WHEN THE PRESS PRESSES FOR WAR
[Col. Writ. 10/25/01] Copyright '01 Mumia
Abu-Jamal
It is often surprising what
comes to mind when one
thinks of the press. We often think of it as
a daily necessity,
as our window to the world, as an impersonal,
sometimes
faceless acquaintance, whom we deal with
daily.
We rarely think of the press as
a multi-million dollar
industry, which, by its very power, wealth and
burgeoning
influence, has become a virtual branch of
government. Or,
perhaps worse, as a subsidiary to a
multibillion-dollar
multinational corporation.
Lastly, we may, rarer still,
never come to see the press
as the private possession of one person, or a small
group
of persons, for such a thought shocks us. For
most of us
have come of age hearing, seeing, or reading of the
press
as "a public service."
Seen this way, most of the
nation's commercial media
begins to resemble a tool, an institution, indeed
an agency
of the wealthy classes. This is a dangerous
thought, for
it shatters any illusion that the press is an
instrument of
democracy (Ask any reporter if he ever told his
boss, the
editor, what *he* wanted to cover, as
opposed to what
his editor wanted done, and you'll learn that no
newsroom
is a democracy!).
You see the true nature of the
press clearest in times of
war, when any notion of dissent is snuffed into
silence. In a
case that is as shocking as it is silly, a number
of newspapers
around the nation have withdrawn the hilariously
brilliant
"Boondocks" comic strip, done by a young man
named
Aaron McGruder. As was the case of its
predecessor strip,
"Doonesbury," the "Boondocks" strip takes on
political,
cultural, and social issues of the day. In
one banned strip,
the central character, a pint-sized, perpetually
petulant
radical boy named Huey Freeman (who bears a
rather
striking resemblance to the late Black Panther
founder,
Huey P. Newton) calls up the FBI's Anti-terrorism
hotline,
and asks, "Is this the FBI's Anonymous
Anti-terrorism
hotline?" A voice on the line promptly
replies, "Yes, Mr.
Freeman, this is the FBI's Anonymous
Anti-Terrorism
hotline. Whatcha got?" Huey is stunned
for a second,
then yells into the phone, "ANONYMOUS?!" The
FBI
guy responds, "C'mon, Huey! You know we've been
buggin' your phone for years! Whatcha
got?"
This is funny stuff. But
apparently, thousands, perhaps
tens of thousands (or more!) won't see it to
know.
Many years ago, when the Zulus
and the Lakota Sioux
were fighting against encroaching white imperialism
in
their homelands, both indigenous empires
scored
impressive military victories over imperialist
invaders.
They are known to history as the battles of
Isandhlwana
and Little Bighorn. The press described
Sitting Bull as
a "savage" and Zulu King Cetshwayo as a
"bloodthirsty
barbarian." (When Custer slaughtered hundreds
of
Cheyenne men, women and children at the
Black
Kettle Village on Washita River, killing even
ponies,
I doubt any newspaper in America called him
either
a "savage" or a "bloodthirsty barbarian").
The daily
press criticized the British and American
militaries
for daring their "inferiors" to beat them, and
whipped
them on to more brutal, violent, and punitive
attacks
on Lakota and Zulu peoples and lands.
This imperialist training of the
press in the 1800s
can be seen today in the way the media
whitewashes
massacres, ignores or distorts history, and
demonizes
any opponents of the empire.
As the old saying goes,
it's a 'free press' -- only
if you own one.
Copyright '01 MAJ
==================================
THEY ARE PLANNING TO MURDER
MUMIA!!
SAVE THE DATE - DECEMBER 8TH FOR
MUMIA!
PLEASE PASS THE
WORD!
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support now
more than ever. We need donations of money, calling
cards, copy cards,
etc. and we really need manpower. We need people to be
in the streets
every day putting out information, demonstrating, raising
money, and doing
whatever you can to help."
"Tell judge pamela dembe to
hold an evidentiary hearing and a new
post-conviction relief appeal, to hear
the confession of Arnold Beverly
and to let Mumia be at the hearings in his
"trial". Tell mayor john
street to keep his promise and do what he can
to help Mumia receive a
fair trial and to hold an independent
investigation into the case. (you
can get a sample of both of these letters
at http://www.freemumia.com)
pamela dembe:
1417 criminal justice center 1301 Filbert St. philadelphia
pa, 19107 Phone
215 683-7148 Fax 215 683-7150
john street: room 215 city hall
philadelphia pa 19107
Phone 215 686-3000 Fax 215
686-2170"
PLEASE CONTACT:
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P.O. Box 19709, Philadelphia, PA 19143
Phone -
215-476-8812/ Fax - 215-476-6180/
E-mail - icffmaj@aol.com /www.mumia.org
AND OFFER
YOUR SERVICES!
Send our brotha some LOVE and LIGHT
at:
Mumia Abu-Jamal
AM
8335
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Drive
Waynesburg, PA 15370
!!
PEOPLE GET READY !!
******************************************************
This
column may be reprinted and/or distributed by
electronic means, but only for
non-commercial use, and
only with the inclusion of the following copyright
information:
Text (c) copyright 2001 by Mumia Abu-Jamal. All rights
reserved. Reprinted by permission of the
author.
******************************************************
Mumia
Abu-Jamal is the author of three books: 'Live
from Death Row', 'Death
Blossoms', and 'All Things
Censored'.
Write to Mumia directly
at:
Mumia Abu-Jamal AM 8335
SCI-Greene
175 Progress
Drive
Waynesburg, PA 15370