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The age of Misinformation
Got to Hilton Head safely, no delays, no problems. A bit miraculous really.
Even took an earlier flight and had to check my carry on. But didn't lose it. I may post on all that at another point. On parents computer at the moment.
I am posting mainly to share a post made by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ishtar - who has posted information about the Greece riots and shooting - which sheds a decisively different light on what happened. She links to a blog by another resident of Athen's, who has inside information.
http://ishtar79.livejournal.com/131703.html?view=1662583&style=mine#t1662583
I don't know if you've been following the story at all. But I've following it in the MEtro, AM and Time, with avid curousity and horror. Yet, the facts I've gotten are slanted to the authorities, lending little insight to why this is happening, stating merely that the kids are "gangs" and "insane". The above post sheds a different light on that - stating it is actually the opposite, the riot police are causing the chaos. This demonstrates, once again, that in an age in which information is instantly accessible, it is not always and most often not accurate. The inaccuracy can at times lead to dangerous assumptions.
In that same vein, I watched an interview with Rick Warren, where I saw the news commentators twist on screen and misstate what Warren stated.
I turned to my mother and father, and we all three said the same thing at the same time: But he never said that. (He said: "When my gay friends ask me how I feel about them sleeping with multiple partners, I tell my gay friends that I don't believe it is okay to have a multitude of partners any more than I think it okay for me, to sleep with every attractive woman I meet."
The media/anchor people: "Warren upset the gay community because he said if you are gay you are more likely to sleep with a multitude of people and that is your inclination."
Uh, no. That's not what he said. That's what you said. You twisted his words and I watched you do it and what's really frightening is you are completely unaware of it. Don't get me wrong - I'm no fan of Warren, Evangelists make my teeth hurt.
[*ETA: I paraphrased what they said above from memory, if you want the exact statements, I'm sure you can find them somewhere. Wish I had the time and patience to look myself.]
Being against promiscuity, is not the same as being anti-gay or homophobic. )
Sometimes when I see the news, read the internet, I feel like I'm playing that old game "gossip" - where you whisper a secret to your neighbor, they whisper it to someone else and after about twenty people, the last person shouts out something that is the absolute opposite of what the first person said.
Even took an earlier flight and had to check my carry on. But didn't lose it. I may post on all that at another point. On parents computer at the moment.
I am posting mainly to share a post made by
ishtar - who has posted information about the Greece riots and shooting - which sheds a decisively different light on what happened. She links to a blog by another resident of Athen's, who has inside information.http://ishtar79.livejournal.com/131703.html?view=1662583&style=mine#t1662583
I don't know if you've been following the story at all. But I've following it in the MEtro, AM and Time, with avid curousity and horror. Yet, the facts I've gotten are slanted to the authorities, lending little insight to why this is happening, stating merely that the kids are "gangs" and "insane". The above post sheds a different light on that - stating it is actually the opposite, the riot police are causing the chaos. This demonstrates, once again, that in an age in which information is instantly accessible, it is not always and most often not accurate. The inaccuracy can at times lead to dangerous assumptions.
In that same vein, I watched an interview with Rick Warren, where I saw the news commentators twist on screen and misstate what Warren stated.
I turned to my mother and father, and we all three said the same thing at the same time: But he never said that. (He said: "When my gay friends ask me how I feel about them sleeping with multiple partners, I tell my gay friends that I don't believe it is okay to have a multitude of partners any more than I think it okay for me, to sleep with every attractive woman I meet."
The media/anchor people: "Warren upset the gay community because he said if you are gay you are more likely to sleep with a multitude of people and that is your inclination."
Uh, no. That's not what he said. That's what you said. You twisted his words and I watched you do it and what's really frightening is you are completely unaware of it. Don't get me wrong - I'm no fan of Warren, Evangelists make my teeth hurt.
[*ETA: I paraphrased what they said above from memory, if you want the exact statements, I'm sure you can find them somewhere. Wish I had the time and patience to look myself.]
Being against promiscuity, is not the same as being anti-gay or homophobic. )
Sometimes when I see the news, read the internet, I feel like I'm playing that old game "gossip" - where you whisper a secret to your neighbor, they whisper it to someone else and after about twenty people, the last person shouts out something that is the absolute opposite of what the first person said.
no subject
If anything, this whole business has highlighted the importance of news blogs. Yes, there's no guarantee that the information is accurate, but in this age of corporate-owned media, the same can be said of 'official' news sources.
Btw, one of the best sources in English I found online is actually an English teacher living and teaching in Greece. I check his blog daily. Here's a link, in case you're curious:
http://teacherdudebbq.blogspot.com/
I've been hearing a lot about this Warren guy-he was part of some anti-gay marriage initiative, wasn't he? It's still ridiculous to twist his words, I would think there would be enough to say on an Evangelist that's actually factual.
But that's the media for you, always ready to take it to the next sensationalist level, even if they have to bend (or downnright break, smash, and sweep under the carpet) the truth a little.
no subject
Regarding "Rick Warren" - it wasn't until this morning that my parents and I figured out what the hubbub was about. On "This Morning With George Stephanopolis" - they finally reported some facts, stating Warren had been amongst the ministers who were "proponents" of Proposition 8 in California, and had referred to gay marriage as similar to incest. (I'm not sure about the accuracy of the second bit, but the first appears to be accurate.)
But at the same time - they stated on the program that we can't summarily dismiss his importance to many Americans and the culture for coming up with "The Purpose Driven Life". (Which is where I heard of him before and why he was chosen by Obama.)
Just finished watching "Reliable Sources" on CNN. They were interviewing Whoopie Goldberg, who made an interesting comment. She said : "I have gotten used to the fact that people only half hear things." It's true I think - there's so much information thrown at us on a daily basis, that I think we grow impatient, and jump to conclusions before we've heard all of it. Takes a great deal of patience to listen to someone else, and that is unfortunately something our society is lacking.