Maybe if journalists had covered all the marginalized groups with violence directed at them as if it weren't a debate with two sides they wouldn't suddenly think that they're the people the gov't "came for first" because god damn that meme is insulting.
Y'all are *not* the people they came for first, and you'd know that if you treated the previous victims as worthy of overwhelming and unambiguous coverage.
oh yeah - I am very aware I'm coming from a white persons POV and "they aren't as bad as others" is still really fucking shitty.
But there are also a bunch of countries who say one thing while actively doing the opposite.
@jonoabroad True, I guess I don't bother to keep track of the hypocrisy stuff given that every country claims to both be welcoming to immigrants and also requires an application and usually a visa. Getting a visa is not the same as "welcoming" it's the same as "allowing if it advantages us".
I'm in the US though, so my comment was criticism of the US (assuming NZ, didn't y'all allow visa free indefinite stays for decades?).
@bipolaron They did *the exact thing* that that poem warned them against doing.
And they are surprised.
"Sometimes I suspect that we build our traps ourselves, then we back into them, pretending amazement the while."
-Dream, _Sandman: The Wake_
I remember this as far back as every Gulf War I protest. Hundreds of people against our imperial invasions and they'd always find the two or three pro-war jerks and fawn all over THEM. [fart noise] Don't even get me started on how they cover 3rd Party politics in my country. >: When they can be bothered to.
I've seen plenty of UK journos safely embedded behind Police lines at protests or even situations like an illegal rave being busted, and some of the investigative journos have whole vanloads of "bouncer" types quietly shadowing them which activists can't afford (or their security simply gets nicked)
I've been watching a lot of videos from Lützerath and exactly the same was happening in Germany, although I did also read from German anarchists that cops were preventing some journalists from accessing the areas (I suspect the cops are applying the rules selectively and putting more pressure on individual freelance journos who might be sympathetic to the protests, whilst letting mainstream ones through)
@vfrmedia @xenophora thanks, I've been watching that protest with some hope.
But to your point, I have a suspicion.
If people in positions of privilege want to subvert the press, isolating the press emotionally makes them sympathize with everyone else less.
And then when journalists get treated like the people they cover, it's a surprise to them.
@vfrmedia @xenophora If they responded to one refugee getting imprisoned and sent back to serious risk of violence "due to COVID" the same way they report on one reporter not getting to be on Twitter we wouldn't be here.
Not that I think fearing violence should be the bar, it should just always be easy to cross borders in a free society.
recently there was an incident where some journos were arrested and searched when covering an anti fossil fuel protest in the UK (the cops eventually backed down and apologised) but only because mainstream journos and those from the PSBs (public service broadcasters) kicked up a fuss and its still an intimidation to individual freelancers who don't have the backing/clout of a PSB or big news group..
Another thing I think of when rereading the original post: all the free publicity mainstream journalists gave to our last President when he was on the campaign trail. After decades of help making him a public figure in the first place. :/
Journalists don't usually get to choose their beat. Much less their stories, They do often pitch stories, but ultimately, their editor and the publisher have the final say. In practice, it means line reporters have little say over what news is published.
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