Jon Stewart Nails It on Ferguson, Race and Media

I would disagree that Stewart "nailed it."

The thing that has bothered me about this shooting right from the start was the way the media handled it. I read the story on ATS first, of course. Then I saw CNN start to report on it. Right from the get-go, CNN was making it all about race. They were making comparisons to the Travon Martin case. And that was long before the identity of the officer was "officially" confirmed. How could they be playing up the race angle before they could officially confirm the identity of the shooter? Of course, that little obstacle didn't even slow them down.

This is not just a black problem. Just this year alone, police have murdered black, white, hispanic, asian, young, old, men, women, children, veterans, homeless, and even dogs. This could have been an event that finally galvanized the American population as a whole. Instead, the media spun the situation to divide us even further:

To African Americans - this was just the actions of one possibly racist guy. Don't blame all cops. Look, we'll even appoint a black police captain to be in charge. That will make things better, right? Just be calm, patient, and things will get better.

Don't worry White Americans, we got some spin for you too - Yeah, the guy might have stolen something from a store. He might have fought with the officer and tried to take his gun. He might have turned around and lunged at the officer after having been shot. We need to get all the facts. Don't blame the cops, this guy was probably just a thug.

The MSM is playing us all like cheap fiddles. They are successfully getting us to turn on each other over something as stupid as skin color, rather than face the real problem. Cops can get away with cold blooded murder in broad daylight with multiple witnesses, and it doesn't matter what color you are.

It should be noted that john is one of them actors. He has a staff that is very large and they come up with what he says. The show is very scripted and they had 2 weeks to ponder how they would come back and frame the whole situation.

For what it is worth from a spiritual perspective big mike or debo as i like to think of him was in the wrong and he knew that he would not want to rot in jail for what he had done so he turned around and when he did he knew what was gonna happen when he made his charge but he did not want to rot in jail. Yes the officer could have left them alone for jay walking but mike and the cop had a date with destiny that has been played out over life times and now i do agree that having the proscuter that lost his father to a shooting is very spiritually corrupt. It should be in someone elses hands i agree with that.

Mike was in the wrong in the battle but the war goes on and it is our job to change the factors that made him decide to take a chance at getting shot vrs being stuck in jail. My point being that i do agree that the whole system is against the poor but from my perspective these two were gonna do battle even if the roles were reversed in some alternate universe. It has to do with energies that repeat through time regardless of surroundings. It should be our job to figure out how to deal with those energies in a way that is good for all.

originally posted by: Kali74
a reply to: Hoosierdaddy71

But the thing is, 'they' aren't talking about things that happened before your grandparents were born. 'They' are talking about things that are happening in the present.

So slavery is never an issue? I'm willing to forget if they are.
Whites are constantly blamed for holding back blacks when most whites have absolutely no ability to hold anyone back. We all get lumped into the same crowd as true racists. I have no control over their education or employment but I still have to hear about it. I raise my kid to treat everybody as individuals and not judge anyone. That is all the control I have over the whole situation. People need to stop painting everything with a broad brush.

a reply to: theantediluvian



I beg your pardon.

Reading this thread is really disappointing. So many people buy the message hook line and sinker.

Lets set aside the fact that people are turning towards a comedy program to get their news (and all that entails psychologically).

Comedy Central is a VIACOM company. One of the largest media empires on the planet. You lot seem to forget that when thinking about the message being presented. What this means is that whatever the message is, whether or not you agree with it, has been tailor made to persuade your opinion in one direction or another to facilitate carrying out an agenda against YOU.

It's so obvious that this agenda right now, is to divide. Look a the replies in this thread. Divided. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills here. Every single reply to the OP ought to read:

"Who cares what John Stewart says, he's a comedian trying to push news in a certain light to help carry out an agenda against me, I don't care if I personally agree/disgree with what he says, the mere format and ethos of the program should make me instantly resistant to it. I don't care if he 'nails it' or doesn't, the program is designed to # me over"

The question should be: do you think Viacom is on your side or its own side, and if the latter, why on earth would you willingly decide to get your op-ed (the daily show) from them. Left or right, this is what you should be asking yourself.

