Listening: Bad Religion
I'd rather be: thin
Desiring: peace on earth

I've been feeling cranky today. It's probably due to PMS but I've had this rant rolling around in my head for a while and the latest developments made me decide to flesh it out here.


My favorite part of every magazine I ever read is the letters to the editor. This is because I love taking in the different takes people have to the same data. It completely fascinates me how different people are and how they percieve the same information. Spin or not, people process articles and images with different approaches, preconcieved notions and take different thoughts away. I frickin love that.

I know Newsweek does it on purpose, but it was great to see recently two different letters, one applauding Newsweek for printing photos of the charred bodies of murdered contractors in Fallujah and forcing America to see what we are dealing with. The second letter damned Newsweek for posting the pictures as tantamount to supporting the mob by broadcasting their thoughts/intentions and dishonoring the dead contractors.

I can't get enough of that shit.



The sticky thing is the MSN story starts with a picture from the Associated Press of Nick Berg's father weeping at the news of the video depicting his son's murder. The caption reads that he fell on his lawn in tears upon recieving the news from a reporter. Of course what the story leaves out is that the AP obviously showed up at Mr Berg's house to get his reaction. They were hoping for some dramatic show to broadcast to America, and they got it.

The MSN story has attached a straw poll asking whether or not the media should publicize such gory things as pictures of violence from the front. I wrote about it before.

I have no trouble with gore, it's the stories that get me. I don't believe its purient or desensitizing to look on pictures, so long as you understand their context.

It's why I can't begin to understand the scandal re: reading names of the dead out of Iraq. I think it's a little goofy because it's unprecedented. Soldiers die in military action. I think that's the definition. On the otherhand there was no outcry to stop the reading at ground zero of the roll of names from the people lost in the WTC attacks.

I've been listening to NPR since 1999 and have long understood their propensity to tell people's personal stories. So it was never a surprise when they interviewed the friends and family of soldiers lost in Afghanistan and then in Iraq. Often as not I have to tune out because the stories hit me so bad I can't function anymore (somewhat dangerous since I typically listen to NPR in the car).

Worse than grainy pictures lifted from a Web site is listening to the audio is hearing a grown man scream and beg for his life. Worse than the endless indictments of abuse are hearing adults whisper their indignities and wait while they stop to cry.

Names don't really mean much to me. I've always had trouble with names, and I think it's a fairly common issue (rare is the person I've heard boast about perfect recall for names). Deeper is getting to know people who knew the dead. Of course I feel bad for them, of course I wish I could ease their pain, of course I wish I could give them everything back: the name, the son, the life. But I can't.

It sort of amuses me that media has a tendancy to refer to itself in the third person. As in "Mr Jones was asked repeatedly about X until he shouted at reporters to leave him alone." And no "This reporter asked Mr Jones the same question two other journalists had asked and when the reporter from Channel 2 asked the same thing and Mr Jones responded by shouting for privacy." No single reporter, editor or photographer is responsible for the presented data, particularly its layout and format for presentation. Its like they want us to feel like the facts just show up and if one of their cohorts does something worth mentioning it's all "one reporter asked" or "he responded to media allegations of" etc.

I don't want the media to flinch from exposing the truth, but that includes the truth on itself. Maybe Barbara Walters can interview herself and she can cry for our viewing pleasure.