What a gift the gods would gee (give) us,
To see ourselves as others see us
Robbie Burns
I believe, dear reader, that just as individuals can have blind spots, mental defences and denial, so too can communities and entire nations. In Britain, riots have continued for days, sparked by social media, while no one questions the basic premise of social media:
Should we believe in social media? … Seriously. And should we believe any specific social media without first checking it against traditional media?
I wonder whether blind spots and vested interests are preventing the British people from discussing the premise, let alone beginning to reach towards a consensus. Which means, of course, that in the future, history will repeat: which is not something anyone in Britain, amidst the carnage, is admitting just now.
Meanwhile, an issue not being covered by social media, is how traditional media is repeating the history of 2016 as regards Donald Trump. Maybe, dear reader, your milage will vary, and maybe you have indeed seen social media covering the blind spot of paid media networks reporting on former President Trump. But I, sad to say, have not seen such coverage. (except on a blog I follow, Orange Crate Art, that has a transcript)
When I was a boy, before the digital age, we said, “Read it and weep.” If you don’t mind getting sad, or mad, here is an outsider’s view of paid reporters in traditional media, a view these reporters will not see of themselves, a view of their double standard for their reporting on Trump versus reporting on Vice President Harris.
Today, what has me repeating my adolescent habit of talking in italics is this report:
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Sean Crawford
On the world wide web
August
2024
This just in. I don’t mind a reporter editing out a guy’s um’s and uh’s, but— sane washing? You can’t make this stuff up.
