Foot in Mouth Sufferer Suprisingly Limber for Being 90 Years Old

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Our Helen,

I know your bum’s a bit red from the recent lashings, but look, dear, it’s really quite simple.

You can rant and rave about journalism and Freedom of the Press all Day – please, feel free. It is your Constitutional right, after all.  The unspoken side of that right is pulling up your big girl panties and accepting the consequences of your speech.   This could be anything from losing a few Facebook friends to having an award previously named for you taken away.

You see, in some countries, this right is non-existent and the consequences of speaking whatever half-witted thought that floats through your head means incarceration or even death. That you only had your NAME removed from an AWARD sounds like one of those First World Problems.  That you continue to complain about it sounds like one of those etiquette lessons you may have missed.

“The university also has betrayed academic freedom — a sad day for its students.”
(Source)

 No, actually. It’s only a sad day for you.  You cannot hide behind a press pass and spout the same stereotypes for which we condemn less educated people. You have no excuse, other than a lack of common sense replaced by an over-inflated sense of entitlement because you consider yourself some sort of Grand Dame of Journalism.

 I can only assume that you thought a Diversity Award was something granted to someone who gets to be an equal opportunity bigot – and despite the arguments to the contrary, claiming the Zionist control the government and Hollywood is just like saying all Coloreds are thugs and all Fruits have AIDS (to put it into the outdated vernacular to which you seem to be accustomed).

You are mad because you believe your legacy has been taken away, instead of being angry that as a reporter, you forgot that the mic is always hot. You are mad because you cannot call out the other Jews (“it’s okay, I can say what I want – my husband is Jewish” *demure giggle*). You are mad because it took you 67 years to realize that trailblazers have farther to fall, and when they alienate friends, peers and colleagues, there is no one left to catch them.

 Oh by the way – you resigned your position in the White House Press Corp in June. Though your website says “Thomas continues to ask her pointed questions of President Barack Obama and his press secretary on a daily basis”, it neglects to say that you’re not asking those questions to anyone in particular.  You might want to update that. You wouldn’t want to give the impression that you’re something you really aren’t,  like employed by Hearst and welcome in the White House Press Room.  It would be unethical.

I’m sorry you’re mad, and I’m sorry you don’t see that what you did was wrong, and I’m really sorry that you don’t have the decency to go away. By all means, continue with your crusade to shore up this new legacy you’ve just rewritten. The truth makes for great copy. At least from this, you’ve learned something.

With dulled respect and fading admiration,

little black duck