Tuesday, August 6, 2019

News vs Narrative

I've been looking for something other than the political climate to write about but the shootings over the weekend and the subsequent descent into bullshit political blaming is just too stupid to ignore.  But I'm going to try.  But first, I heard a quote today that really hit it home for me.
"The media is no longer reporting the news, it's reporting the narrative".  
Bingo.  They generally and almost universally hate President Trump so much that they have lost most objectivity.  I say most because I really want to be a little optimistic.  But it's difficult.  For over two years the narrative was Trump the Russian agent, Trump the puppet of Putin, Trump the Russian collaborator, Trump who has surrounded himself with spies, Trump who stole the election with Russian help.  But then...Mueller.  And there was nothing.  So it becomes obvious that they need to figure out a way to beat him in 2020 and they need a narrative.  So it becomes Trump the racist.  Trump the white supremacist.  Trump the Muslim and Mexican hater.  Etc, etc, etc.  That is the new narrative and we'll hear it until Nov, 2020.  There's no evidence of any of it except what people want to think.  And when he wins there will be something else.   As I've said a million times he wasn't my guy and he regularly pisses me off.  He's a New York street fighter who won't give and inch and can be an insufferable prick.  But to me he's more right than wrong and I really think he as the best interests of the country at heart.

I'm enough of a student of history that I know there have been other times in our history when we've seen similar actions by the press, but it's still pretty distressing.  I don't know what will make them snap out of it, but I hope it happens soon.  But for me I just can't watch it much anymore.  When I turn on the news on any channel I rarely last more than about 5 minutes if they are talking about national news.  It is nauseating.

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