Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Terrorist Sympathizer

Via Praxxus, I learn of a Google bomb campaign to label Bill O'Reilly a "terrorist sympathizer". Praxxus notes that it's a little harsh to call him a "terrorist sympathizer", and I agree; after all, inviting al Qaeda to bomb San Francisco does not necessarily imply any sympathy for the terrorists--merely a lack of sympathy for those (hypothetical) victims of terror who happen to be liberals. (But then we knew this already, from his unhinged campaign against Jeremy Glick.) So I'm not sure "terrorist sympathizer" is an entirely precise description of O'Reilly.

On the other hand, off the top of my head I can't think of a phrase that is more accurate than "terrorist sympathizer". So while I obviously don't advocate labeling O'Reilly a "terrorist sympathizer", I can't find it in my heart to condemn it.

Update: My friend Lucy tells me there's another Google bomb for Bill O'Reilly, in which those searching for "Bill O'Reilly" are directed to Media Matters. This one actually provides a service to Google users, because people looking for Bill O'Reilly will be directed to a site with tons of useful information on Bill O'Reilly.