The answer is “there is no evidence that he did”, however in grand Internet style the rumor is out there. In order to understand this, it helps to be American, because if you are British or Australian or Canadian, you will most likely not have been subjected to any of Glenn Beck’s nonsense.
Glenn Beck is by any reasonable use of the term, a demagogue. The word demagogue comes from the Greek words demos (people) and agogos (leading) and originally referred to someone who led and represented the ordinary folk. However the word took on a more specific meaning as it made its way into the English Language, as a leader who deliberately appeals to the emotions and prejudices of people. Hitler and Mussolini were demagogues – indeed, very successful ones.
However, one shouldn’t assume demagoguery is confined to the political right. Lenin was a demagogue too. In general demagoguery is a political tactic that has been successful at various times in history. Right now in America it’s a great way to make money, if you can get the platform and pull it off. Glenn Beck has done exactly that in, what looks to me like the most transparent slice of insincerity I’ve witnessed since I came to the US.
Glenn Beck, the TUSAD
There is very significant competition to become the TUSAD (Top US Apoplectic Demogague). To occupy such an esteemed position you need, above everything, to be able to rant and to shout down opponents in any debate. Rational argument is to be avoided and appeals to the emotions are “de rigeure”. In the US, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Rush Limbaugh have all vied for the position of TUSAD.
There is lots of money to be made. Glenn Beck, for example, does radio, a popular show on Fox News, writes books and does book tours. His trademark (I kid you not) seems to be bursting out crying on television over the state of America (achieved with the aid of Vick’s Vaporub) and saying outrageous things, like accusing Obama of being a racist. He’s a Johnny-come-lately compared to his competitors but he has, for the moment, put them all in the shade.
The Demographic Twist
The fact that his political outpourings have an audience can be put down to the fact that America is changing in a big way. Obama’s victory in the Presidential election was very close to a landslide. If the demographics remain on their projected course, his re-election may well turn out to be a landslide. And if the political positions of the two main parties remain roughly the same, the Republicans will never see power again – so the Republicans will probably adjust their politics in time, but right now they marching to the right and losing votes accordingly.
The simple fact is that the Democrats command the Black and Hispanic voters by a huge majority and they also command the youth vote, by a significant margin. Trends suggest that by about 2042 the Whites in America will be in a minority and, by 2023, Whites under 18 will be in a minority. In the last election, the Republicans won Texas by a margin of 8%. That state is scheduled to swing Democratic in either 8 or 12 years – and with it will go all hopes of the Republicans ever winning nationally. The American population is behaving like a production line that increasingly pumps out more votes to the Democrats as younger citizens become enfranchised and older ones die. There is no obvious way that this demographic reality can change. It could easily be accelerated if the American government imposed an amnesty for illegal immigrants (of which there are about 12 million).
This demographic movement made it possible for Obama to become president. It was an extraordinary election in many ways, the most extraordinary shift being the move of some states (such as Iowa, New Mexico and Colorado) to the Democrats and others; West Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky increasing their Republican majority. In the states where racism is strongly in evidence, the Democrat vote reduced. And those are the population that Fox News in general and Glenn Beck in particular are doing their best to serve.
Rape and Murder
So what does this have to do with the rape and murder of a girl? It’s simply this: One of the techniques that Glenn Beck uses to rouse his audiences is to invent some absurd accusation and then ask “why hasn’t the government denied this?”
About a month ago a rumor emerged on Reddit.com, which almost certainly had no foundation, that Glenn Beck had raped and murdered a girl in 1990. Anti-Beck individuals promoted the rumor on the basis that he simply hadn’t denied the truth of the rumor. Then someone set up a web site with the name: GlennBeckRapedAndMurderedAYoungGirlIn1990.com
and Beck made the foolish mistake of trying to suppress the web site by darkening the sky with lawyers, provoking what is usually referred to as The Streisand Effect. There was an avalanche of traffic to the web site and articles all over the web, such as this page on Fark or this page on FreeRepublic or this page on Techdirt or this page on The Daily Kos.
To add to the irony, the web site specifically declares:
This site is parody/satire. We assume Glenn Beck did not rape and murder a young girl in 1990, although we haven’t yet seen proof that he didn’t. But we think Glenn Beck definitely uses tactics like this to spread lies and misinformation.
Beck’s lawyers have filed a domain name dispute over the domain name, claiming that it violates Beck’s trademark. The very existence of Googlesux.com and MicrosoftSucks.org suggest that there is no legal case here. All Beck is doing is keeping the faux allegation in the news.
~ Napoleon Bonaparte
