By Ben Velderman
EAGnews.org

CHICAGO – According to the unwritten rules of our new 24/7 media universe, every half-wit with a dumb, loud opinion must be given a platform to spew their nonsense and display their ignorance.

Which brings us to a recent edition of Rev. Al Sharpton’s radio program, “Keepin’ It Real.”

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On Monday’s program, Sharpton interviewed Stacy Davis Gates, the political director for the Chicago Teachers Union, who equated that city’s teachers strike to the so-called “Arab Spring.”

“Well, you know what’s interesting Reverend Al, is that this is sort of like an Arab Spring here in Chicago right now,” Gates said, according to NewsBusters. “Currently, there are five locals, AFT (American Federation of Teachers) locals, who are experiencing similar issues here. Eleven NEA locals have filed intent to strike within the last year. So this is not just confined to Chicago, either….

“Our teachers have been bullied, they’ve been belittled by a Democratic mayor, who we think should be a friend to us. Why us? Why teachers? … Rahm Emanuel, that handpicked school board, bless their hearts. They don’t get it,” Gates said.

Apparently it’s Gates who “doesn’t get it.”

While it’s become very trendy for pseudo-intellectuals to link their pet political causes to the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011, they’re playing a very dangerous game.

The “Arab Spring” may have started as a series of popular uprisings against dictators, but is quickly devolving into mob rule, resulting in chaos, riots and killings throughout the Middle East. The recent death of an American ambassador to Libya proves this.

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There’s another little problem with Gates’ analogy: If CTU’s striking teachers represent the angry Arab mobs, then Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel represents the heartless dictators.

For starters, it’s foolish to equate a democratically chosen mayor with a brutal dictator. And when one considers that Emanuel is Jewish, Gate’s empty-headed analogy seems highly inappropriate and dangerously naïve.

Here’s our free advice to Ms. Gates: Own up to the fact that the Chicago teachers strike is only about a selfish union that wants more money and bulletproof job protections for its members. Don’t embarrass yourself by trying to frame it as an extension of the some larger “awakening” that’s sweeping throughout the Middle East.

In other words, spare us the spectacle of putting lipstick on this pig.