Conservative activists recently tried to get Planned Parenthood in trouble by executing another ACORN-style video sting in which they would imply obvious criminal behavior in the course of asking PP employees for sexual health advice, and then manipulate the videos to make it look as though illegal behavior was being condoned. The only problem was that Planned Parenthood employees for the most part acted appropriately and called the authorities, leaving the activists without much evidence of actual wrongdoing on behalf of the organization itself. As with the ACORN videos, the reliance on what are now becoming common tropes, the "pimp" and "prostitute," imply some pretty twisted fantasies about what the lives of the poor and minorities are actually like.
Amanda Marcotte wonders why this is the kind of journalism conservative activists are producing:
My only real question is how is it that the conservative movement is pumping out so many young people that literally have no moral grounding, like Lila Rose and James O'Keefe? Why do these young people blithely assume that it’s okay to lie to get your way, and that sadistic attacks on vulnerable people is a good way to spend your time? Where do such lowlifes come from?
These folks like to style themselves as journalists, but journalism isn't really what these people are doing. It's more like a kind of moral vigilantism. Like a crooked cop who plants evidence on a suspect he believes to be guilty, these people feel justified in framing organizations like ACORN and Planned Parenthood because they're ultimately convinced they're criminal enterprises. So even if the videos don't prove what they want them to prove, it's important that everyone know the terrible things these organizations do even if you have to lie about it. Ultimately, to them it's not really lying, because deep down they believe it must be true, even if there's no actual proof.
