When Jussie Smollett claimed he was attacked last January, his accusation was treated as fact by most of our moral, ethical, and intellectual betters in the press. Smollett said it happened, so it happened. That’s how it was reported by a lot of “journalists” who should’ve known better.

New York Times:

CNN:

Variety:

Note the wording. According to these gatekeepers of the truth, Smollett didn’t “claim” or “allege” that he was attacked. According to them, he was attacked. He said it, so it must’ve been true. After all, he’s an LGBT POC. He’s a designated victim. Why would he lie?

The question wasn’t if it happened, but why it happened. It was a hate crime, possibly. And man oh man, the media couldn’t wait to find out. They were so eager to rub your faces in it, you deporables.

Within hours of the initial reports, presidential candidates were lining up to condemn the now-debunked attack:

.@JussieSmollett is one of the kindest, most gentle human beings I know. I’m praying for his quick recovery. This was an attempted modern day lynching. No one should have to fear for their life because of their sexuality or color of their skin. We must confront this hate. — Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 29, 2019

The vicious attack on actor Jussie Smollett was an attempted modern-day lynching. I’m glad he’s safe. To those in Congress who don’t feel the urgency to pass our Anti-Lynching bill designating lynching as a federal hate crime– I urge you to pay attention. https://t.co/EwXFxl5f2m — Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) January 29, 2019

This is a sickening and outrageous attack, and horribly, it’s the latest of too many hate crimes against LGBTQ people and people of color. We are all responsible for condemning this behavior and every person who enables or normalizes it. Praying for Jussie and his family. https://t.co/eylvxhLT0u — Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) January 29, 2019

They believed it because they wanted to believe it. The story reaffirmed their biases, so they assumed it must be true. Of course Trump supporters are all racist homophobes. Of course it feels good to remind yourself that you’re better than the people you despise.

But what if you turn out to be completely wrong? No worries. The story might not be factually true, but it’s still emotionally true. In a culture where victimhood is currency, fool’s gold is better than none.

And anybody who questioned any of the details of Smollett’s outlandish story were excoriated as racists, homophobes, or worse. “You don’t believe a couple of guys in MAGA hats were walking around downtown Chicago at 2 A.M. in subzero temperatures with bleach and a rope, looking for the co-star of a FOX soap opera? Why do you love Trump so much?”

Some people even blamed… Mike Pence. Wait, what?

Contrast that with the beating of another gay person of color, Andy Ngo, by Antifa thugs in Portland this weekend. We’ve seen video of the attack from at least two angles so far:

First skirmish I’ve seen. Didn’t see how this started, but @MrAndyNgo got roughed up. pic.twitter.com/hDkfQchRhG — Jim Ryan (@Jimryan015) June 29, 2019

There’s a video with a different angle of the brutal assault of Andy Ngo. (via @michellemalkin) Antifa pummeled him with carbon fiber-knuckled gloves (Oakley Assault Gloves). Timestamps:

:15 Robber steals camera equipment

:17 Assailant with assault gloves

:21 Second assailant pic.twitter.com/yOuWExqYge — Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) June 30, 2019

It happened. You just saw it happen.

And yet this is how it’s being framed:

Journalist @MrAndyNgo says he was assaulted by Antifa during demonstrations in Portland. “This country, rightfully, is very tuned to knowing…when the right goes too far…I wonder if this country though is also attuned to when the left can go too far.” https://t.co/H0GSIoFF1U pic.twitter.com/hcCi2aRlkm — New Day (@NewDay) July 2, 2019

He says he was assaulted.

At least they didn’t go as far as HuffPo and actually blame Ngo for it:

As for most of the media, they figure if they just ignore the story, it’ll go away. And the only two Democratic presidential candidates who’ve said anything about it are Andrew Yang and Eric Swalwell. Kudos to them, but shame on the rest. If they held Trump responsible for the Smollett non-beating, then they’re responsible for this actual beating.

Andy Ngo is everything the left wanted Jussie Smollett to be. The difference is that this time, it really happened. And yet they won’t rally around him, because he’s not on their team. They’re bad people. That’s all there is to it.

P.S. The Portland Police are looking for these suspects. The sooner they’re locked up, the better.

PPB Continues to Investigate Criminal Acts Related to Saturday’s Demonstration-Seeks Public’s Help (Photo) https://t.co/ybkVamA0qP pic.twitter.com/TLQRCmIGkD — Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) July 2, 2019

P.P.S. Here’s Andy talking to Tucker Carlson yesterday:

It’s good to see him speaking out, but I hope he doesn’t push himself too hard. Here’s wishing him a full recovery.

P.P.P.S. My friend C.K. Bouferrache was with Ngo at the protest, and she has an account of what happened with plenty of pictures of the participants.