What if NewsWeak had opted to instead present the image a young American boy holding any number of weapons? Imagine that above this tow-headed, lily white lad were these words: "The Next Imperialists." Or perhaps even: "The Next War Criminals."

To find Ammar-like quotes, NewsWeak need look no further than a January 2004 New York Times fluff piece about American snipers ("In Iraq's Murky Battle, Snipers Offer U.S. a Precision Weapon"). "Most snipers are familiar with firearms even before joining the armed forces," the newspaper of record explains, going on to discuss two snipers who "grew up on farms, and both owned their first rifles before they were 10. They fondly remember hunting deer as youngsters." Fondly?

Factoids are important so here's one from the National Center for Health Statistics: "Every two years, more Americans die from gunshots than there were American soldiers killed during the entire Vietnam War." Toss in a few mentions of violent movies and sadistic video games, paint ball, war toys, street gangs, and the endless parade of U.S. military interventions, and you'd almost have yourself a NewsWeak cover story. All that would be missing was a pull quote from someone‹anyone‹with a PhD blabbing on about how the brutal American culture would lead its children to "believe in the principles of force and violence."

Journalism sure is easy, huh?

Mickey Z. can be found on the Web at http://www.mickeyz.net.

Name

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (Registered users only)

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Add Comment