A bitch is going to do a wee little exploration from the perspective of a press addict.
This bitch is not a reporter. My ass is, however, addicted to the news. Yes, a bitc
h uses a lot of sources to get my fix…yes, a bitch doesn’t believe everything that comes out of the mainstream press…no, you are not the only one who understands that 'truth in journalism' is relative and who can question authority.Having said that, a bitch adores watching the news! Shit, this bitch doesn’t trust anyone who doesn’t consume some manner of news product…it’s just not natural (wink). So, when the war started this bitch was knee deep in the coverage and shocked as a motherfucker at the gleeful consumption of spin-based bullshit that was going down across the board.
During the pre-war bullshit blitz, the press was obsessed with maintaining a tone of doom and dread. Anyone who questioned the evidence was willing to put American lives at risk! And anyone who questioned the logic was un-American and practicing the art of appeasement. It is easy to forget how much the mainstream so-called liberal press fell into lock-step with the administration on this war. By the time Colin Powell testified at the United Nations, the press was tired of the fore-play and willing to get down to bitness.
And then we went to war. Eager reporters imbedded themselves among the troops, with images of Murrow Awards dancing in the heads. Shit, who can blame them! This was their big moment…a war…the kind of tragedy reporters dream of covering. But the sad reality is that war is easy to find…the appeal of this war was the guaranteed ‘big finish’. After all that fore-play…all the teasing and caressing and softly murmured promises…the press was in full rut and in need of guaranteed satisfaction.
Victory.
Everything was in place. The spin. The embellished fears of massive poisoned gas attacks that made the decision to wear a gas mask for every report less 'Geraldo Rivera' and more prudent-like. Troops were willing to be interviewed and generals were talking trash.
Shit…you were there, right? It was like watching the first hour of Patton!
Who knew we’d be watching Platoon three years later?
The press was legitimately shocked when bunkers packed to capacity with WMD weren’t located. They were dismayed when the full on bloodbath they had been led to believe would take place turned into a quick and non-orgasmic occupation. And they were disgusted when the looting began, as if western armies had perfected the art of war…as if desperate times no longer lead to desperate actions.
Month after month, a bitch observed the press searching for their nut.
And month after month, this bitch observed the uncovering of a massive scab…the puss of ineptitude, ego and ethnocentric disdain…the shame of flawed intelligence…the floundering of misplaced loyalty and trust…the sad and sorry pathetic reality of the limits of military aggression and the tragedy of learning that shit all over again.
The press slowly turned into the angry unsatisfied lover. They creatively overlooked their own eager submission to the power of spin-based seduction.
They look back and think…we were misled!
A bitch looks back and thinks…you wanted to be.
The affair between the governmental spin machine and the fourth estate has ended.
Add the press to the list of 'seriously wounded' during the Iraq War...
...rehab could take years.
13 comments:
You blow me away.
Say it, sister! And keep on saying it -- or as Audre Lorde said: SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER.
Buzzzed
No.
I don't fully agree with you ABB. I spent many years over there with the UN and ICRC. The kaos is not all our fault. Although we are, as usual, naive beyond belief.
Special Anon
I believe you nailed it. The press didn't just do a bad job. They were complicit in the spreading of the lies about Iraq. It'll be a long time before I can trust the main-stream media again.
The Psychotic Patriot linked here from Brutal Women, and blogged your South Dakota post. Also featured (with link) your profile graphic. This really got me: And month after month, this bitch observed the uncovering of a massive scab…the puss of ineptitude, ego and ethnocentric disdain…the shame of flawed intelligence…the floundering of misplaced loyalty and trust…the sad and sorry pathetic reality of the limits of military aggression and the tragedy of learning that shit all over again. Excellent writing. Thank you. Also blogrolled you.
James
Shark Fu,
Another splendiferous post!
You can trust everyone that has replies in the comments at ABB because we are consuming at least one news product--yours!
Think Progress presents a powerful indictment against Scooter's folly and the lies of the Cheney misdaministration. There is nothing I could possibly add or excerpt that wouldn't detract from the impact of viewing it yourself.
THREE YEARS OF WAR IN IRAQ:
A TIMELINE
I had CNN at that time and I recall the breathless announcements of "nine barrels of chemical agents" and other nonsense that turned out to be nothing. They wanted so badly to find WMDs, because they had hyped that shit before the war began.
Full agreement from here. I'm a rabid history buff and obsessed with knowing what is happening in the world, so criticizing others for their news addiction is pretty much the last thing I'd do. But I remember when all this shit started, I was so incredibly exasperated with my then-boyfriend-- not because he religiously watched the "talking heads" every Sunday morning, not because CNN was all that was ever on tv, but because he was so uncritical of everything he heard. One of the biggest fights we ever had was after the 2003 SOTU address-- he got pissed at me because I was sitting there tallying up the lies while he was getting more and more jingoistic.
ABB, you almost make me want to come to Missouri.
Liberal press, my ass.
The press has become a corporate whore - bending in whatever direction the current group in power sways. It's all about ratings, not reporting fairly. It completely disgusts me.
BarefootCajun,
Welcome to my world of disgust!
There is no Liberal media bias or Conservative media bias there is only fucking Corporate media bias!
abb, you nailed it, "Anyone who questioned the evidence was willing to put American lives at risk!". for this propaganda machine was enough to fool many folks into backing a "plan" and president with bullshit rhetoric, and no proof. sadly, the machine rages on.
i still mourn the loss of aaron j. contreras, who died just days after the war began.
i applaud each and every country who fully realizes the extent of irreparable damage they've helped create by taking the first step, withdrawing troops.
far out.
Amen, Bitch! I am a third-generation old-school journalist who ran screaming from the Corporate Death Star that ate my network!
THE CORPORATION OWNS OUR GOVERNMENT, OUR MILITARY, OUR PRISONS, OUR UNIVERSITIES, AND OUR MEDIA!!!!
Who owns the Corporation?... FOLLOW THE MONEY!!!
I still do not people like anonymous who think that what is happening over there is not all our fault. My god! the US with its insane president invaded and area that was not threatening us and was not in the midst of a civil war. Anonymous, please look at the fact, what is happening in Iraq is the US's fault! The US created this monster and now it can not control the beast! Neither this war nor the one in Afganistan were warranted! Nineteen people blowing up the World Trade center is no reason to bomb two entire nations. They should have used the justice system to find the culprits that is the bottom line. But we all know this war was not about the bombing of the WTC it was about getting the oil!
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