Journalists use words like allegedly and apparent because they are not there to make an official statement. They are supposed to allow for official sources to do so. Your entire argument is based solely on the word “apparent” as if that means something besides “here’s what we think happened.” Quoting dystopian literature repeatedly is not objective. I’m not buying that you’re objective in the slightest.
I appreciate the reminder to watch for signs that reality is being denied or tampered with, to trust first-hand sources and honor/record events in real time. I also appreciate when major media outlets to hold off on reporting definitively until they have confirmed information. And I REALLY appreciate it when they don't make their initial impressions disappear, but instead post new headlines as our knowledge develops.
Pops startle the crowd before they are confirmed to be gunshots, the president falls before we realize he was tackled in a protective secret service huddle, he is seen to be injured before he was known to have been shot.
I also still believe that, until we truly know the shooter's motives, this looks like an assassination attempt. Having watched many of the same videos and read much the same news and followed the same breathless cycle, it is apparent to me that this was an assassination attempt. I think appearances are correct here, but I don't blame news agencies for hanging a lantern on the fact that there is still so much we don't know.
As a person who worked in the legacy media and who had many criticisms of them I think what they did was responsible. They were doing it real time and so they were describing exactly what was known. They quickly updated it when more information was available. There is always a lot of competing information and breaking news and if you go back and look at it, a lot of what was being reported actually wasn’t accurate. For example, it was reported that this person was on top of a fence when in fact they were on top of a roof. It shows how unreliable even eye witness information is and why the media needs to exercise caution. They very quickly reported he was shot when it was clear what happened.
Kirsten, thank you for chiming in. I value your feedback and find it very applicable for these knotty ideas I posed. I appreciate your grace and professionalism here
"...my pride is not contingent on which old white guy gets to live in the big, shiny White House."
Your "pride" in being an American is never performing your civic DUTY to vote in a Presidential election? Never heard of absentee ballots, I suppose. We aren't REQUIRED to do much in this country; there is no mandatory conscription (yet), no forced community service contracts, no REQUIREMENT to participate in ANYTHING. All we are asked to do as good citizens is to VOTE responsibly to choose those to represent us. There have been a number of BAD choices made throughout our history, but none so grievous as those who shirk the responsibility yet reap the rewards of free speech. Guess that makes you one of the awesome cool people.
Want to be apolitical? Don't be a woman, or a person of color, or anything other than straight white christian male. Politics doesn't care if you want to be involved or not; politics makes the laws you have to live by, so if you don't give a rat's butt about what you can or can't do in the privacy of your own life, don't vote in this Presidential election. Sit by and watch all your rights be eroded when the party using 1984 and The Handmaid's Tale as textbooks wins the big shiny white house. Because once they do, you can watch your ability to vote go down the toilet. Read Project 2025; they've laid it all out as to their intentions of what will happen from Day One. Maybe read what V.P. Candidate J.D. Vance is advocating: that women "suck it up" and remain in abusive marriages "for the sake of the kids." Guess he never heard of generational trauma or what kids see is what they think is "normal". No access to abortion for ANY reason; it's okay if women die from untreated miscarriages, or ruptured placentas, or desperation. Contraception will be banned as well, so how are you going to avoid getting pregnant when you aren't ready or you don't want to have children at all? He also said that if you're raped, it's "just an inconvenience."
Acknowledge reality, indeed. It isn't the extremists who will decide your life after this. It's all the apolitical, apathetic cool folks who just don't care enough to bother to vote.
It's incredible how relevant 1984 and George Orwell's thoughts are to today's world. The quote about controlling the past and future makes me think of the role of AI, social media and technology - everything that has been documented in the past will be used to build the future by mirroring our reactions and responses today.
Love this piece, thank you for a different angle and perspective on events happening in our society that I cannot begin to understand what to do with. This makes me me want to re-read 1984!
Very cool piece. The internet has finally reached the point for me where I feel I can no longer trust any given claim, so the best I can do is to align myself by values. Who is calling for peace and unity? Who is attempting to incite hatred and violence? Who actually has a vision for the future that I’d personally like to see?
