Every Time I Flip to CNN I Want to Punch Someone
There once was a time when I didn't understand why anyone in Chicago (i.e. my older, more worldly sister, Anna, for example) would ever want or need to read a paper that was not the Chicago Tribune. What did the New York Times have to offer anyways? Then, as I got older and collected more clues, I started to realize that there was a whole world of newspapers out there with different types of coverage, different perspectives, different voices. Then there was also the rather speedy realization that CNN is a piece of shit. But then also came the realization that all news networks have their own shitty issues. So, in the end, you just have to accept that your choices are (1) Read and watch as much as you can of everything and then sift through all the shit to get some vague idea of what's happening somewhere in the world, or (2) Just ignore everything.
Some days, I really want to choose option (2), but I never am able to block out the world for too long.
My friend, Steve, is stuck in Lebanon right now, and he is none too pleased about the tragic destruction all around him. He loves Beirut and was looking forward to a summer of finishing his MA thesis before moving on to who knows where. And then this happened. He just sent an e-mail to friends in the states, begging them to get their news from any non-American sources they can find, because as he said, "Every time I flip to CNN I want to punch someone." And believe me, Steve is a pretty chill guy.
I have to agree with him, though. Every time I check the latest headlines on the NYT website, I think, "Is this for real?" Their coverage is so biased, it defies logic. I can't even imagine what CNN has to say. It makes me sad, too, that none of my friends in the states have made any mention of what's going on to me. They don't seem interested or maybe it just doesn't even register in their minds. I can't blame them, when they are so far removed from the situation (and have such bad information trickling down to them), but it terrifies me. What in the world is America thinking right now? I really have no idea.
Some days, I really want to choose option (2), but I never am able to block out the world for too long.
My friend, Steve, is stuck in Lebanon right now, and he is none too pleased about the tragic destruction all around him. He loves Beirut and was looking forward to a summer of finishing his MA thesis before moving on to who knows where. And then this happened. He just sent an e-mail to friends in the states, begging them to get their news from any non-American sources they can find, because as he said, "Every time I flip to CNN I want to punch someone." And believe me, Steve is a pretty chill guy.
I have to agree with him, though. Every time I check the latest headlines on the NYT website, I think, "Is this for real?" Their coverage is so biased, it defies logic. I can't even imagine what CNN has to say. It makes me sad, too, that none of my friends in the states have made any mention of what's going on to me. They don't seem interested or maybe it just doesn't even register in their minds. I can't blame them, when they are so far removed from the situation (and have such bad information trickling down to them), but it terrifies me. What in the world is America thinking right now? I really have no idea.
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