lumière des étoiles

"The Hysterical Western Media"
2004-04-14 3:06 p.m.

I was reading an article about Zim(babwe) yesterday, and its author insisted that now might actually be a good time to visit. With tourists staying away, you'd have game parks practically to yourself and be paying close to nothing to do so. I was dubious at first, until I came to the paragraph where he explained that Zim is not the terror-zone the "hysterical Western Media" makes it out to be. What a great catch phrase, I thought to myself, and wished I'd thought of it first.

Hysterical, indeed. Just think about all those "stacked for death" Fox-type news specials about the hidden dangers of supermarket cereal-box pyramids. And lest you think the above example is some cutesy, creative whim of mine, it really existed - just ask my friend John about the conversation he and his mom had after it aired. Needless to say, John didn't wind up getting the privilege of her company at the shop-rite that evening.

So what is it, American overindulgence? Paranoia? Sensationalism? Why do we get plenty of crap - about the hidden dangers in "bacteria infested headphones" ["could your hearing be at risk every time you listen????"]- but such limited coverage when it comes to something relevant and not "overblown"? Does it seem backwards to anyone else that we get shark-infestation reports when there is no "shark-infestation problem", but we don't see what's going on in Iraq?

When I heard the news that a French cameraman was kidnapped by Iraqi "insurgents" while filming an attack on an army convoy, one of the first things I thought was "wow, they have coverage of attacks? How come I've never seen any of those films?"

It's not bloodlust - I have no desire to see carnage. It is, however, a need to be informed, to be presented with the whole picture. I'm quite opinionated (in case you didn't notice), and I like to make informed decisions, and I like it when the two sides of my brain fight it out. I like it when my Catholic guilt wrestles around on the floor with my Feminist scholarship. I hate feeling ignorant, and I hate even more that my government attempts to force me to be so because of what they censor from the media that is most readily available to me.

I hate that I have to get my information or links to English-language translation articles from my European or African friends and acquaintances. I can readily admit that I'm extremely jealous they have more comprehensive coverage than we do; I'm envious that their path to "the whole story" is much less arduous than mine. I hate how we as Americans wind up separate from the rest of the world and viewed as consistently ignorant - it's unfair if you consider how restricted we are to information. We get characterized from person to person as un-caring, when really we're ignorant - possibly through little fault of our own. The information is out there, yes, but what if you don't know how to find it? Someone should start teaching everyone, everyone, how.

We need a bigger voice - we need media watchdog groups like moveon.org and the Institute for Public Accuracy to have a much more prominent position in a public consciousness. We need to start covering stories globally even if they have nothing to do with U.S. relations.

Last night while I watched the White House "press conference" that I suppose was purported to be in response to the 9/11 hearings, I found myself divided. On one hand, and as usual, I felt squidgy because I feel so bad for W. He is so visibly uncomfortable and fearful of public speaking because he's just so bad at it. It's not everyone's forte, and I can imagine how difficult it must be to field high-stakes questions when the whole world, literally, seems to be watching. I'd be extremely uncomfortable in that situation, but then I'm not the president, nor would I ever be. I'm positive I'm already on some kind of "list" because of how many petitions I've signed, rallies I've been to, letters I've written, and commie pals I associate with. Pardon the digression. As I was saying, I do tend to feel so bad for W. that it hurts a bit to watch - just like it hurts to watch my students on presentation day when they get red in the face, shake, and look down at the floor because they're ill prepared and/or petrified that everyone will think they're dumb.

On the other hand, I couldn't just change the channel when the squidgyness got overwhelming - I kept focused on the White House press corps, particularly because I'd heard just the day before about how much prep this Administration forces upon them. During the last "press conference", the admin insisted that reporters file questions before hand, so that answers could be prepared. When W. called on different reporters, "live", as the conference was going on, it was in a pre-determined order and had been somewhat "rehearsed" an hour before. That raises all kinds of issues about a "lap-dog" press or just general freedom of the press, and it should make us uncomfortable for a whole new set of reasons (besides just feeling bad for W. 'cause he is a human after all and it must hurt when people make fun of his invented words... like "resignate". Tee hee hee! I couldn't resist).

I'm angry that I'm expected to "buy" and be impressed by the seemingly spontaneous brilliance of the president's answers. I'm angry that so many restrictions are placed on "acceptable" questions that the ones I want to hear answers for will never get asked. I'm angry that these politicians have gotten away with all of this for so long, here - we're truly in a state of disgrace and I can't even guess what I'll do if we're in for four more years of this.

"I know only that I know nothing" is a beautiful, zen-ish thought that I try to live up to. It keeps my ego in check, but also helps me understand how much of my life should be about learning and education, whether academic or otherwise. But how can I pursue that actively if so many people want to make it really, really difficult for me? I'll find a way, I always do.

Grrr. I'm so full of rage today; looking back at this there's too much "hate hate hate" and "angry angry angry". King said once "Unless a man feels he'd die for something, he doesn't have much to live for". I guess I shouldn't get mad at myself for being so passionate about things. I feel alive and vibrant, I guess that's a good thing. I'll try to focus on being calm for the rest of today, just for my blood pressure's sake.

Only two weeks to go of this semester, then I start my WS summer course, for which I've been given a graduate assistant. Cha-ching! This is very good news, for reasons I'll explain later. After the summer course, it's just a week before we go to Hungary and then around Southern Africa for a month. We're settling the Zambian Visa issue (lordy lordy lordy...I'm rolling my eyes, really I am) and have started up again the processing of our EU citizenship. To make an incredibly long story short, Steve's a Hungarian national. So now I am too. Hungary is joining the EU. So now we'll be EU citizens too. Yay! No work visa problems! Ease with buying property! And any other number of benefits I can't think of right now!

Staying positive. Maybe?

For now,

xo,

I can't wait for this placidity again.