MURDOCH MEDIA LAYING THE GROUNDWORK TO MAKE YOU HATE TAMERLAN'S WIDOW, JUST IN CASE THERE'S AN ACTUAL REASON

In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings, sensible people who feel anger are directing that anger toward, y'know, the people charged with actually doing the killing and maiming. That's not good enough for the Murdoch press. The Murdochites want you to hate Katherine Russell, the widow of Tamelan Tsarnaev and the mother of his child, who's a Muslim convert.

For what reason exactly? Well, there isn't one yet. She has a lawyer and didn't speak to authorities until today. No evidence suggesting that she was involved in the attacks has emerged.

But the two toxic strains of Murdochism -- throwback, unenlightened attitudes toward people who aren't white males and a determination to destroy all political opposition -- have come together in this case. It's old-school tabloid sexism to focus rage on a woman connected to a horrible crime. Add that to the political agenda -- in this case, the desire to demonize a headscarf-wearing resident of liberal Massachusetts who reportedly converted to Islam for a man who turned out to be a terrorist -- and Katherine Russell is a perfect target.

So this was the New York Post's cover yesterday:




Yesterday, Fox News had this:

Did Tamerlan Tsaraev's wife know about his deadly plot? William Bratton, Former #Boston, Los Angeles & New York Police Commissioner here now

— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) April 22, 2013

And this:

On Monday night, conservative commentator Ann Counter appeared on Fox News' "Hannity" to discuss the latest developments in the Boston Marathon bombing. And by Tuesday morning she was making headlines for it.

Among the topics discussed was Katherine Russell, widow of deceased terror suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev....

"She ought to be in prison for wearing a hijab," [Coulter] said. "This immigration policy of, you know, us assimilating immigrants into our culture isn't really working."

She wasn't done.

"No they’re assimilating us into their culture. Did she get a clitorectomy, too?," she asked.

"Boston Marathon Bomber's Widow Dodges Feds" was the lead story on the New York Post's Web site until just a few minutes ago. That story showed up at Fox Nation (under the headline "Mum’s the Widow as Feds Stay Near"), though now it's been supplanted by the current Post lead story, "Bomber Widow Leaves Home with FBI Escort and Lawyer, 'Trying to Come to Terms' with Blast."

Her lawyer says she knew nothing about the bomb plot. But why let that inconvenient fact get in the way of a good, rousing Two Minutes' Hate?

I just hope she has a bodyguard.