AS of this writing the “Occupy Wall Street” movement continues. My impressions are based totally upon what I see and hear via the Mass Media. Therefore they may be completely wrong. I wish to make some brief comments.
Fox News, I believe, is an organization that really does try to be “fair and balanced.” I believe that some of the other news agencies believe that they also attempt to do the same thing. Let me, before I go further, fill some space by commenting what I believe these words should mean. I used to umpire ball games. I was always fair, but hardly ever balanced. That is, almost always I rooted for one team. However, I treated them the same way, as far as calls went. That is I called things correctly. I was fair, but not balanced. To give equal converge to “both sides” of anything is to give equal “respect” to the evil and wrong as to the good and true. News organizations should be truthful and not try to be balanced.
Fox News people, almost uncontrollably, react with glee to every report of crime, violence, disorder, misbehavior, etc, among the occupiers. They want these people to be shown in a poor light. Why? It is because they disapprove of the movement. Why? It is because the occupiers are stupid, ignorant and counterproductive. And from this follows the simple fact that the simple facts should be enough, all by themselves, to discredit these people. So exaggeration and distortion, if not actual false reporting, should be avoided as both unnecessary and unprofessional. The thing should speak for itself.
Of course, the other side has its distortions also. The liberal press, that is most of the Media, presents the police as over reactive, cruel, brutal, etc. The police are endlessly described as being “in riot gear.” The clear implication is that they should not. What are they supposed to wear? Riot gear (i.e. helmets, shields and gas masks) is all intended to PROTECT the police from violent demonstrators. They are NOT weapons. The police, in their non-riot uniforms, already carry lethal weapons. This is as rational as favoring a team based solely upon uniform preference. This is foolish, as everyone knows that the Dallas Cowboys and the Yankees already have the prettiest uniforms.
What is my point? Prejudice is not necessarily the presentation of a non-truth. It is the presentation of a truth in a certain way so that it influences a judgment and predisposes the mind for the future. I am NOT against prejudice, abstractly. Prejudice is usually a quick and easy way to get to facts. It prevents many mistakes. However, choosing the ones should be whom you should be prejudiced by, and/or for, should be based upon basic truths, fairness, and not upon balance.
In case I have been too subtle. I am one by whom you should be prejudiced. Enjoy Thanksgiving. May you discover friends and people you actually like among your family.
Some of the author's books are available on line at Lulu.com and Createspace.com (Amazon). Search by author's name, Vincent P Lewis
Comments