Now, lets get into the ethos of the show, the format, how it presents itself and how it's taken. The daily show often presents some of the most serious of news stories. The seriousness of these stories are then tempered by comedy. A legitimate story that reveals government corruption ought to make you mad enough to do something assuages your perturbation with comedy. It's an incredibly powerful psychological tool.




Step back from the message, agreeing or disagreeing with it. and ask what was the purpose of presenting it that way instead of nodding at your TV with a smile on your face and your fist in the air doing nothing.

a reply to: VictorVonDoom

You're right that it isn't just a black problem but in my opinion it began that way and is now spilling over into a poverty problem which poverty also disproportionately affects blacks... anyway, it is a multifaceted problem and ignoring a major facet will only result in never fixing the problem.

a reply to: Kali74

I missed it last night. I used to be a big Jon Stewart fan but thought he had lost his edge. However, he nailed it. Great finishing line.

Thanks OP

originally posted by: InverseLookingGlass
I'm sure it doesn't fit your world view. Neither will this; Authoritarian racism is 10x worse and not equivalent to the oppressed hating their oppressors. Prisoners always hate the guards. It has nothing to do with race. Reverse racism is a ruse made up by Faux News. Guards don't give a damn that the prisoners hate them because the are the subordinates. get it?

Your logic is tragically flawed...

I live in Southern Indiana and am over 60 years old. Before I even entered elementary school, I knew that there was a certain area (and one intersection, in particular) of Evansville that was not safe for whites regardless of time of day.

You give Fox News too much credit.

originally posted by: Kali74
a reply to: intrptr

Most of the replies in this thread are exactly what Stewart points out.
I think they don't like what they're seeing in the mirror being held in front of them.

I'd say that many of the unfortunate opinions are attributable to the identity politics that is promulgated by today's infotainment industry.

originally posted by: CornShucker

originally posted by: InverseLookingGlass
I'm sure it doesn't fit your world view. Neither will this; Authoritarian racism is 10x worse and not equivalent to the oppressed hating their oppressors. Prisoners always hate the guards. It has nothing to do with race. Reverse racism is a ruse made up by Faux News. Guards don't give a damn that the prisoners hate them because the are the subordinates. get it?

Your logic is tragically flawed...

I live in Southern Indiana and am over 60 years old. Before I even entered elementary school, I knew that there was a certain area (and one intersection, in particular) of Evansville that was not safe for whites regardless of time of day.

You give Fox News too much credit.

And can you imagine what would happen if there was an area or intersection that wasn't safe for blacks or any other color for that matter? I don't even have to say what would happen if that were the case.

And to be honest, the most racism I've ever heard in my life was from black people. Try attending a predominantly black college and being called "Boy" or having urine thrown on your door because you're white. And guess what, not one consequence.

Racism is most certainly tolerated in this society but usually it isn't from whites. It can't be denied. Be the only white person in a room and you'll agree with me.

Tired of the double standards. Hypocritical stances. I don't look at black people in any light other than human and equals but it is definitely hard when you know you'll be the butt of every joke because you're "a white boy". Tolerance is a two-way street, everybody has to look both ways.

originally posted by: Hoosierdaddy71

originally posted by: Kali74

a reply to: Hoosierdaddy71



But the thing is, 'they' aren't talking about things that happened before your grandparents were born. 'They' are talking about things that are happening in the present.

So slavery is never an issue? I'm willing to forget if they are.

Whites are constantly blamed for holding back blacks when most whites have absolutely no ability to hold anyone back. We all get lumped into the same crowd as true racists. I have no control over their education or employment but I still have to hear about it. I raise my kid to treat everybody as individuals and not judge anyone. That is all the control I have over the whole situation. People need to stop painting everything with a broad brush.

