Chants of 'shame on you' greet guests arriving for the annual White House correspondents' dinner

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — An election-year roast of President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents' dinner Saturday butted up against growing public discord over the Israel-Hamas war, with large protests outside the event condemning both Biden's handling of the conflict and the Western news' media coverage of it.

-snip-

With hundreds of protesters rallying against the war in Gaza outside the event and concerns over the conflict and humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the perils for journalists covering the conflict, the war hung over this year's event.

“Shame on you!” protesters draped in the traditional Palestinian keffiyeh cloth shouted, running after men in tuxedos and suits and women in long dresses who were holding clutch purses, as guests and other participants hurried inside.

Chants accused U.S. journalists of undercovering the war and misrepresenting it. “Western media we see you, and all the horrors that you hide,” crowds chanted at one point.

Read more: https://www.seattlepi.com/entertainment/article/biden-will-give-election-year-roast-at-annual-19426533.php

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The news is available to anyone paying attention.

[comradebillyboy]

1. The poor people of Gaza and the Occupied Territories

deserve a better class of supporters. These demonstrators aren't winning support from anybody.

[AnrothElf]

3. They'd be far more effective if they'd just protest HAMAS instead.

Put the pressure on those to blame for the conflict, and for not agreeing to a ceasefire.

[Demsrule86]

4. Some of them carry signs supporting Hamas.

Jewish Americans are not responsible for what happens in Israel. I think the protestors are doing nothing except disrupt other kids education,

[AnrothElf]

21. I agree. I think they're misguided at best.

And active Russian/Iranian/Chinese/Islamic State propaganda

[muriel_volestrangler]

48. Do you really think that Hamas bases its decisions on protests in the USA?

I just can't see how you could. The point of protesting the Western media, or in the West generally, is to get the West to change its policy.

[AnrothElf]

49. I guess we'd never know, since nobody ever seems to protest Hamas. It's only ever one side.

Hell, not even Gazans seem to protest Hamas. Maybe because they know if they did, they and their families would be tortured and murdered.

Crazy! It's almost like Hamas are terrorists or something!

[muriel_volestrangler]

50. "We'd never know"? Have you heard of terrorists before?

Can you think of any other example of terrorists outside the USA basing their actions on protests in the USA? I can't. So how come you confidently asserted "they'd be far more effective if they'd just protest HAMAS instead". It's almost as if you hadn't thought it through.

[AnrothElf]

51. Nice try. Do you remember when the Gazans rose up against Hamas during the Arab Spring?

No? Yeah me neither.

[muriel_volestrangler]

52. What has that to do with your assertions on how American protesters should protest?

Try and remember the topic of the thread, and what you've said in it.

[AnrothElf]

53. My point is that we really wouldn't know how effective it might be, since not even Gazans have bothered to try.

Is that plain enough for ya?

Or maybe it's better to put it this way:

It certainly doesn't help to protest in FAVOR of Hamas, which is effectively what these fake "leftist" protesters are doing.

They're effectively propagandists for Hamas.

Is that clear enough for ya?

[muriel_volestrangler]

55. No, that's nonsense.

You say these protesters are "fake leftist". You've no evidence of that. They are protesting against the killing of Gazans, and of journalists. That's quite compatible with being leftist. They are not protesting in favour of Hamas. You still have not even tried to explain why you were sure that protesting against Hamas would get the killing of Gazans and journalists ended faster; though you've no admitted you've no evidence.

It's clear you've been posting nonsense on this thread.

[Mz Pip]

8. They are helping Trump

It will be much worse for the Palestinians if he wins.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

12. They don't care about Palestine

They just want attention.

[Mz Pip]

16. Performative outrage

If they really cared they’d organize fundraisers for the Palestinian people.

[Shermanator]

29. I'm not sure how they're helping Trump

Other than possibly not coming out for Biden in November.

[Mz Pip]

36. There's that

And motivating conservatives who hate seeing these demonstrations on their tvs.

[JI7]

40. They don't care about the people of Gaza

[50 Shades Of Blue]

2. IMO this event should be permanently shelved.

[FSogol]

5. You mean the war in Gaza?

[Abolishinist]

13. Of course! I have no doubt that's what they had in mind.

[hueymahl]

6. Good

[Abolishinist]

18. I know, right?

I much prefer the Kremlin Correspondent's Uzhin, or even better, Kim Jong Un's Eat Here or Be Dead Kimchi dinner.

[hueymahl]

43. Yeah, because we shouldn't hold our media responsible

I mean, they could be so much worse. We should be happy with what we have and not complain, ever.

