Fearmongering In The Media
Date Posted: March 25th, 2009 Posted Under: murder fat
Having recently watched “Bowling for Columbine” for the 2nd time, I still remain chilled with emotion regarding the events leading up to the making of the film. And although many years have passed since the actual incident, the proximity of such chaos remains close.
Why is that?
Why is it that in 2007, people will grab the gun to deal with what bothers them rather than use their intellect? We have to assume that these people do possess some form of cerebral activity, since they can identify and recognize whatever, or whomever is the source of their aggravation. And thusly react accordingly in the simplest and most violent way possible.
Again, why is that?
Probably because they - and this can be extended to include the general populace - are told that things in general are dangerous, bad, and not like you and I. Hey, we’re constantly reminded of how pathetic the healthcare system is, the ballooning of unemployment rates, and how (insert noun here) could possibly be linked towards maybe perhaps giving us a slight chance that potentially might give us cancer. Maybe. With news like that, I’m almost inclined to fetch my Smith & Wesson and sit on the front porch just itchin’ to delete anything that crosses me wrong.
Think about this: most newscasts feature “human interest stories.” Why then, are the stories that are, by definition, interesting to humans not shown at the top of the broadcast? Do the stories that are important to my dog take precedence over me? Are we living on the Planet of the Apes, therefore needing to wait until the simian population gets their news first?
No, of course not.
What we are living in is a 24 hour news broadcast of perpetual despair and doom & gloom. Is not the most depressing show on television the nightly news? Economic downtown, political scandal, violence, murder, and the occasional nipple shown on TV. And I can’t change the channel because, according to TV, this is the world I live in. There’s no escape, except maybe on that Mars rover. Oh wait, that cost 3 billion dollars, more bad news for the taxpayer.
Everyone it seems needs to proclaim bad news to get their message heard. “We’re protesting because,” “we’re here because,” “this is a problem because.” Even George W. Bush, the friggin’ President of the United States of America called a news conference to tell us that “a blanket alert has been issued over a general threat.” What the hell does that mean? Did he really need to call a presser to tell us that? Was there not anything else on his mind that would have attracted the attention of the people besides a cryptic message stating that we’re all in danger?
Maybe we’re all voyeurs. Perhaps we want to see the misery that other people go through, in order to feel better about ourselves. Could it be that when we see that Ford stocks have dropped because their new minivan explodes when you start it, we need to go off on a rampage to sympathize with that poor soccer mom?
Bad news will always beget bad news. After Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald on TV, nobody changed the channel because everyone was scared they might miss something. We see crummy things, we act crummy, and then we watch the crummy news to see if the crummy thing we did will be on.
How nice.
Yes, the world does indeed suck. Maybe all those moody teenagers have it right. Still, we can show ‘em. How about news and information that is good and useful? “Today on CNN, how to make fat free chocolate.” Wouldn’t that be nice, rather than “today on CNN, every person in the world is overweight.” I think so. Every nightly newscast should be read by the Care Bears. Newspapers should be written in magic marker. And you can only watch CNN, or anything like that after your bedtime story.
Yeah, that’ll get great ratings.
Mauro
http://www.articlesbase.com/art-and-entertainment-articles/fearmongering-in-the-media-126139.html
March 25th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Are you sick and tired of the media and the government trying to scare us and make us paranoid?
The point of terrorism is to terrorize. That is how terrorists get the upper hand on us. Doesn't it seem like the government's mouthpiece–the media–should be battling terrorism by emboldening us rather than making us sick with fear. All I hear about on the news is that our borders aren't secure, the terrorists are going to poison the food supply, they will infect themselves with diseases and spread them around like the plague. Aren't they giving terrorists ideas by saying all this rubbish. Why don't they say that terrorists will poison the tobacco supply so peopple will quit smoking. At least their fearmongering will have a beneficial outcome for a majority of the public.
But seriously. The talking heads in the media are spreading more fear than the terrorists are with all of their reports about how unsafe we still are. Why don't they just shut up and go golfing or something and let people live their lives.
March 25th, 2009 at 10:26 pm
We would all like to think we are safe, however, there are rogue nations who would just love to destroy us. Watch Glenn Beck and wake up! We need to be prepared…not paranoid.
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March 25th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
I tottally agree with you. All this paranoia is getting to people. I'm going crazy! They aren't even allowing certain types of beverages onto airplanes anymore! Being afraid to a certain exent is good, but not to the point where we go broadcasting that some guy is thought to have poisoned beverages to kill people on the plane! Something has to be done. It's getting on my nerves!
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March 25th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
yes
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March 25th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
I couldn't agree more. The thing is, the media need a "story" to report so they hype things up beyond what is real. Most of the public aren't smart enough to filter what they hear, unfortunately. Some stations such as FOX are trying to report more fairly on things, but even they sensationalize. People are better off listening to talk radio.
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March 25th, 2009 at 10:34 pm
no……im hoping the nation is full of pussi es and reelect the gop, they will in turn continue to spend out of control and bankrupt the US forever……..all because they were gutless fools.
bring it on
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March 25th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
For starters, perhaps you should watch a little less media.
Secondly, get a gun. If in the highly unlikely scenario you come across terrorists in the act, you can scatter brain matter.
Lastly, find a way to relax. Government has long created problems that you need to have them solve. If they don't do this, they'll be on unemployment instead. Think about that and laugh!
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March 25th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
I agree with you 100 %. But don't forget the media is also a business, so naturally there going to get "Enquirer Instincts" to be the first story to get out in publication or airwaves. Their main concern are ratings, not the welfare of the public.
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March 25th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
Actually, I'm more sick and tired of the people who fall for it. We have become a nation of emotional cripples who roll over and expose our bellies like a whipped puppy every time someone says "boo."
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese Admiral Yamamoto declared "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." He was correct. We held that "terrible resolve" throughout the war, as we have through every time of trial, without blind panic and without surrendering the fundamental rights our fathers fought and died for.
The greatest threat to our country and our way of life is not a small band of low-tech thugs squatting in some cave, or even the traitors who exploit the fears of the people. The greatest threat is the craven cowards among us who will readily sell out their country and their countrymen for nothing more than the illusion personal safety.
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March 25th, 2009 at 10:42 pm
Yeah I'm tired of hearing "Global Warming" ,"Global Warming, we are going to die"and "Ozone O' my Ozone" or how about "AIDS, AIDS" we got to stop "AIDS AIDS AIDS", and then there is "Walmart is taking over the world"
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March 25th, 2009 at 10:44 pm
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not after you . And just because we've been attacked by terrorists doesn't mean we can ignore they are out to kill all infidels .
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