Michelle Bishop Writes

Anderson Cooper blogged about his role in presenting a less than positive image of Muslim youths in the media.

Here’s the article: http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2009/03/20/how-many-stories-have-you-heard-lately-about-outstanding-american-muslim-youth/.

I have some concerns of my own regarding news coverage of the war on terror.  Please see may response to Anderson Cooper’s blog below.

There is another, more fundamental issue with regard to how the stories about the so-called war on terror are covered.  There is an assumption that the people who are fighting against our occupation in there sovereign lands are not reasonable or justified in their position.  They are called militants and insurgents as though a) being a militant or an insurgent is inherently evil; and b) they have no right to defend their position as vehemently as we defend ours.

It would do all of us some good to remember a few things:
1) the “founding fathers” of the United States of America were themselves militants and insurgents in their time;
2) our moral and ethical position with regard to this war sits on very shaky ground considering the under-handed manner in which former President Bush got us involved in Iraq;
3) the US Government has created its own enemies through shady dealings with dictators in the past and inhumane policies to this day.

It is no wonder to me that our efforts at nation-building in Iraq have been less than successful to date; and, that our self-created enemies have been able to spread their messages of hatred far and wide to gain support amongst the young.  We have allowed our government to create this mess just as we allowed it to bankrupt the country by handing the keys to the treasury to the greatest thieves in modern history – the bankers.

I simply ask the media to think before simply spreading the propaganda the government hands over under the guise of news.  Adopting the language of the aggressor almost assures the ones being brutalized will be painted as the villain despite the fact that they had little or no real say in how the situation played out. I liken it to a domestic abuser saying, “She made me hit her.”  We must question the abuser’s perspective, especially when the person with the black eye is smaller and weaker.

M.B.
20 March 2009