At least America’s most-watched television news network is consistent in its contempt for the rest of the world.
Many netizens were offended after Fox commentator brought up a horrific disaster which killed a quarter million people to shame Thailand over its handling of radar data relevant to the search for missing flight 370.
“The country of Thailand, they get the prize for being the lamest country of the day. We never suspected them of being so awful – more accurately – cruel,” Greta Van Susteren said during her “On the Record” program Wednesday.
We believe that’s what she said. Although it sounded like Van Susteren’s voice, the video only seems to show some kind of doughy, snarling predator whose paranoia-infused face struggled with the concept of symmetry.
Her complaint stemmed from the excuse by Thai officials that the reason they waited more than a week to share potentially relevant radar data was because they weren’t asked.
Fair enough, Van Susteren had good cause for some critical commentary.
But only on Fox does the essence of critical commentary consist of calling all 67 million residents of a long-time ally “jerks.”
That would have been enough to provoke the usual defensive posture assumed by some in Thailand in response to perceived slights.
“Fox is a trashy channel in the USA that only shows good news about themselves and a bad image of other countries. This channel’s viewers are racist,” Worasom Kundhikanjana wrote.
Lanlaa Punlun was more circumspect:
“Hey bitch, shame on you!” she wrote.
Though either psychotropic medication or bad scriptwriting could blamed for Van Susteran’s seeming lack of interest in her own words, she really lost the trail by ending her 1:18 segment with a peculiar, ugly rant about the 2004 tsunami.
“Shame on Thailand,” she said. “Yeah, Thailand. That same country the world rallied to help when they got hit by that tsunami in 2004. THAT Thailand.”
Wait, which Thailand? Oh right, THIS Thailand, where nearly 10,000 died in that deluge which is believed to have killed about 230,000 in total.
Stay classy, Van Susteren, you fox.
Related:
MH370: Thai Air Force denies it withheld radar data related to missing plane
Bill Greaves says
I seem to recall the Americans with their hi-tech equipment knew about the 2004 tsunami before it hit land but they didn't warn anyone because they didn't know what number to call. Secondly, the world did not rally around 'this' Thailand, 'that' Thailand or any other Thailand. Thailand was smart enough to figure out that all the offers of aid was a public relations bidding war and opted out. While Thailand helped itself, poorer countries sat and waited for the promised aid that never appeared.