Reclaiming freedom of thought feels so incredibly important for our time. Thanks for writing this.
I can't get passed referring to CNN or any main stream media as "trusted news source". We've watched the the epic failure of main stream media when it comes to covering the g side. in Palestine. If the veil wasn't already lifted, it certainly is now. Isn’t there always an agenda beyond absolute truth.....
The internet doesn't give time to compose and be clear headed because many will just press send! If the person is a biden person or democrat they saw it that way. If the person is a trumpster or republican they saw it that way. We are in a time of objectivity because morals and ethics do not stand for much. Much is viewed from a political prism which is not a healthy way to view the greater world. All is not politics but since we are in the new and evolving space we just keep getting further and further away from what is objectivity
Jen, I’ve gotten value out of your work before. This column caused me to seriously question your judgement. There are plenty of valid criticisms of legacy media, but this piece is way off base. To suggest that journalists displaying professional caution in reporting the biggest news story of our lives is a conspiracy to cover it up? Look at what happened when more info came out- this is the only thing they’re talking about. Suggesting that people are being subliminally programmed by vast hidden forces rather than acknowledging their agency? And these conspiracy allegations at a time when the country is so shook that “five big ideas” for how to deal with this major event are so sorely needed? I recognize this likely is how you’re processing such a crazy situation, but it feels way way off base to me.
1984: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Being Your Own Totalitarian.
Lots of guts to post this one, Jen, as you strive for objectivity. Passions are white hot as Literally Hitler takes on the Warmed Over Eggplant. The thoughtful middle can be measured in microns. My hope is that toddler-like, all the passion will boil off soon enough and partisans will fall asleep and take a healing nap. Sooner will be better than later.
I do not know how you manage concise and depth of coverage in the one email. Please repost those subscription links regularly (once a month?) - I’ll try to jump in next month. Having studied 1984 back in (yeah, you guessed it) 1984 this one provided plenty of food for thought. I get little news here, so am unsure if those initial reports were given this side of the world (New Zealand). By the time it reached me, it was just “Trump has been shot” and the question of what injury had been caused was seemingly irrelevant. I rarely trust the media for all the reasons you gave, and likely a few more.
"...broadly, the idea that influential individuals may demonise target groups or individuals, inspiring unknown actors to take up terroristic violence against them…I understand the phenomenon to be specifically authoritarian in nature, which not only demonises but dehumanises its targets."
Our MSM has in many cases both sides to make Trump and Biden appear "equal" when the facts absolutely do not support that, thus my being happy the NYT finally reported facts in their Trump is unfit to lead piece. Trump's entire network of backers and Project 2025 creators have a plan to create a dystopian society.
I do not hate Trump. I don't know him. But I have seen and heard his words and actions play out. I have seen the evidence against him play out in Impeachment hearings, in the January 6th hearings, and in trial transcripts. No one deserves to have violence be perpetrated upon them. Our Democracy must be allowed to decide Trump's future as president or prisoner.
I do not know Biden. But I have seen and heard his words and actions. I have seen the evidence of his character and his accomplishments. I have seen him own up to his mistakes. Again, our Democracy will decide Biden's future as president or former president.
Journalists use words like allegedly and apparent because they are not there to make an official statement. They are supposed to allow for official sources to do so. Your entire argument is based solely on the word “apparent” as if that means something besides “here’s what we think happened.” Quoting dystopian literature repeatedly is not objective. I’m not buying that you’re objective in the slightest.
I appreciate the reminder to watch for signs that reality is being denied or tampered with, to trust first-hand sources and honor/record events in real time. I also appreciate when major media outlets to hold off on reporting definitively until they have confirmed information. And I REALLY appreciate it when they don't make their initial impressions disappear, but instead post new headlines as our knowledge develops.
Pops startle the crowd before they are confirmed to be gunshots, the president falls before we realize he was tackled in a protective secret service huddle, he is seen to be injured before he was known to have been shot.