Such a proud display of American values.

[LeftInTX]

7. I saw it on YouTube. Those protests seem to find me..LOL

I hope there aren't too many jokes about the war etc.
It will just fan the flames. Hope it's a bunch of Trump jokes.

[littlemissmartypants]

9. How many of those protesting will be building coalitions and working for lasting change in the region

once the causes du jour are long forgotten? I wonder.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

11. But virtue signaling is more fun to these people

[littlemissmartypants]

14. That and disrupting the peace here at home. I believe that

Outside agitators are and will always be involved in these events because the real goal for many is anarchy.

[womanofthehills]

17. When we were young, many of us protested unjust wars

Wars we saw few pictures off - these kids are seeing horrific images of children on their phones everyday.

As adults, many of us also protested the Iraq war.

Now you guys are being critical of the youth.

[ananda]

19. Agree

I think the USA's support of Israel has gone
in a direction that is unconscionable.

Yes, Hamas is pure evil, but so is Netanyahu
and the IDF now.

[Shermanator]

30. Yep.

Hamas and Natanyahu's government are two peas in a pod. Neither give a damn about the death of Palestinians. It's all about fulfilling their own political goals.

[Justice matters.]

42. Barbarian Hamas terrorists don't give a damn about the death of Israelis

and kidnapped concert goers, and raped women in Kibbutzes and probably in captivity too.

Thought that one was missing in your comment.

It's missing in too many comments, not just yours, so no offense.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

20. I'm critical of virtue signaling as opposed to action that might actually yield results.

And I'm no fan of Netanyahu but I reject the false equivalency with Hamas.

[question everything]

22. No. The protests against the Vietnam war were by students who did not want to go there

There are no American soldiers in Gaza.

I wonder how many of them can even point Gaza on the map.

And is anyone calling for the release of the hostages? Of course not.

Just spoiled brats looking for excitement.

You want to do good? Go volunteer in the inner cities. Help kids with their class work. Keep them busy until their mothers comes home. Be a big brother or a big sister. But nooo.. will not pump the adrenaline.

[Shermanator]

31. You act as though Netanyahu

cares about the hostages. He doesn't know where the hostages are and he's leveling Gaza. He'll be picking up the bodies of the hostages from under the rubble.

How do you personally feel about the atrocities being committed against the Palestinians by the Israeli government?

[MarineCombatEngineer]

39. How do you feel about the atrocities committed against Israel since its founding?

Notice you don't say one word about that, why is that?
Hope you enjoy DU.

[womanofthehills]

45. If you are seeing videos of dead babies pulled out of rubble every day

Does it matter where Gaza is on the map? Lots of Jewish kids in Jewish Voices for Peace, have I’m sure visited Israel. You really think kids at a top Univ like Columbia have no idea where Gaza is? You sure underestimate American kids.

Older people get most of their news from cable. Younger people get their news on social media - TicToc, Twitter, Instagram, Podcasts, etc. Younger people see all the horrors of war that people who get their news on cable don’t see.



But there are thousands of American troops at bases in the Middle East and their lives are in danger. They might use American troops on the dock distributing food.

Our kids are seeing babies having amputations with no anesthesia and they realize how horrifying sick and evil this is and you are saying kids are selfish reacting to these images. Obviously you are not interacting with young people or you would see how bright they are. They have the internet for instant information -

[question everything]

46. At least you see dead babies. Following the Oct 7 there were only charred remains of babies

who were burnt alive. Upon further investigation some of these charred chunks were of a parent and a baby.

How can some here be so obtuse towards the atrocities that were carried by Hamas, the mutilations the sadistic killing and then posting on the victims’ phone and sent all over?

[Jedi Guy]

54. "They have the internet for instant information"

Indeed, yes. And as we all know, lies and disinformation never, ever get posted on the internet. TikTok, Instagram, and other social media ecosystems are without a doubt bastions of unimpeachable journalism and present only objective fact and truth...

I'm more than a little skeptical of the knowledge and wisdom of people whose primary media consumption is social media. All too often it's either an echo chamber that confirms existing confirmation biases or it's outright bullshit being shoveled into the faces of an oblivious audience.

[MistakenLamb]

38. when i protested the invasion of Iraq i didn't support Saddam

these youth are supporting an Islamist terrorist group and saying they were justified for 10/7

[Earth-shine]

23. It is simplistic to reduce this to "virtue signaling." They are all individual people who have their reasons.

Many are sincerely protesting the war and don't how else to go about it. Many are just egged on by outside agitators.

