THE MEDIA IS RESPONSIBLE FOR TERRORISM!
Here's the deal: Pope (who ostensibly represents tolerance, love for humankind, etc. around the world) says something that one particular group (Muslims) can misinterpret to be slanderous to Islam. Actually, he was quoting someone else, trying to explain the Vatican's policy that there is no room for violence in religion, but the Muslim fanatics went nuts. Why? Because of the way the MEDIA reported it.
Fanatic Islamic groups around the world respond by protesting and burning Christian Churches. Yo, man!-- It's a self-fulfilling prophecy! Even if the Pope did not -- in any way -- intend for his utterances to be interpreted to say that Islam is bad, Islamist extremists will dutifully react and start burning Christian symbols, knowing full well that the media will report it, thereby proving to all the world that Islam is indeed "bad" - when in actual fact, Islam is a peaceful religion that does not preach violence at all.
Who is responsible for this? THE MEDIA. Because of the slanted, one-sided, myopic way that they report anything sensational, because it sells advertising and it increases ratings. The media does not care -- it is a whore, addicted to the crack of the ratings race.
Make no mistake -- it is THE MEDIA that is SATAN! The media is responsible for the war in Iraq, President Bush, Hillary Clinton, Webtards, Blogtards, high oil prices, e-Coli in your spinach, and everything else!
The MEDIA is like the biblical Jacob - a con-man, a manipulator, a deceiver... and we just suck it up like a Slurpee out of a straw, without even thinking!
Jeesh! I feel so much better, now that I've got all this figured out!
Fanatic Islamic groups around the world respond by protesting and burning Christian Churches. Yo, man!-- It's a self-fulfilling prophecy! Even if the Pope did not -- in any way -- intend for his utterances to be interpreted to say that Islam is bad, Islamist extremists will dutifully react and start burning Christian symbols, knowing full well that the media will report it, thereby proving to all the world that Islam is indeed "bad" - when in actual fact, Islam is a peaceful religion that does not preach violence at all.
Who is responsible for this? THE MEDIA. Because of the slanted, one-sided, myopic way that they report anything sensational, because it sells advertising and it increases ratings. The media does not care -- it is a whore, addicted to the crack of the ratings race.
Make no mistake -- it is THE MEDIA that is SATAN! The media is responsible for the war in Iraq, President Bush, Hillary Clinton, Webtards, Blogtards, high oil prices, e-Coli in your spinach, and everything else!
The MEDIA is like the biblical Jacob - a con-man, a manipulator, a deceiver... and we just suck it up like a Slurpee out of a straw, without even thinking!
Jeesh! I feel so much better, now that I've got all this figured out!
Peter, how could you expect anything else from the media. Reporters, with degrees in Journalism, are trained to write stories that appeal to current popular tastes. They are not trained in any subject they are reporting. It's similar to education. Teachers, with degrees in Education, are trained how to teach, not in the particular subject they are teaching. My kid is being taught algebra by a teacher who graduated without ever passing a math course. What ever happened to common sense and the ability to reason? Who are these people?
ReplyDeleteNo, it's not the media. It's because we're a society of intellectually lazy people who want to be spoon-fed everything. Your rant is case in point. You want an simple, black & white explanation for something that is complex and techno-color. You want the truth? You can't handle the truth.
ReplyDeleteThe first comment posted forgot to include software developers who are/were not trained in software engineering/development ....
ReplyDeleteSome even become MVPs :P
On the 2nd post I don't think this person was actually expecting an answer to the 'lazy' question. The same as I don't think you were expecting an answer to yours.
I'm completely agree
ReplyDeleteSOf,
Russia
While the media may have overplayed the issue as usual, I think the Pope could have communicated a more inclusive and accessible message than the one he did, if it was his intention to help people understand one another.
ReplyDeleteThe text of the Pope’s speech may be found here
I don't think his decision to quote a 14th century Byzantine emperor who makes an inflammatory sounding remark about Mohammed represents the leadership needed to bring the great religions of the world together.
Here's the questionable quote again: "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."
The Pope's speech is not very accessible to begin with IMHO, and to include this quote in a speech that attempts to convey the "logos" or "reason and word" of God does not appear to me, very astute given the climate our world currently struggles in.
The media just reported the issue, they didn’t write the speech.
Certainly the Pope could have exercised more restraint in his choice of quotes.
ReplyDeleteBut the media has a distinct CONFLICT BIAS - a term which I believe was recently coined by Neil Gabler appearing on Fox News.
This conflict bias causes the media to tend to report events in their most caustic, egregious light, which foments people who are already looking for an excuse into violent reaction.
In essence, the media, when given a bottle of nitroglycerine, will often try to find the best way to shake it, not caring about the results other than how it plays in the ratings.
The is nothing new about people manipulating religion to achieve violence.
ReplyDeleteMost of the montheistic religions have had a problem with this at some time.
That the real teachings are peacefull has little effect on those who will always find the tools they need to create violence.
The media's conflict bias is not the sole cause, but it can make things much worse.