Media terrorism [Archives:2005/845/Opinion]
By Sankara Saranam
[email protected]
If one were to define terrorism as a violent act (not necessarily physical) breeding fear in an individual or a group of individuals, then it is clear that mainstream media is America's greatest terrorist organization.
Even if one were to limit the definition of terrorism to strictly physical acts, terrorism still requires communication for the terror to infiltrate other minds; and the better the communication technology and infrastructure, the higher the fear proliferation factor. Terrorist acts, like any event, need publicity for them to be worth the trouble to terrorists.
Daily, fear of tyrants, Muslims, blacks, gays, social collapse, technology, end-times, scientific theories, and secularists is spread on the airwaves. Meanwhile, the color-coded threat levels that marked our lives post 9/11 were more terrorizing than anthrax in envelopes.
Does this mean the media should not have covered 9/11? No, but they might have covered it without spreading fear. The problem is that fear sells, and fear pays.
If the media were to cover 9/11 without any amnesia, then the American public might have heard something prosaic like this on 9/11: “After decades of US imperialism and corporate greed supported by our military, a handful of Saudis took matters into their own hands and flew a couple of planes into the Twin Towers. The major oil companies have written it off as just another American business expense, long ago tallied into their accounting as a predictable loss that comes with supporting corrupt Mid-East regimes.”
The public would have roared back: “Where were the media for all those decades?!” Of course, the media was covering terrorism – only, everyone else's.
If the media are to cover terrorism, then they must behave like the conscience of America and primarily report American acts of terrorism instead of ignoring them and blowing out of all proportion the acts of others. Not only won't these reportages scare Americans, but by informing Americans they will put a screeching halt to American terrorism, which in turn will not make us a target for acts of terrorism.
Think of it this way. Let's say Jack is very unpopular with his neighbors. They think of him as a greedy and violent hypocrite. If he continually broadcasts in his mind, i.e. terrorizes himself, with how evil and dangerous his neighbors are and how he is the only hope (by God!) of bringing order to the neighborhood, what are the chances that they will see him in a more favorable light? But if he listens to his neighbors and practices a little self-reflection, he might remember the reasons why they think so poorly of him and then change his ways. The obstacle he faces is that changing his ways will undermine his horrible lifestyle.
Not only do the mainstream media not help the American public remember, but they are doing everything possible to help Americans remember a different past altogether – one that support a war on terror. How ridiculous that sounds when we realize that the war is waged by the media on the American mind! To make matters worse, the media put halos on the leaders of the terrorizing outfit in the federal government and lampoon as a loony traitor anyone who would publicly help Americans remember.
The media is the beast, and it must be starved. The only way to do that is to give the beast no attention. Americans need to stop watching television. In regard to the terrorizing media and how to undermine them, “see no evil” never made more sense.
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