What if, in some parallel universe not unlike our own, derision and shame were directed at those who actually deserved it?
MediaBullying
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication and WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a contributor to Centerclip and co-host of "The Final Countdown" talk show on Radio Sputnik. He is a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "2024: Revisited."
17 Comments. Leave new
I’ve seen numerous newscasts about the murder of David Hartley, by pirates, on a lake in Mexico. Most of the reports are ended leaving doubt in the viewers mind about the veracity of the story and cast suspicion on Tiffany Hartley. They do this by saying “something doesn’t sound right”, or “unnamed source says…” with no proof and no opportunity for her to defend herself. These people in the media, and law enforcement, think nothing of calling someone a “person of interest” which pretty much ruins their life. Remember the so called Atlanta Olympic Bomber person of interest? And what about the scientist that was called a person of interest in the Anthrax mailings. They never formerly accused him, allowing himself to defend himself in court, and instead he had his career ended and he committed suicide. They badgered this guy for years.
This is the most coherent and relevant comment I’ve read from you, US 395. Thank you!
If there is a cartoon, it’s not showing up on my phone .
The media cannot be counted on to cover something as sensational as American nuns being raped and chucked from helicopters in Honduras by reagan’s goons. You want the news to cover it? Get a blonde lady or her spouse killed.
Leagalize drugs, and the drug wats will cease.
A guy who supposedly worked on Wall Street would know that Bill Gates definitely does not “hog” 53G US$. Even my mom can understand that. Give me a break…
Leagalize (sic) drugs, and the drug wats (sic) will cease.
Who says we cannot agree on something, at least?
IF “derision and shame were directed at those who actually deserved it” the parallel universe would be utterly unlike our own.
>>A guy who supposedly worked on Wall Street would know that Bill Gates definitely does not “hog” 53G US$. Even my mom can understand that. Give me a break…>>
Bill Gates has enough money to feed quite a few million starving people a year. He certainly has enough money to at least keep them alive. But why pick on Bill Gates? The US Government could’ve fed every single hungry person for the next hundred years or so just from what was spent on the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Only the innocent have shame, Ted…the guilty don’t care.
Susan,
Bill & Melinda Gates do a great deal of good with their money. And they don’t even need to give it to the government first.
In addition to the military contracts I referenced earlier, Microsoft has secret contracts to spy for the government, domestically. They once shut down a whistleblower site called cryptome.org by mis-using the digital millennium copyright act because the site published proof that microsoft was helping the government spy. Who knows how much we are paying them for this?
Charitable contributions are a drop in the bucket compared to the type of assistance needed, say, after a hurricane. Most of that money comes from (you guessed it) public funds. Bill Gates made his millions ripping people like myself off, and monopolizing the microcomputer software industry.
He, and people like him, only give because they have more money than they know what to do with. His products are shipped on our roads, his assets are protected by our army and our police.
I remember Ted wrote a column a while ago about billionaires that changed my worldview towards them. If these people didn’t exploit poor people to begin with, they wouldn’t have to give away all this money through charity. Even the charitable donations are shit compared to how much money the government could give away if it taxed the rich more.
Bill Gates was just an example here, people…the idea that our economic and social system allows some people to have filthy amounts of money while it denies basic needs to others based on the amount of money people have, despite centuries of dedicated research and knowledge that shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that social reproduction delivers severely unequal chances to all.
All Hail The Market!!!!! Well, The Market is extremely limited in its capacity to deliver dignity to all.
Life Is Not Fair!!!!! Yes, it isn’t, that’s why we have social services, and government policy that establishes and protects individuals’ rights…these same arguments were paraded out when people wanted to keep slavery legal….and when they wanted to keep segregation legal, and when they wanted to deny women the right to vote….it’s nothing new, it’s the same tired old series of arguments that Route and his Teabagger buddies constantly espouse….and they’re morally unjust EVER TIME. 100 years from now we will be as embarrassed as a society at what’s going on now as we currently are about slavery and segregation. And still there will be people ranting about the Constitution and the good ol’ days, just like there are still Nazis and fascists in Europe on the fringes, waiting to take advantage of any little event to spread their stupidity.
THAT is the point. We have to obsess over an insignificant argument about Bill Gates himself…that misses the point entirely…and deliberately in my opinion. Stop being willfully shallow…all of you!!!!
Aggie,
You have been in academia too long. People do not cling to meta narratives like the ones you cite. They cling to minute lies anchored in popular mythology. You need to relentlessly, exhaustively, meticulously deconstruct every last building block of the illusion, as well as the big picture.
The myth of rich philanthropists providing a social safety net if we would just let them is an oft-echoed one in my family and suburban friend circles, and they have the very well-publicized NGO to anchor that myth on.
Oleg, I totally agree with you that this is a myth. It is not my job to compromise my intellect because the vast majority of people lack critical thinking skills. I strive to remain in academia because it is one of the few places where true competence in every day life still interacts with getting a paycheck.
You are right.
What really needs to happen is what seems to underway at the moment. The chambers of commerce, big business PACs, and lawmakers need to play their role perfectly right now. The funds for the moveon’s need to dry up, any true progressives need to court big business.
Aggie,
It’s pretty obvious Angelo, Susan, and “Wall Street savvy” Rall, don’t have a clue about what it means to have Gates’ net worth measured by his pile of MSFT stock. That’s what I was referring to.
Highway recalled the Gates charitable work, which I would commend were he not in bed with the awful George Soros and the rest of the Bilderbergians. I am not a huge fan of Gates or Microsoft, but he definitely does not “explore poor people”, as the loony Cirrus claims.
Buceph,
yes, I do understand. If he tried to actually liquidate his stock, he would only get about half of it.
Doesn’t change anything.
You believe wealth is a delicate bubble that will pop when envious redistrbutors get their salty hands on it.
You believe wealth can be created and destroyed.
I believe wealth is a big burlap sack of pirates’ gold that can be tucked under one arm, the other hand plunging and casting it’s contents about like so much seed on the plains.
I believe wealth follows the laws of thermodynamics.