Skip to main content

Who is Writing the History? Baltimore Protest & Freddy Gray

For those who have a stake in the idea that young black men are being gunned down on a regular basis, the world (finally) has video, lots of videos, to prove the injustice.
But what happens when peaceful protests cross the line into violence & property destruction? THAT is what gets people's attention (i.e. front page headlines on the Baltimore Sun).  This article questions who got the report right, and yet it seems like the newspapers and the prevailing stereotypes are the ones who will be writing history.
Using the word "riot" to describe a few isolated incidents is a cue for those who know about the "Race Riots" of 1967, especially those in Detroit.  Note that when sports fans cause destruction, it is only called a "riot" as a joke.

Note how this narrative develops.  It is easier for the headlines to pick up on the stereotypes, and not the groundbreaking events.  2 opposing gangs unite at the protests?  Wha??

Just when the story of #blacklivesmatter seems to reach a tipping point, it gets shoved back into the category of violence.  Just because it makes for a better SHORT TERM story/headline, doesn't mean it is the TRUTH.

Think of the Path of Least Resistance, the editors hew to a "riot" story because it sells more papers.  Sometimes the HARD story, the nuanced story, the TRUE story, is just too hard to tell in a soundbyte.

For those of us working in UX, or concerned about making Social Media a true democracy that gets into the history books, how can it better fight the established media?  Does Twitter need a TV channel?  Do we have to wait for the generation to die off, of those who ONLY watch TV & read papers?  How can we meet in the middle?  How can we create a meritocracy for truth, vs the way the news & histories get told today?

Who determines the truth?

The ones who have the biggest audience? (in what demographic?) Or the ones with the longest staying power? (in paper or in "journalistic integrity"?)

==

Full links here:
http://mic.com/articles/116524/outrage-over-baltimore-riots-completely-misses-the-point

http://www.blackpast.org/aah/detroit-race-riot-1967

http://www.alternet.org/11-stupid-reasons-white-people-have-rioted





Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Turn to Tech Scam

I recently had an interaction with a company called  Turn To Tech , who are offering to train people and then postponing payment until after you've gotten a job. Standard, right? Except their pitch is heavy on the sales and less on the info.  I filled out a simple, online form and their first email response was: "Are you available to come in to discuss the course?  The class is a pay after you receive a job type of course, however it will require some pre-work assessment , etc.  That can be gone over with you when you come in.  " Of course? Standard grammar not required. "A-Pay-After-You-Receive-A-Job-Type" of course.  Of course, you could call it an "Income Based Payment". I had to ask 3 more times how much the class would be before and after. "It is $6,000 before the course is complete if you do not want to approach the pay after you receive a job, which is $9,000."  This makes the government look good. Get me back my 6.7% rate...
Post a Comment
Read more

Network is the Broadway Play Worth Watching

Of all the big plays of the moment, no play does a better homage to the spirit of the tale than Network-currently starring Bryan Cranston.  It’s a perfect American story-created in England. The surrounding immersive media is just the beginning.  The line “I’m Mad as Hell” is presented perfectly the first time, and then highlighted as a regular battle cry-you wonder if this is made from a movie from the 1970’s (it was) or if it was written tomorrow. It takes too much of the insanity of the media-centric world to too many logical conclusions. It plays with your mind over and over, as if media is just an extended magic trick-constantly diverting your attention. For this play, it’s worth it to pay attention.
Post a Comment
Read more

Missing Link Between IT Leaders & Customers/Users

Mark Hurst trying to explain in 3 minutes why it is good to involve the quality of the customer's experience in your brand's "Trust" Strategy. It boils down to: If your site/product works smoothly when you are trying to sell me the product/service, then I have faith that I can trust you that you won't hack my financial data (and that maybe your product/service won't blow up). Simple as that.
Post a Comment
Read more