They tie so much crap to terrorism, this is the latest joke.

First it was bootleg goods, and drugs, smokes from native reservations.

now immigrant business

Remember, we can choose not to be afraid for several reasons. Two good ones are:

1. This may be simply fear mongering.

2. Even if it isn't fear mongering, fear achieves very little in such a situations.

CNN is such a rag.

I don't know how half of the reports said these things with a straight face. I mean it's so unbelievable. if it was true, you think these Iranian spy's/terrorist immigrants would be deported by now or jail. but some how they operate in the open and getting away with plotting to kill innocent people.

Iranians = muslims = terrorists = russians = communists = catholics = papists = black people

& so on.

If I ever need an enemy, I am confident the media will provide me with one.

whynot_31 said:

If I ever need an enemy, I am confident the media will provide me with one.

Or American nutjobs like McCarthy, Protestant fanatics, the people who imposed Jim Crow, and so on.

Don't put a majority of blame at the feet of the media.

You do a disservice to America's long and glorious history of bigotry, xenophobia and oppression.

"Majority of the blame"? That sounds like something a lawyer would be interested in.

How about this? In long drawn-out proceedings, I'll let the lawyers try to convince people that there is almost always someone or some group that should be blamed in any given situation, and then try to convince people that their client should not be blamed or receive as little blame as possible.

Meanwhile, I'll take the easy way out.

Depending upon my mood, I'll allot 5 minutes each day to consume media that only shows one side of the story: like Fox News, The Nation, Weekly Standard, The Village Voice, Z Magazine, The National Review, Dissent and The Post.

These media sources reliably include loaded terms like Freedom, Rights, Justice, Oppression, Values, Privilege, and Fairness in every article they publish.

No only that, throughout the articles, I am told how such conditions can be quickly changed. I am told the world can be seen in absolute terms, and that solutions can be implemented with no side effects.

The media provides me my very own Easy Button.

Pssst: The media takes many forms.

All those words and you're still blaming the media.

At your request, today I will listen to media and people that blame the American people and various 'isms for our problems.

I'll let you know if it is constructive.

You can do whatever you'd like.

But your efforts to find a middle ground don't change this country's long history with bigotry and oppression, from black people 400 years ago (thru today) to Muslims and non-whites today.

BE SCARED OF THE OTHER.

-bigots

We all get to choose the methods we feel are most effective.

BTW, who gets to decide whether we should try to move forward, or if circumstances are so bad that the best we may be able to do is prevent losing ground?

I've concluded the answer depends upon the individual's circumstances, and thus I should not decide for others.

Currently as a nation we are not moving forward...

Iranians = muslims = terrorists = russians = communists = catholics = papists = black people

...is lateral movement at best.

While we'd all love progress, sometimes lateral movement is the best that can achieved.

I look at it this way: While we might not be satisfied with a lateral move, it sure beats retrenchment.

In my experience, retrenchment happens to people who are working hard, as well as those who are slacking. Forward movement is also somewhat arbitrary.

As a result, I try not to judge the individuals in a society that is going backward, laterally, or forward.

Without knowing the individuals or their role, I think such judgements would make me look foolish.

what in babyjesus' name are you talking about?

blaming everything on terrorism is mindless and occasionally xenophobic.

blaming everything on terrorism is mindless and occasionally xenophobic.

of course it is, we established that early on, and I got bored. As a result, I've moved on and am talking about your assertion that efforts to find a middle ground don't change our country's history and present.

Here's what I wrote back:

While we'd all love progress, sometimes lateral movement is the best that can achieved.

I look at it this way: While we might not be satisfied with a lateral move, it sure beats retrenchment.

In my experience, retrenchment happens to people who are working hard, as well as those who are slacking. Forward movement is also somewhat arbitrary.

As a result, I try not to judge the individuals in a society that is going backward, laterally, or forward.

Without knowing the individuals or their role, I think such judgements would make me look foolish.

Are you interested in having a conversation of this nature, or should we just sit around and make fun of what journalism has become?

A conversation where your POV is, "I'm not going to judge anyone" (and by implication, any opinions)?

Um, no.

Fear of the other is in fact bigotry that deeply rooted in the history of this country. It's something we still aren't having an honest conversation about, whether it's the media or the public at large.

Actually, I think we have conversations about it all of the time, but we rarely look at why these fears and feelings of hatred exist.

Instead, we just judge those who are deemed to hold them, and silence anyone who dares to violate a narrative that strays from describing people as either Oppressors or Victims.

I can't blame folks for doing it, it's easy.

Likewise, I can't blame those who assert people who have a different lens have "no opinions or judgements", or that they deny this country's history and present.

That's easy too.