Date: Thu, 10 May 2001 11:04:03 -0400 From: freematt@coil.com (Matthew Gaylor) Subject: Free Trade and Politically-Correct Reporting To: freematt@coil.com (Matthew Gaylor)
"Free Trade and Politically-Correct Reporting" by K. Lloyd Billingsley, Pacific Research Institute,
http://www.pacificresearch.org
The recent summit of the Americas in Quebec City did not produce an agreement bringing free trade from Alaska to Argentina, which would be a welcome development. But itdid show that political correctness is alive and well among reporters. Take, for example, the coverage provided by taxpayer-supported National Public Radio, which bills itself as a provider of high-quality reporting.
Riot conditions prevailed in Quebec but NPR did not refer to rioters. Rather, they identified those perpetrating the violence as "protesters," which violates both good reporting and the dictionary. Protesters protest. Rioters riot. It would be like describing Mexico's Zapatista rebels as "malcontents." And it recalls reports that called the proceedings in Los Angeles in 1992 a "rebellion," which it was not, instead of a full-blown riot, which it was.
NPR provided little detail on those clashing with the police, an inexcusable lapse. Thousands of demonstrators do not gather spontaneously. They have to be organized. They have leaders. Nor was the violence random, but part of the strategy.
Any report worthy of the name would have considered the "Ws." Who as involved? Who are the leaders? Who paid for it? Where do they come from? When was this planned? What did they want? Why the violent tactics? And so on.
This type of basic reporting would have required that those perpetrating the violence be identified as the Left, currently a coalition of socialists, die-hard communists, union goon squads, protectionists, environmental extremists, and those who call themselves anarchists but really aren't. It is a very strange brand of anarchist that wants more government regulation over trade and the environment. Part of the mix was the knee-jerk anti-Americanism that constitutes the inviolate genes of the Canadian Left and which erupts whenever an American president crosses the border, or even when he stays home.
It is not politically correct, however, to identify any group or individual as left-wing. Even Angela Davis, who twice ran for vice-president on the Communist Party ticket, is punctiliously described as a "social activist." In the PC lexicon, there are only right wingers -- also described as ultra-conservatives, far right, religious right, etc. -- on the one hand, and "moderates" on the other.
There are, of course, people on the Left and the far Left, ultra-leftists if you will. And there is a religious Left. But you won't hear about any of this on NPR. To mention the Left would spoil the neat black-and-white drama of "the people," versus "them," the little guy versus Big Corporations.
Shorn of its foreign models and supporters, the Left is going throuh an identity crisis. Once a supporter of "the worker" in general, it now backs only workers with American union cards, not workers in Peru, Mexico, and Bolivia, who would benefit from free trade. The Left once saw environmental regulation as a threat to workers. Now it practices watermelon environmentalism -- green outside, red inside. But the Left shows the same distaste for dialogue, and as Quebec showed, the same propensity to violence.
Those are all interesting developments but such analysis ill not be forthcoming from those who believe the Left has an existential problem. Political correctness does not make for accurate analysis, but it does make for good propaganda. Something to think about during pledge week.
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