criminal behind the explosive devices sent to Democratic figures and CNN. Since the moment he was arrested, this network and some of the most prominent outlets of the mainstream media couldn’t resist the temptation of blaming president Donald Trump for this violent case. Naturally, they all said his rhetoric was the element that triggered Cesar Sayoc’s acts.
Cesar Sayoc’s criminal actions were not influenced by Trump or the media
The reason why this is a really disastrous response from the media is due to the fact that even when Trump is one of the most divisive figures in the U.S.
history, he never called anyone (directly or indirectly) to commit this type of crime against his critics. All he ever did was criticize the opposition and what he refers to as the “fake news media.” Sometimes in a strong and even disgusting fashion.
Logically, the ironic detail is that by the same argument that the mainstream media is blaming Trump for what happened, they could also be blamed as well. Basically, the cornerstone of this case is that inflammatory rhetoric can make someone do the unthinkable. In fact, the mainstream media has been extremist enough to compare Trump with Hitler or even publishing a magnicide fantasy. Paradoxically, Trump made this point soon after the first bombs were discovered, and the media rightly rejected his argument.
Of course, it’s impossible to blame the mainstream media for this unfortunate situation. Just as is impossible to blame Trump’s rhetoric for what Cesar Sayoc did. After all, the only thing that the president and the powerful outlets are doing is attacking each other without calling anyone to engage in violent behavior.
Cesar Sayoc’s case highlights the mainstream media’s hypocrisy
While this war is not good for democracy, it’s quite unintelligent to blame their rhetoric for the act of a crazy person. It's the same stupidity of blaming Marilyn Manson’s lyrics for Columbine. In fact, it's the same idiocy as blaming Barack Obama for the killing of five police officers in Dallas in 2016.
In that case, the Cesar Sayoc was a man named Micah Johnson. He committed the criminal act soon after Obama condemned the police for being racist. Logically, neither the most prominent figures of the Republican Party nor the mainstream media blamed his rhetoric.
What seems even more incredible, is how the mainstream media continued with this same rationality after what happened to Steve Scalise. In that case, the Cesar Sayoc was a Bernie Sanders supporter who shot at him and other Republican Congressmen while screaming: “This is for healthcare!” A couple of weeks before that, Sanders said that Republican health care plans would kill millions of Americans. Not even Trump dared to blame him for the incident.
Given these previous episodes, it seems odd that the mainstream media is blaming the president in a case where the relationship between the rhetoric and the criminal act is weaker. Naturally, one of the main reasons that could explain the double-standards is the proximity of the midterm elections and how Cesar Sayoc’s situation could benefit the Democratic Party. The other main reason is the left’s obsession with so-called hate speech and how America needs to ban and censor anything related to it.
Lamentably, the Cesar Sayoc case is incredibly toxic for the U.S. considering that it will increase polarization. On the other hand, it empowers those who want to end freedom of expression. Basically, if America buys the dangerously foolish idea that you have to restrain your way of speaking to prevent a lunatic doing the unthinkable if they get influenced by your message, the future will be Orwellian.
