Sensationalism: wash it down with a bud light
I’m not going to deny that there are white-black racial tensions. And on a positive note, the Gates-Crowley- Obama saga has brought these particular tensions — plus the possible irresponsibilty of the police force — to the forefront. No doubt that these issues deserve attention.
But, didn’t it seem like the whole story was unnecessarily sensational?
Sure, President Obama answered the the question [by Chicago Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet] very poorly by saying the Cambridge police acted “stupidly.” Maybe the press (liberal media?) was eager to capitalize on an Obama gaffe…because, let’s face it, the guy is a wordsmith who doesn’t normally stumble on his trademark eloquent prose. And, he should be held accountable for coming to his friend’s defense so soon without knowing the other side [read E.J. Dionne Jr.’s take that both were wrong]
On the surface, this is about the beer summit photos printed above the fold on the front page news and the talking heads discussing the presidential bud light choice. But the deeper issue is that the popular media created a huge issue about a topic that deserved more serious discussion than lip service to the day’s hot topic.
As an idealist recent j-school grad, I’m pretty upset with the irresponsible way this story was handled. I just wonder who the media was trying to target. I don’t think it was the millennials. Am I naive in my thinking that those of us born after the civil rights movement don’t feel the same racial tensions as, perhaps, the baby boomers consuming cable news? Us 20-somethings haven’t lived during a time when racial differences and tensions were shoved in our faces. I think race issues are more apparent for the boomers.
To wrap up: Sweet defends her question, says it wasn’t planted:
Addition:
Wanted to share the comments on the story on the Ivy Gate blog. Suprisingly anti-Obama: “Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama.”
