Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Media Always Has Last Word


Win Win Media
Not so much has changed. The pen remains mightier than the sword, and the Occupy movement doesn’t even have weapons.
The mainstream media is portraying the Iowa caucuses as a sign that the Occupy movement, which it has always opposed at least subliminally, has failed. The reason? The Iowa caucuses were held.
Did anyone think they would not be? It appears to be little more than a giant anti-climax. An eight-vote victory for the guy with the most money.
The real test of the Occupy movement is whether they can rein in some of the renegade selfish banks. They have scored a few victories.
Of course it can be said that they were non sequiturs. Just because banks dropped some plans to add new charges or increase existing ones does not mean it was because of the worldwide protests of greed.
That is why it is a win win argument. Writers can’t lose.
Ah for the days of Bertolt Brecht, a man who was described as never seeking to resolve conflict or achieve harmony. Rather he would put it on the stage and let the theater-goers decide what to do.
The same argument was used against Wikileaks despite an inherent contradiction. If they did not reveal anything really new then why were they a security threat?
Although there was a lot more noise about Vietnam War crimes, Lt. William Calley was pardoned after 3 years of house arrest in the My Lai massacre.
A trial begins today in a military courtroom in California for the killings of 24 civilians in Iraq in 2005. Don’t expect much. Seven have already had the charges dismissed or were acquitted.
So perhaps it is accurate to deem the Occupy protests ineffective. Will it change anything?

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