When protests are non-violent, the media doesn’t cover them. When protests are non-violent, politicians ignore them.
Do the Media and Politicians Really Hate Violent Protests?
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."
15 Comments. Leave new
Both the media and politicians love violent protests Ted, as long as they occur abroad and are supported by various US agencies ; cf Nancy Patricia Pelosi’s (in)famous comment on the riots in Hong Kong, «a beautiful sight to behold», or the late John Sidney McCain’s participation, shoulder by shoulder with a neo Nazi, in the US-financed (5 thousand million USD) riots in Kiev. Beauty, as we know, is in the eyes of the beholder….
Henri
Looks as if mentioning Mme Pelosi and Mr McCain in the same post is toxic – or at the very least leads to «moderation»…. 😉
Henri
And my comment got moderated too, Henri. And I didn’t even mention that mummified complicit husk.
We must be in Ted’s (algorithm’s) bad graces, Alex…. 😉
Henri
I’d never want to be in the good graces of algorithm that’d have me as a member.
Some advocate violent protest as the only way to change a corrupt, treacherous, racist and genocidally violent system.
Of course the system itself advocates/tolerates only ONE-WAY violence.
For either side, 1-way v. 2-way violence, to credibly claim anything favorable for their cause amid the current national protest, I’d suggest proof be given:
1) the VAST majority of protestors arrive with the intention of committing violence
2) the police, whose daily, incontrovertibly murderous violence, is under protest, miraculously become Gandhi-esque non-violent the minute a mass protest begins
Does anyone think the cops dislike these protests either?
First, they get time-and-a-half, double-time, possibly triple-time, on top of hazard pay.
Second, they get to shoot at protesters.
Third, every one of these protesters that they arrest? Well, that’s a free look through that person’s cellphone and wallet, on top of another resister processed into the system.
As for the media and the politicians, okay, I’ll bite: I keep reading nonsense about the dems “retaking the Senate” (the models indicate, at best, a 50-seat tie). But let’s say they retake it by 55 or even 60 seats.
Cui bono?
Even with Biden, a 60-seat Senate, and a majority in the House, NOTHING will happen. There will be no MedicareForAll, no UBI for this economic depression, and no forgiving of student loans.
«As for the media and the politicians, okay, I’ll bite: I keep reading nonsense about the dems “retaking the Senate” (the models indicate, at best, a 50-seat tie). But let’s say they retake it by 55 or even 60 seats.» Panem et circenses, sine pane….
Henri
And “circenses” only for the uber-rich with
Sen. Schumer (D-Goldman Sachs) at the helm.
Full-load Joe had his “deplorables” moment and his maximally humane “just kneecap them” moment.
I expect his Klobo-Cop VP annoincement will come just before the first mass slaughter of the protest.
Test
Moderated at 12:14 PM 8 June
Trump is more honest than Obama was in that he openly demonstrates that he doesn’t care about anyone other than his fellow oligarchs and their interests.
Obama pandered to the people he screwed so convincingly that the saps would think that he cared about them.
How could a public attack such an apologetic figure like Obama? It’s hard to organize against such an apparently remorseful persona.
Trump, on the other hand is outright hateful and easy to organize against, so the possibility of change becomes more plausible against the honestly hateful Trump.
I forecast in 2016 that Trump was going to make America great again, but only in a way he didn’t intend.
America was great when it pushed back against the pushy assholes that ruin non-oligarchic lives, both black and white.
More liberal policies began under Nixon, because the people hated him so much that his lip service was not credible and he tried in desperation to do real things for them.
Obama’s lip service was credible even when he openly lied in his pandering.
He was slippery.
Obama forcefully shut down Occupy Wall Street with nary a peep from his true believer dupes.
They couldn’t believe he really meant them harm.
As far as I can tell, the government loves violent protests so much that they send in provocateurs to make sure they turn violent. It’s so much easier to focus on suppressing the violence than it is to pay attention to the demands.
The media totaly loves the buzz of riots and lotting…until it spills over to high income areas then they get mixed feelings.
I was near LA when in 92 the Rodney King riots hit small family run small bussiness, in low income areas, very little of the action spilled out the intercity and in those case the police took swifter action.
so it my be informative to look back to 92
Over 2,300 mom-and-pop shops run by Korean business owners were damaged through ransacking and looting during the riots, sustaining close to $400 million in damages. As the riots spread, roads between Koreatown and wealthy white neighborhoods were blocked off by police (the National Guard was called too) and official defense lines were set up around the independent cities such as Beverly Hills and West Hollywood A Korean-American resident later told reporters: “It was containment. The police cut off traffic out of Koreatown, while we were trapped on the other side without help. Those roads are a gateway to a richer neighborhood. It can’t be denied. Koreans also said that emergency responders ignored their calls for help.
During the riots, Korean Americans received very little aid or protection from police authorities, due to their low social status and language barriers.
There where 63 deaths attributed to the riots, 10 of 63 deaths where by the police.
2020:
I think reporters are more nervous this time because the riots are more widespread and some violence has happed outside of the intercity. Still if it bleeds it lead is and will remain the golden rule for news, so this time it’s love and revulsion at the same time.
With regard to frame 4 – on the other hand, politicians do respond to certain «non-violent» suggestions, not least in the event that they are accompanied by «campaign contributions»….
Henri
Hundreds of years of elections and some things still can’t be discussed, much less changed.
But after a few days of rioting there are more people’s (demos) issues being discussed than in most elections.
Sometimes you have to hit a mule on the head with a 2 by 4 just to get its attention.