Mr. Media

Al Sharpton made a funny comment on the media on his show Sharp Talk.

He said he was talking to Jesse Jackson when he was running for president. Jesse said he was out on his boat when he saw the Pope in another boat. The Pope's boat was sinking. Jesse got out his boat and walked on the water over to the Pope. He picked him up and walked on the water back over to his boat. The next day the newspaper headline was "Jesse Jackson Can't Swim".

I'm not an Al Sharpton fan per se, but he has some good stuff to say sometimes. I thought that was pretty funny and poignant. As much as I depend on the news to keep up with what's going on in the world I have to keep reminding myself how slanted it can be. I think they call it spin. They present a story in a way that directs it to a particular audience. Boost up this fact, downplay the importance of that one. Not that I think they are making it up. More like selective editing. Nothing wrong with that.

The Duke rape case is an example. Unfortunately this case is kind of a basic everyday rape case. It happens way too often. Woman says she was raped by drunken, violent men. Men deny. Take that basic premise, add a prestigious university sports team. Make the woman black, the men white. Turn her from a black woman to a black stripper and a mother in a local historically black university. Mix with three parts public election season, two parts money for well paid, aggressive defense attorneys and one part negative DNA tests. Bake on high in a pressure cooker of racial and social implications in a city that already struggles with the same issues on a regular basis. Serve over a hot bed of various agendas and you've got the mess they have up there.

The central issue should be whether or not the woman was forced to have sex against her will. They have made it into a public trashing on both sides with sensational headlines and lots of presumptions and damnation. The media loves the underhanded comments, the leaks of information, the pandering, the whole spectacle it has become. I can't say the same.