pt in the Agonist Open Thread
I AM AMAZED.
This is ostensibly a sophisticated group here and yet no-one, NOBODY, has remarked on the 4th post in this thread purporting to tell the story of Jessica within an overall discussion of media.
Within that post I quote: “Under the watchful eyes of more than 40 murderous gunmen, the 19-year-old supply clerk laid in Saddam Hussein Hospital suffering from at least one gunshot wound and several broken bones.”
By contrast, this is what her family says: “Gregory Lynch said that he and his wife had spoken to her at the hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, and that – contrary to media reports – she had “no multiple gunshot wounds or knife stabs.”
These reports of Lynch suffering multiple gunshot wounds are baldface propaganda lies. This war is simply overflowing with such propaganda. Lies such as got us into this war (the Niger forgery, e.g.), which given our history is not that unusual (TonkinGulf, e.g.), and the Bush administration, some members of the media, and not merely a few members of the general populace think it’s ok if we lie our way through it.
I feel sorry for the kid, Lynch. She had no easy way to find a job in W. Va. where she grew up so she followed her siblings into the military being offered no alternative. Middle class and upper class kids don’t face this dilemma, this Sophie’s choice between risking your life and making a living, but she did and she paid the price. And now the Faux network and their ilk are making money off the results of her dilemma with false stories about her treatment at the hands of the supposed Iraqi monsters. They could care less about her or the monsters; it’s all about audience ratings. And so they hype her injuries and her hardships and build her into this week’s 15 minute hero.
If you really want to understand the depths into which America is now sinking check this out. I can recall stories about flying the flag upside down as a protest for years. Gun advocates, they call themselves 2nd amendment supporters, have done this without much trouble. There is a protocol for flying the flag upside down: it signals distress. But in today’s climate of hyper-patriotism it is obviously cause for attempted murder. The anger of the patriots has been unleashed (I think this is a proxy for class warfare like the hardhat attacks against student demonstrators during the Viet Nam war). It is illuminating though to see the depth of the anger that lies barely beneath the surface of our placid, happy society. People are ready to kill over disagreements about whether or not we should be dropping bombs on other countries. We are seeing the symptoms of a sick society bubbling to the surface now in America. What is the real cause of this anger? It can’t be the upside down piece of cloth in and of itself. It is what America means to various Americans, as SYMBOLIZED by that piece of cloth. And I would submit that turning a piece of cloth upside down is not the same as attacking others with baseball bats or whatever these thug’s weapons were.
So we stumble into an uncertain future because of a handful of arrogant, ignorant men (and one woman) surrounding this undereducated, psychologically warped president. A mommy’s boy who was so challenged by his daddy’s success that he bacame enthralled to the devil alcohol and who now has eschewed this devil by bowing before a god he imagines has chosen him to lead us through these difficult times. Life is definitely stranger than fiction; it would be hard to imagine a more pathetic character than our president at this hour, captive to vaulting egos, without a clue as to how the world works beyond our shores.
So, on topic, do not expect American media to be any more trustworthy than al jazeera during times like these. Check out a variety of sources and do not buy any take completely. Be skeptical of everything any military source delivers and think about the money behind the various news entities. BBC is generally good, their reporters properly skeptical by training. AFP and Le Monde are good. In the US we’re down to the NY Times and the Washington Post, both supporters of the war to begin with but increasingly questioning the results thus far. The Guardian is good. There are lots of others I check daily but they all run some dogma. It’s difficult at times like these because they demand that we all make a choice. overall though I think the overall level of discourse is notches below what it was during the Viet Nam war. This is regrettable and, IMO, indicative of an overall diminution of democratic norms.
Meanwhile, watch the Lynch story get played out over the next few weeks, possibly some late-night appearances, capped off with an eventual made-for-TV movie, and then promptly forgotten as she and the majority of the population continues to get poorer and poorer while the rich dine.