Sirotablog
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. David writes about political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties.
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May 30, 2007 4:32 AM
"The Antiwar Crowd"
As a writer, I pay close attention to the use of language, especially from the media. Different words and phrases have different deliberate connotations - especially when it comes to issues like war.
This morning on CNN, the network had a title graphic at the bottom of the screen asking "What's next for the antiwar crowd?" CNN is now referring dismissively to the "antiwar crowd" regularly - I saw its morning anchor use this term over the weekend. The use of this term - which deliberately insinuates that those who oppose the war are just a part of a small, cultish and unruly "crowd" that should be ignored - is apparently one of the new tactics from the traditional media to try to marginalize the vast majority of Americans who oppose the war (another tactic is to refer to people who oppose the war as "the left"). What's amazing about CNN doing this, however, is that it flies in the face of its own polling. In CNN's most recent poll, 65 percent of Americans say they oppose the Iraq War.
So, to sum up: The same media outlets that helped drive the country into war are now subtly manipulating language to downplay the broad public opposition to the war that their own polls show is widespread and intensifying. I guess that's to be expected - but it's still pretty disgusting.
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About David Sirota
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Hostile Takeover. He lives in Denver, Colorado. His daily blog can be found at CREDO Action. He contributes regularly to the Denver Post's Web site, is a senior editor at In These Times magazine and is working on his second book. He has been profiled in Newsweek and the Rocky Mountain News and is widely known for his reporting on political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties. Sirota serves as co-chair of the Progressive States Network, a 501(c)3 organization that supports state legislators and that is a partner of CREDO.
You can subscribe to Sirota's e-mail newsletter by going to davidsirota.com and signing up in the lefthand corner. To find out more about Sirota, download his official biography or see his recent media appearances. You can e-mail him at sirota@credoaction.com.
The views expressed on this blog are his own, and do not necessarily represent the views of Working Assets (publisher of CREDO Action) or the institutions Sirota works for.
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Discussion
While Cindy was a fine women, elevating her to a leader of the anti-war movement seems a little much too.
There was certainly an anti-war movement before and during Cindy, and will be one afterwards. Isn't that always the problem with the individual as embodiment of a movement. Since Cindy's protest today is a small group of volunteers that becomes the totality of the anti-war movement.
The fringe, small group, or crowd is the we need to fight the terrorists in Iraq crowd. I know none personally, or none that would dare admit it, but do year their hate on blogs now and then.
Truth be told congress has voted, this is not Bush's war anymore. The Dems bought it line and sinker, and now they own this war.
I really wish people would stop playing games with the polls.
Sure, 65% of Americans may oppose the war.........but they are NOT in favor of an immediate pullout. They are in favor of a pullout down the road, perhaps as early as 2008, many even later depending on circumstances.
Even more importantly, being against the war does not automatically make you in favor of LOSING IT.
Please stop trying to give the impression that these polls indicate Americans want us out of Iraq by tomorrow morning, if not earlier, as the "antiwar crowd" demands!
phoreten, please don't speak for the "antiwar crowd." I'm part of that, and I want an end to the war as soon as possible. That doesn't mean tomorrow or earlier--it means beginning a rational pull-out as soon as possible and to start preparing for it IMMEDIATELY. Also, please don't talk about playing with the polls. You stated that 65% of Americans may oppose the war, but "they" are NOT in favor of an immediate pullout. Isn't your so-called "anti-war crowd" part of that 65 percent? Who is playing with the numbers now? So what you really needed to say was something more rational like "not all of the 65 percent are in favor of an immediate pullout" however "immediate pullout" is defined.
It's stupid to talk about how that 65% antiwar polling breaks down, especially without mentioning that there is no antiwar leadership being shown by any major entity. With some all-out, prominant uncompromised antiwar leadership, all 65% could easily be for IMMEDIATE pullout in either form talked about here. It's also really stupid to suppose there are very many among that group who care whether we are "LOSING IT" or not. Now that's the definition of a "crowd": the we are against the war in Iraq but let's hedge against the chance we end up "LOSING IT" crowd to which phoreten seems to belong.
The anti-Iraq war crowd to be more precise, are those who see this War for what it has become a huge waste of fortune and American lives..!
We are ruining our great army and Marines and the longer we prolong this Iraq debacle the worse our Army will suffer..
I have family on their forth deployment between Afghanistan and Iraq both, and that's not counting the First Gulf War in which he also served..!
Now the Iraq War represents fraud, waste malfeasance, corruption, profiteering, incompetence, and the loathsome ill service to our troops serving there from feeding them putrid water to the prolonged serious lack of armor needed for survival for their Humvees and other vehicles lack of kevlar vests and now the army lying about Dragon skin and how effective it really is as I have been aware of it long before the NBC exposure..
This Iraq war is occupation and nothing less than a return to Imperialism..which hell fine ok if that ever worked but it does not so we will suffer a serious real defeat in Iraq not just be forced out but a huge debilitating defeat that will forever change the balance of power world wide which is already turning against us..!
So those who funded this once again actually contributed to our downfall and ruin and loss of many many more troops and tons many tons of equipment..wait and see..!
We have forsaken our Troops for the sake of these Bushie Sycophants..and thanks to these gutless spineless self serving Demo-rats who have left America realizing that We The People have no voice no Representatives and no government we are a corporate Oligarchy masquerading as a country..!
This goes for the Media as well as the Oil, Industry and those treasonous weapons and technology companies who betray our nation almost every day..!
Iraq is a Cash Cow and Altar upon which we America lay our own for the sake of these sycophant incompetent corrupt hypocrites and treasonous corporations..!
Also remember the Media is also spiking the story on Bush's Presidential Directives that make him Dictator signed May 9th 2007 NSPD-51 and HSPD-20..and all the ramifications of this latest betrayal and treason against our system and it's Constitution..!
The thing with language like the "anti-war crowd" is that it's easy to turn around. It is far worse to be part of the "pro-war crowd".
They may attempt to deflect that by saying they are part of the "anti-terrorism crowd". However, since Iraq never threatened us, never had WMDs, and never had terrorists before the invasion, Iraq never was a stop on the war on terror.
So, it IS less appropriate to call the supporters of the war in Iraq "anti-terrorism" versus calling them "pro-war".
Hell the so-called news media won't even talk about the secret free trade deal that Hoyer and Pelosi cooked up, they refuse to have a honest and open discussion on the corporate written immigration bill, they refuse to examine the secret vote on the Iraq war funding bill.
So of course they'll marginalize Americans who are against the Iraq war. After all the MSM works for the same people that own our congress and president, that being WallStreet and the monied elite
Why has everyone forgotton about the 1st illegal war that started it all in Afghanistan? If Iraq ia about controlling the oil, then Afghanistan is about controlling the world supply of heroin.
Why has everyone forgotton about the 1st illegal war that started it all in Afghanistan? If Iraq ia about controlling the oil, then Afghanistan is about controlling the world supply of heroin.
Why has everyone forgotton the 1st illegal war in Afghanistan? If Iraq was about the oil, then Afghanistan is about the heroin trade. WTF?
The media exists to sell itself. Thats a fact.
I can't tell you how many times I've sat on the couch and flipped to CNN and while they chatted with a celebrity the latest soldier death polls scrolled in a small black box at the very bottom of the screen. I'm not advocating a news "conspiracy" after all the data we get is garnered from news sites of some sorts but it is indeed "troubling" when the latest fashion scandal is more important then the lives of U.S soldiers.
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