Breitbart editor-at-large Ben Shapiro last night told CNN’s Piers Morgan that if you think Jason Collins coming out as gay is a big deal then you hate America because you think America is a homophobic country. Shapiro, who is Jewish, suggested that Collins exhibited no more bravery by coming out than he does by wearing a yarmulke on TV.
(Does Shapiro believe he is the first to wear a yarmulke on TV?)
Watch: Jason Collins Tells Oprah Being Black ‘Adds Another Dimension’ To Coming Out As Gay
The Advocate notes:
On Morgan’s show, the host called the tweet a cheap shot and Shapiro replied, “Why do you hate America so much that you think this is such a homophobic country that when Jason Collins comes out it is the biggest deal in the history of humanity?” Shapiro insisted this country was not homophobic in the least and said publicly being gay, like Collins, British, like Morgan, or Jewish, like Shapiro, is not brave, it’s being who you are.
“Come off it,” Morgan said. “Give the guy a break. He’s the first one to come out. He’s a brave guy. I applaud him. To have your first thought to get on Twitter and sneer him, it’s cheap.” Morgan then cut Shapiro off and ended the segment.
The fact of the matter is that many people in America are homophobic, the vast, vast majority on Shapiro’s side of the aisle — Tea Party members, especially, and certainly the GOP.
Shapiro, who has published five books since 2005, has been furious all week since Collins’ announcement, writing an angry and frankly, idiotic rant at Townhall, “Is America Nasty and Homophobic?”
(I would suggest his editor should have replaced “America” with “Ben Shapiro,” but perhaps that’s just my opinion…)
Shapiro decides that the per capita hate crime rate is how we should measure and compare America’s level of homophobia and anti-Semitism:
There are approximately 9 million gays, lesbians and bisexuals in the United States, according to a UCLA study. That would mean that about one of every 7,100 LGBT people in the United States became a hate crime victim in 2011. That same year, there were some 935 Jewish victims of hate crimes according to the FBI. There are approximately 5.5 million Jews in the United States. That means that one out of every 5,900 Jews became a hate crime victim in 2011. Yet no one suggests that America remains a massively anti-Semitic country, requiring massive media coverage every time a Jewish person reaches a position of power or influence.
And Shapiro, as Morgan mentions in the video, posted a nasty tweet on Monday, claiming America’s standards have dropped pretty low if Collins is a hero.
Business Insider writes that “BuzzFeed‘s Andrew Kaczynski noted that Shapiro has called conservative radio host Mark Levin a ‘hero’ in the past,” and adds “Mother Jones’ Adam Server [sic] found a few more: former Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and comedian Adam Carolla,” concluding Shapiro “also has called Perez Hilton a hero.”
Shapiro is also the author of Bullies: How the Left’s Culture of Fear and Intimidation Silences Americans.
Another Shapiro title that is just plain wrong.
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