A very special subscriber email, with the subject line “Standing up to hate: Reflecting on the Pride flag,” cemented National Public Radio’s position as a left-wing woke entity first and journalistic entity a distance second.
Here’s how NPR’s Suzanne Nuyen greeted “Up First” e-mail subscribers sent on June 17:
Good morning. This is a special Pride-themed edition of the Up First newsletter. Catch up on the NPR network's Pride coverage this month and meet some of NPR's LGBTQ+ employees.
The email (note: the top date resets to the present day when you click through, but the content of the email remains from June 17) led off with the most cringe-worthy propaganda, with Weekend Edition news assistant Lennon Sherburne contributing “Standing up to hate,” claiming that “the queers, queens, dykes, and enbies ["enbies" is slang for “non-binary person"] are burning”....along with all flags that touch the ground?….you’ll have to read it to understand. Maybe:
It stared at me. The miniature Pride flag laid with its edges slightly crumpled, unblinking and unnoticed by other partygoers as the sun beat down on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. It was one of hundreds of flags I saw that day at the Pride festival. But instead of shimmying in the wind with its siblings, it lay there without a word. I stared back.
I've been told it's taboo in this country for the American flag to touch the Earth. As a child, my great-grandmother -- a woman born into the First World War -- said that if the flag hits the ground, it should be burned to preserve this country’s values. But what about our flag? What is its fate if it hits the floor?
I’m not sure.
I do know that we -- the queers, queens, dykes and enbies -- are burning. Our lives and history are being set aflame to preserve this country’s "values."
The Human Rights Campaign declared a nationwide state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people this month. Hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in Congress, and more than 70 have been signed into law this year. A flame can turn deadly in under a minute. Maybe 2023 is the year of kerosene and politics.
Then we have the privilege of meeting “a few of NPR's LGBTQ+ employees and read about how they're telling their stories.”
Erika Ryan, All Things Considered producer, seems to enjoy "queering" every story she can get her hands on:
Producers are like Swiss army knives! I do everything from booking guests to writing scripts and articles to pitching and producing radio segments. Being queer is a huge part of who I am. Using our lived experiences to bring depth and diversity to the stories we tell only makes us stronger.
Brianna Scott, a producer for All Things Considered and Consider This, admitted she interpreted her world, and presumably her news judgment as well, through her black, queer identity lens.
I look at the world through my lens as a Black woman who is queer. Growing up, I didn't always notice folks like myself in the journalism I consumed. Whether I'm working on a story specifically about LGBTQ issues or not, I seek diverse sources because that's how we'll genuinely expand our audience.
Can one truly expect NPR to even attempt to cover LGBTQ issues fairly? The first-hand evidence says no, and this second-hand evidence only confirms it.
