“White Man’s Burden” and the Iraq War

[housewolf]

Powerful article on racism & the Iraq war & the role of television

“White Man’s Burden” and the Iraq War

<snip>

A survey conducted by Cornell University two weeks ago proved what many had already suspected. “Nearly half (44%) of all Americans believe that the US should restrict the civil liberties of Muslim Americans…The survey also found that Republicans and highly religious people were more apt to support curtailing civil liberties of Muslims.” (Al Jazeera) No surprises there, but is this change a natural response to the events of 9-11, or are there other factors at work?

“Researchers also found that respondents who paid more attention to television news were more likely to fear terrorist attacks and support limiting the rights of Muslim Americans.” (Al Jazeera)

This clearly illustrates the connection between televised media and the increasing prejudice directed at Muslims. We can debate the significance of this observation, but we cannot ignore the fact that the media is the breeding-ground for greater discrimination.

The question is whether or not the media is deliberately complicit.

<snip>

http://www.zmag.org/content/print_article.cfm?itemID=6970§ionID=15

[ixion]

1. of course they are deliberately complicit

It's no accident that topics outside the safety of preset talking-point are never discussed on any MSM broadcast.

I've seen this shift coming since the 80's, when news broadcasts started trying to compete with tabloid shows like 'Hardcopy'. It's not even about news anymore. It's about infotainment, and maintaining the status quo and selling ads, nothing more.