by William Skink
The only thing more fucked up about the escalating violence in this country is how corporate media is covering what’s unfolding.
Which incidents of violence should be highlighted and which ones should be downplayed? If you don’t think these questions are being asked you are naive.
Before getting to the violence in Wisconsin I think it’s important to spend a little time discussing what happened to Adam Haner, the unarmed white man in Portland who was kicked unconscious while sitting helplessly on the ground after being pulled from his truck.
In our fucked up media landscape, conservative-leaning outlets will emphasize this incident of violence for its viewers, while downplaying the militia element being activated by the increasing social unrest. Any white person watching this video of Haner swarmed by the mob and then beat unconscious will consider buying a gun (if they don’t already own one) and carrying a gun if they do.
While conservative media downplays white civilians showing up to protests with long guns, other media, like CNN, are doing their best to convince their viewers that these “protests” are “mostly peaceful”. Here is how Fox news reported on CNN’s report on Wisconsin:
CNN national correspondent Omar Jimenez was reporting live in the early hours on Tuesday morning on the unrest that had taken place in Kenosha, Wis., following the police-involved shooting of Jacob Blake.
Jimenez was standing in front of a raging fire and the chyron at the bottom of the screen read, “FIERY BUT MOSTLY PEACEFUL PROTESTS AFTER POLICE SHOOTING.”
It should be obvious to any objective observer that both conservative and liberal media outlets are trying to exploit this escalating violence to further their political agendas. In this sick game of exploiting violence for political objectives, who is going to benefit?
Ultimately I think Trump and the police state love the BLM movement. The violence and chaos that has been unleashed will make Trump’s law and order message resonate loudly far beyond his base.