I also still believe that, until we truly know the shooter's motives, this looks like an assassination attempt. Having watched many of the same videos and read much the same news and followed the same breathless cycle, it is apparent to me that this was an assassination attempt. I think appearances are correct here, but I don't blame news agencies for hanging a lantern on the fact that there is still so much we don't know.
As a person who worked in the legacy media and who had many criticisms of them I think what they did was responsible. They were doing it real time and so they were describing exactly what was known. They quickly updated it when more information was available. There is always a lot of competing information and breaking news and if you go back and look at it, a lot of what was being reported actually wasn’t accurate. For example, it was reported that this person was on top of a fence when in fact they were on top of a roof. It shows how unreliable even eye witness information is and why the media needs to exercise caution. They very quickly reported he was shot when it was clear what happened.
Kirsten, thank you for chiming in. I value your feedback and find it very applicable for these knotty ideas I posed. I appreciate your grace and professionalism here
Legacy Media = propaganda.
"...my pride is not contingent on which old white guy gets to live in the big, shiny White House."
Your "pride" in being an American is never performing your civic DUTY to vote in a Presidential election? Never heard of absentee ballots, I suppose. We aren't REQUIRED to do much in this country; there is no mandatory conscription (yet), no forced community service contracts, no REQUIREMENT to participate in ANYTHING. All we are asked to do as good citizens is to VOTE responsibly to choose those to represent us. There have been a number of BAD choices made throughout our history, but none so grievous as those who shirk the responsibility yet reap the rewards of free speech. Guess that makes you one of the awesome cool people.
Want to be apolitical? Don't be a woman, or a person of color, or anything other than straight white christian male. Politics doesn't care if you want to be involved or not; politics makes the laws you have to live by, so if you don't give a rat's butt about what you can or can't do in the privacy of your own life, don't vote in this Presidential election. Sit by and watch all your rights be eroded when the party using 1984 and The Handmaid's Tale as textbooks wins the big shiny white house. Because once they do, you can watch your ability to vote go down the toilet. Read Project 2025; they've laid it all out as to their intentions of what will happen from Day One. Maybe read what V.P. Candidate J.D. Vance is advocating: that women "suck it up" and remain in abusive marriages "for the sake of the kids." Guess he never heard of generational trauma or what kids see is what they think is "normal". No access to abortion for ANY reason; it's okay if women die from untreated miscarriages, or ruptured placentas, or desperation. Contraception will be banned as well, so how are you going to avoid getting pregnant when you aren't ready or you don't want to have children at all? He also said that if you're raped, it's "just an inconvenience."
Acknowledge reality, indeed. It isn't the extremists who will decide your life after this. It's all the apolitical, apathetic cool folks who just don't care enough to bother to vote.
Most dystopian novels like 1984 are a cautionary tale to prevent society from devolving into previous 'isms.
As Ferris Bueller said, 'isms aren't good in my opinion'.
Should you want to see how ordinary folks end up on the extreme left or right, I recommend the following books:
1. The Wave by Todd Strasser
2. Hitler's Willing Executitoners by Daniel Goldhagen
Both should be required reading. They both examine the psychology behind extremes.
Ill definitely check these out--thank you!
‘On Tyranny’ by Timothy Snyder 📕
Ill check it out! thanks
And Hitler's First Hundred Days: When Germans Embraced the Third Reich Hardcover –by Peter Fritzsche. Totally stunning.
🙏 I'm making a list--I appreciate it!
Hoffer's "The True Believer," as well.
🙏 Thank you!
It's incredible how relevant 1984 and George Orwell's thoughts are to today's world. The quote about controlling the past and future makes me think of the role of AI, social media and technology - everything that has been documented in the past will be used to build the future by mirroring our reactions and responses today.
Love this piece, thank you for a different angle and perspective on events happening in our society that I cannot begin to understand what to do with. This makes me me want to re-read 1984!
And me!
