American Media Deserts American Ally
9PM. Thanksgiving night. I turn on the television after events both joyful and obligatory have ended. I’m looking for updated information on what’s been described as India’s 9/11.
I turn to CNN. They’re showing a heavily promoted special about the heroes among us, generous and potent souls who have made life better for others. Taken by itself, laudable recognition for a few of our unsung brethren. But the events unfolding in India surely qualify as extraordinary circumstances that warrant preemption of planned programming. Mumbai, known to many Americans as Bombay, is the financial hub of India, a country of over a billion people. It is under attack, by terrorists of as yet unknown origin, who are seeking out westerners, mainly Yanks or Brits, to slaughter or hold hostage.
I turn to Fox News. Sean Hannity’s America. Taped. No relevance at all to something that could be frighteningly relevant, as there are unconfirmed rumors that the terrorists may have come ashore from Pakistani vessels. India and Pakistan, two countries uneasily sharing a border. Two countries in possession of nuclear weapons.
I turn to MSNBC. They’re running a taped time filler. “Lock Up”. Vicarious thrills for those of us not in the penal system who want to get a taste of prison life from the safety of our own homes. Meanwhile, a synagogue is being stormed by Indian security forces as there are hostages being held there. Westerners and Jews are targets. Westerners and Jews, who, in this compass-less world we’re living in, could just as easily be portrayed as the cause of the attacks as the victims that they are.
Forget the major networks. Their news gathering organizations have been rendered close to irrelevant. Well informed teens know of Anderson Cooper, not Charlie Gibson. And, sadly, there aren’t that many well informed teens.
But wait. My cable system carries the BBC. Now there’s the in depth coverage; the respect for and recognition of others not like ourselves.
This “ugly American” chauvinism, born to some degree of hubris, laziness, and a sense of entitlement that says we’ve all worked hard and deserve a day off, will be our downfall. It’s a piece of the pie that explains, when we’re trying to round up allies on national missions (whether righteously justifiable or folly), why friends don’t come running.
We turn a blind eye, and expect unqualified support. Our actions will determine our destiny.
Happy Thanksgiving. Be quietly thankful that you’re not in Mumbai, and pray, in whatever form that takes for you, for those who are.
Friday follow up: CNN’s wised up, in that it has preempted previously scheduled programming about the President elect, his family, and the challenges he’ll face upon assuming office, in order to continue coverage of the Mumbai atrocities. Fox is running its regular news programming and covering events as they unfold. MSNBC is again asleep at the wheel, running taped material they had planned to fill time with on the Friday following the holiday. When, for a news channel, reality is an inconvenience that can’t be bothered with, it’s no longer a news channel. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Olbermann and Maddow denounce their own network the next chance they get. LK
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What is going on in Mumbai (exactly)? Who is this group and what do they want? What is interesting about the coverage is that it makes Mumbai look like Chicago or LA. The Mumbai I saw had over 1 million people per square mile, impossibly polluted and generally chaotic.
I certainly would not want to be one of the dead in the attacks, but even more so I wouldn’t want to be injured.
I wonder what the naked children living in the sewers think of all this?
Great article, I think that’s one of the best written I’ve read in a while.
thx. clearly this city is a mix of modern cosmopolitan and the squalid conditions you describe. CNN is on the case now so they can answer the specifics better than i can.
stay in touch and stay well. LK