Many who say "From the river to the sea" are just wanting Palestine to be free of Israel. They are too young and ill-informed to know it is a familiar antisemitic chant.

I know that when I was in college some 40 years ago, I attended protests based on what I believed a situation to be instead of actually researching it.

In reality, these protests won't amount to anything but more trouble for Jewish students, the University presidents, and those who are protesting.

But to dismiss this as virtue signaling -- to say they are insincere -- well, that's just another reason why they feel they have to protest. They are not being heard. They are being dismissed.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

27. Oh please

When someone works behind the scenes for a solution I can respect that.

When someone blocks the access of other people who have nothing to do with the problem they're are protesting, whether it be on a college campus, a freeway or an airport that behavior is not to be congratulated. Nor is shouting others down.

If they can assemble peacefully without infringing on the rights others then more of us can take them seriously. I've seen many groups behave better in the 66 years I've been on this planet.

[Earth-shine]

34. I completely agree with you that protests shouldn't block buildings, bridges, highways and the like.

However, I find reducing a description of their motivations to "all of them are virtue signaling" absurd on the face of it.

You are letting them know they are not being heard. Hence, a further need for protest.

It's like any protest. Some of them really believe in their cause. Some just want or need to be part of the group. Some are looking to get out of finals. Some are just egged on by outside forces. (I think right-wing and possibly Russian sources are infiltrating their social media streams, fanning the flames, and organizing some protests.)

And definitely, some are virtue signaling, meaning they have nothing better to do with themselves but make trouble.

[AdamGG]

24. When I was in college there were protests demanding divestment from apartheid South Africa

I'm not saying that the merits of the causes are the same, but I doubt those kids did a lot to help the people in South Africa other than protest and have fun hanging out and getting high around our campus shantytown.

In a lot of cases, it seems that the college protesters (not talking about the ones protesting President Biden) are arrested much more quickly than if they were protesting about a different cause. Gov. Abbott was quick to spout off about how he was shutting down protesters at Univ. of Texas.

Hamas is terrible and I support the existence of Israel, but Netanyahu keeps accelerating settlement in the west bank and the frustration on the other side isn't hard to understand.

[JohnSJ]

10. Stupid assholes.

[SoFlaBro]

25. They never seem to show up for a piece of shit MAGA event. Fuck this pro Hamas shit they do.

[JohnSJ]

35. That itself speaks volumes

[LiberalFighter]

15. I don't trust them doing the right thing. F them

[RockRaven]

26. Regardless of the messagers, the message isn't incorrect...

The WH/DC MSM/corporate media assholes attending that event are the most cynical, mewling, access-obsessed, and/or confabulistic "journalists" who disgrace the very name -- that side of the National Enquirer or Weekly World News, anyway.

[betsuni]

28. This dinner's the primary funding for scholarship/mentorships for journalism students by the association.

HOLDING CLUTCH PURSES. WESTERN MEDIA HORRORS.

[NowsTheTime]

32. A protest for peace and humanitarian aid would be legitimate...

...but mixed motives of those protesting makes for a volatile situation..

[Aussie105]

33. 'These people' are so horrible, aren't they?

I mean, acting up like that, disrupting the normal flow of things, really . . . take it to a back street somewhere, and sing kumbaya, quietly.

And their communication skills! Sadly lacking, saying all sorts of horrible things!

. . . yes, on my part.

Demonstrating against something is meant to be disruptive, don't you know?
How else will you get attention?

I think the majority of 'these people' have one thing in common - lamenting past and ongoing civilian deaths at the hands of the Israeli war machine.

If I joined in and held up a sign that read 'Stop killing innocent civilians!' would that make me pro Hamas and anti Israel?
You decide, but it will be your interpretation and bias on show, not mine.

[Vinca]

37. IMO, the only goal of the demonstrators is clicks and likes. There are people who really make a

difference like Chef Andres and then there are attention seekers. Yelling and screaming and being a pain in the ass is going to solve nothing.

[DirtySausage]

41. So tired of this

Since I was little these idiots have been fighting over the "holy land." As far as I'm concerned, they can turn that whole region into the worlds largest Walmart and it wouldn't phase me. Gaza, Israel all the way up to Lebanon. Sick of hearing about it.

[Oneironaut]

44. Aka Rich White Kids cosplaying as Hamas. Lol

[Aussie105]

47. Careful!

Such a dismissive sneer adds nothing to a discussion thread.

(Says a lot about you though.)