Thank you Kiera & Georgia! Definitely worth the re-read
Very cool piece. The internet has finally reached the point for me where I feel I can no longer trust any given claim, so the best I can do is to align myself by values. Who is calling for peace and unity? Who is attempting to incite hatred and violence? Who actually has a vision for the future that I’d personally like to see?
Reclaiming freedom of thought feels so incredibly important for our time. Thanks for writing this.
Amen to this. Thank you, Adam!
I can't get passed referring to CNN or any main stream media as "trusted news source". We've watched the the epic failure of main stream media when it comes to covering the g side. in Palestine. If the veil wasn't already lifted, it certainly is now. Isn’t there always an agenda beyond absolute truth.....
it used to be "trust but verify," now it's just "verify"
The internet doesn't give time to compose and be clear headed because many will just press send! If the person is a biden person or democrat they saw it that way. If the person is a trumpster or republican they saw it that way. We are in a time of objectivity because morals and ethics do not stand for much. Much is viewed from a political prism which is not a healthy way to view the greater world. All is not politics but since we are in the new and evolving space we just keep getting further and further away from what is objectivity
Jen, I’ve gotten value out of your work before. This column caused me to seriously question your judgement. There are plenty of valid criticisms of legacy media, but this piece is way off base. To suggest that journalists displaying professional caution in reporting the biggest news story of our lives is a conspiracy to cover it up? Look at what happened when more info came out- this is the only thing they’re talking about. Suggesting that people are being subliminally programmed by vast hidden forces rather than acknowledging their agency? And these conspiracy allegations at a time when the country is so shook that “five big ideas” for how to deal with this major event are so sorely needed? I recognize this likely is how you’re processing such a crazy situation, but it feels way way off base to me.
Ryan--I appreciate your thoughtful feedback on this. Thanks so much
1984: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Being Your Own Totalitarian.
Lots of guts to post this one, Jen, as you strive for objectivity. Passions are white hot as Literally Hitler takes on the Warmed Over Eggplant. The thoughtful middle can be measured in microns. My hope is that toddler-like, all the passion will boil off soon enough and partisans will fall asleep and take a healing nap. Sooner will be better than later.
Thank you for your support!
what an incredibly well-written piece. this book was seminal in my class of 1982 life. here's my take on it
https://open.substack.com/pub/riclexel/p/beyond-1984?r=bcx26&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Thank you ric--I'll check this out!
I do not know how you manage concise and depth of coverage in the one email. Please repost those subscription links regularly (once a month?) - I’ll try to jump in next month. Having studied 1984 back in (yeah, you guessed it) 1984 this one provided plenty of food for thought. I get little news here, so am unsure if those initial reports were given this side of the world (New Zealand). By the time it reached me, it was just “Trump has been shot” and the question of what injury had been caused was seemingly irrelevant. I rarely trust the media for all the reasons you gave, and likely a few more.
Thank you for your support! 🙏💙
Stochastic Terrorism
James Angove
"...broadly, the idea that influential individuals may demonise target groups or individuals, inspiring unknown actors to take up terroristic violence against them…I understand the phenomenon to be specifically authoritarian in nature, which not only demonises but dehumanises its targets."
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17539153.2024.2305742
this is fascinating
Our MSM has in many cases both sides to make Trump and Biden appear "equal" when the facts absolutely do not support that, thus my being happy the NYT finally reported facts in their Trump is unfit to lead piece. Trump's entire network of backers and Project 2025 creators have a plan to create a dystopian society.
I do not hate Trump. I don't know him. But I have seen and heard his words and actions play out. I have seen the evidence against him play out in Impeachment hearings, in the January 6th hearings, and in trial transcripts. No one deserves to have violence be perpetrated upon them. Our Democracy must be allowed to decide Trump's future as president or prisoner.
I do not know Biden. But I have seen and heard his words and actions. I have seen the evidence of his character and his accomplishments. I have seen him own up to his mistakes. Again, our Democracy will decide Biden's future as president or former president.