The perpetrators of what we now know was an illegal attempt
to smear Planned Parenthood defend their behavior as “citizen journalism.”
It’s not. Trying to lure a hated target into an illegal act
and depicting it in the worst light possible is not any kind of journalism. These
are the tactics of self-appointed
moral/religious police on the right who are much more dangerous to American
liberty than the supposed threat of Islamic Sharia Law. The now-indicted DavidDaleiden from the so-called “Center for Medical Progress” should not be allowed
to get away with defending himself as some sort of journalist.
I was the sort of journalist at The New York Times and
Newsday who did investigations of many subjects—dating services, transmission
repair shops, pyramid schemes, pool and fence retailers, auto industry warranty
practices, pricing by the oil and insurance industries, to name some. But in
most cases it was readers who complained that set me off in pursuit, not my own
burning desire to expose a hated target.
Sometimes I did literally put myself in the place of a customer, sitting
in the audience to hear the revivalist-quality sales presentation of a pyramid
scheme, for example. I used my real name but declined to say I was a reporter.
At the New York Times, we had an expert set up a car with a simple transmission
problem and took it to several shops to see whether they would give us an
honest diagnosis and price. Before any of these stories were published, the
subjects were given the opportunity to correct any errors I might have made, and
to explain their actions. That is how good journalists work.
In contrast, Daleiden posed as a representative of a biotechnology
company and tried to buy human organs from Planned Parenthood. Such a sale
would have been illegal; Planned Parenthood never even responded to that
effort. He apparently falsified his California driver’s license so he could
assume a different identity, an act for which he has now been indicted on
felony charges.
If there’s any comparison to make, it’s with law enforcement
sting operations. So Delaiden is a sort of citizen police, but in his case he’s
not trying to help enforce existing laws. No, he’s out to enforce his religious
beliefs about abortion despite Supreme Court decisions, the desires of the
American public or the needs of women.
The irony, of course, is that some of the people in the
anti-abortion camp are also among those ranting about the threat of Islamic Sharialaw being imposed in the U.S. Amazing how easy it is to justify the exact
behavior we abhor. ##
Posts
