tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803135128442396638.post7707548655309018248..comments2023-10-31T06:20:45.622-05:00Comments on Raving Black Lunatic: Why Them?Big Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510881583909431416noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803135128442396638.post-13169025761668010262009-06-25T16:54:33.046-05:002009-06-25T16:54:33.046-05:00I think you're reading too much conspiracy int...I think you're reading too much conspiracy into the coverage of Iran's political turmoil. Like our news media have any real agenda beyond grabbing eyeballs or selling papers.... Some of you may be too young to remember the coverage of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and their bloody suppression, but it was, if anything, more ubiquitous and breathless than that for Iran. 10 years on, no one cares about repression in China because the Chinese themselves don't.<br /><br />Another thing that gins up the excitement/newsworthiness of the protests in Iran is that it truly marks a watershed in the triumph of technology over authoritarianism. The traditional media have been quite effectively muzzled by the Iranian government, but cell phone cameras, texting and Twitter have proved harder to control.older_not_wisernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803135128442396638.post-47146045121782770632009-06-24T11:05:26.803-05:002009-06-24T11:05:26.803-05:00I'll agree that it is self-interest, but the g...I'll agree that it is self-interest, but the galling part is that we always couch our intervention in certain situtations as being so noble and high-minded. We like to say we are spreading democracy, and freeing people from their horrible leaders. The President, and the Congress know that is true but the scary thing is that some of our fellow countrymen and women buy these lies hook line and sinker. So of course, America and certain other Western powers always come off smelling like a rose when we do our share of ish in the world. It is the hypocracy that bothers me and the meta-narratives it allows us to tell ourselves about our nation and how "good" we are always no matter the situation.Lisa Jnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803135128442396638.post-18640368628865424682009-06-24T10:24:43.003-05:002009-06-24T10:24:43.003-05:00"The question we need to ask is why are certa..."The question we need to ask is why are certain injustices important and other ones no big deal? Why do we care that some leaders are corrupt, insensitive dictators, while we don't really care about others? What are the ulterior motives of this country and what are the ulterior motives of the media covering events?"<br /><br />The answer to your questions is Self Interest, plain and simple. All nations engage with the rest of the world (to varying degrees) based from the perspective of Self Interest (national interests). It has been that way since the dawn of civilizations and the often changing landscape of International Relations, will not change that. This is why no one messes with China, Darfur goes unnoticed, Saudi Arabia gets a free pass with us, etc. The only reason that we are so focused on Iran and North Korea is the nuclear problem. We fear that the former wants to make nukes and we know the latter has nukes. Nukes have an affect on our Self Interest, thus we care. So protests in Iran in regards to the presidential elections get major coverage, while the fraudulent elections in say….Zimbabwe register hardly a blip on our radar. Self Interest!Mr. Nofacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07164229381294354588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803135128442396638.post-18417581709048257602009-06-24T08:49:36.226-05:002009-06-24T08:49:36.226-05:00Thank you for saying what I have been thinking for...Thank you for saying what I have been thinking for the last week. Lets be real bad stuff happens in China, but they own us fair and square so we say squat. <br /><br />I only wish the average American's memory was longer than a 24 hour news cycle, but most folks minds don't go back to our history with Iran.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803135128442396638.post-43023149371258864142009-06-23T22:48:03.564-05:002009-06-23T22:48:03.564-05:00Well Big Man we can't say chit to China. They ...Well Big Man we can't say chit to China. They are our line of credit, and they finance our very existence, so we need to control our rhetoric about their human rights violation. Do they even have elections in China? No! Almost as important as them fronting us some dough, they have a billion people, to us, that an untapped market for our goods. <br /><br />Also notice we don't say crap about the Israelis and their atrocities against the People of Palestine. And we never bother them about nuclear inspections, and they have the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons in the region.<br /><br />Iran is different. We don't owe them any money, we're not dependent on their oil. And we need to make them the bad guys, so that down the road we can justify the Israelis air force flying in and taking out an Iranian nuclear facility.Imhotephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05135775572019402064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803135128442396638.post-50617669318998136062009-06-23T13:24:25.834-05:002009-06-23T13:24:25.834-05:00We care insofar as it impacts our pocketbooks. Cha...We care insofar as it impacts our pocketbooks. Challenging China would impact our pocketbooks negatively in a huge way. But with oil concerns riding higher than ever, the U.S. wants to keep its foot in the Middle East and not have anyone there who will cause us troubles. Chinese people being held back is OK, because it's a kind of social slavery that benefits us. The media, sadly, buys into the same communal mindset that most of us do, which is "don't mess with our financial security." So, they follow many times the path our government wants them to, not because of coercion but because of simple human greed and laziness.<br /><br />And yes, I'm guilty of that laziness too. Lord knows I've bought plenty of items made in China. Not that ceasing to buy them would likely improve the lot of the Chinese people either, I suspect.<br /><br />Of course, folks care even less about Africa. Stability or instability there matters very little, because the U.S. doesn't want what anybody has there, and doesn't have anything to try to hold onto there...Deacon Bluehttp://holyhell.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803135128442396638.post-2371412928973198252009-06-23T11:15:09.855-05:002009-06-23T11:15:09.855-05:00Lisa
Exactly.Lisa<br /><br />Exactly.Big Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02510881583909431416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6803135128442396638.post-56121916761845144972009-06-23T10:53:24.741-05:002009-06-23T10:53:24.741-05:00You hit the nail on the head. This whole thing ha...You hit the nail on the head. This whole thing has been bugging me and I wasn't sure why and you articulated it perfectly. Plus the fact that I'd heard this other dude has been PM before and hadn't done much in the way of reform so that made me a wee skeptical. It is interesting as you say, how certain dictatorships and human rights abuses we jump all over and the ones we ignore, or help to cause covertly. Like how Saddam was our buddy back in the day, and how when the Iranians picked someone who they wanted democratically we overthrew them and put the Shah in place, or even how in Chile we helped Pinochet overthrow Allende and put a brutal regime in place. We are very hypocritical as a nation, or at least our governement is, when it comes to true democracy in other countries.Lisa Jnoreply@blogger.com