Who Am I?

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A nobody; a nitwit; a pilot; a motorcyclist; a raconteur; a lover...of life - who loves to laugh, who tries to not take myself (or anything) too seriously...just a normal guy who knows his place in the universe by being in touch with my spiritual side. What more is there?

23 February 2019

Getting Your News Fast and First


Remember the gay, Black actor who got attacked on the street in Chicago in the middle of the night by two white men who put a noose around his neck, beat him up and shouted "This is MAGA country!!"

Yeaaahhhhh, I don't remember that either. Because it didn't happen. I thought the mainstream media would be better at sniffing out what we used to call a "publicity stunt."  Apparently not.

Jussie Smollett, the gay, Black actor we're talking about here was not the victim of a racial attack. Apparently it was staged. Jussie's two friends/accomplices were picked up at the airport on their way out of the country. They admitted everything to the cops.  

These days, we are so hell-bent on finding victims and telling their stories that we've lost all objectivity.  In this time of racial strife, Jussie's lurid tale made a good story!  Even if it wasn't...you know...true.  But never mind that.  Really, at the end of the day, when it comes to reporting the news, isn't it more important to get the story out fast and first? 

3 comments:

Ed said...

I have no doubt that racism is still alive and well in America, unfortunately. But we as a society have to learn to wait until all the facts are in before we rush to judgement. Perhaps this Smollett stunt is a good thing as it will make us ponder if it is just another "Smollett stunt" or did it actually happen as claimed.

I am reminded of another recent event that I think happened earlier this year where a woman and her daughter were shot at by a "white guy" for no apparent reason. Her daughter died in the attack. It turned out they were shot by a black guy for no apparent reason. But until that was determined, we had to suffer through miles of film footage of outraged blacks talking about racism. Things got pretty quiet after the facts were determined.

Ed said...

A lot of words of wisdom in those last comments. You stated it very well.

Kelly said...

So much truth in your response to Ed.