The ability that whites have is unseen through the corporate and gov. chains. No there is no direct link to your average people but by way of going to work everyday and continuing to fullfill one small part in a system that is basicaly modeled after slavery but when you get all those small parts working together to keep their own families going it becomes submission by proxy. It is kinda like how they kept everyone compartmentalized when making the atom bomb.

originally posted by: Kali74
a reply to: VictorVonDoom

You're right that it isn't just a black problem but in my opinion it began that way and is now spilling over into a poverty problem which poverty also disproportionately affects blacks... anyway, it is a multifaceted problem and ignoring a major facet will only result in never fixing the problem.

Your right, and tell me how the president allowing thousands of low skilled workers pour across our boarder is going to help the black poverty problem? Amnesty, that's going to help poor blacks out. By the way Stewart sux.

originally posted by: grandmakdw
-- snip --
It is only the black race who can be pure in outrage,
after all they have never and never will enslave others,
right?

Source

One of those original African servants, a man named Anthony Johnson, completed his indenture, bought land and prospered. Soon, he imported several of his own servants, including another African man named John Casor. Rather than freeing him after seven years like most indentured servants, Johnson claimed that Casor was his slave. The case went to trial, and Johnson won. So, in 1655, an African man became America's first owner of a permanent slave!

(my emphasis added to the last sentence.)

a reply to: Kali74

I think what he said about the violence within the communities was the best.
About holding cops to a higher standard then street gangs.
I thought it was a good piece as well, and loved hearing hanity say he steps out of his car and reaches for his shirt to show the cop his gun during a traffic stop.

a reply to: Kali74

Most of the replies in this thread are exactly what Stewart points out.
I think they don't like what they're seeing in the mirror being held in front of them.

I'm glad you brought it, too.

What else would all the complaining be about if not race oriented? This is after all the south, a predominately white police department and the abuse by them of a predominantly black community.

I agree, keep nailing it.

originally posted by: Kali74
a reply to: intrptr

Most of the replies in this thread are exactly what Stewart points out.
I think they don't like what they're seeing in the mirror being held in front of them.

Please don't assume that you can get inside my head, there's barely room in here for me.

The Daily Show used to be about comedy, primarily.

I haven't watched the Daily Show in many years (since having kids, I just can't stay up that late!) But I remember watching it when it was first hosted by Craig Kilborn, and then was later taken over by Jon Stewart. Liberal bias was always evident, but the show was primarily about comedy. They really made fun of EVERYONE and everything. Their investigative reports were hilarious and ridiculous. It was good television and good comedy.

Last night was the first time I'd seen the show in many years. While I did crack a smile a couple of times, it was disappointing to see how it has become just a big loud platform for the agenda de jour. I actually didn't watch past the opening segment, which is posted in the OP. I just wanted to laugh before going to bed, and the show wasn't delivering what I'd hoped for and what I remembered the show used to be.

I'm just saying that I miss the good ol' days... Yeah, I must be old! But I miss they days when I could watch a comedy show on comedy central with the idea of having a good laugh rather than being preached at. Whether or not I agree with what Jon is saying is irrelevant. I just miss the original goofy, hilarious, insightful, equal-opportunity-roasting, Daily Show format.

originally posted by: Hoosierdaddy71

originally posted by: Kali74
a reply to: Hoosierdaddy71

But the thing is, 'they' aren't talking about things that happened before your grandparents were born. 'They' are talking about things that are happening in the present.

So slavery is never an issue? I'm willing to forget if they are.
Whites are constantly blamed for holding back blacks when most whites have absolutely no ability to hold anyone back. We all get lumped into the same crowd as true racists. I have no control over their education or employment but I still have to hear about it. I raise my kid to treat everybody as individuals and not judge anyone. That is all the control I have over the whole situation. People need to stop painting everything with a broad brush.

Of course whites are the cause of black social inequality. Just look at Africa and what a bastion of black achievement and technological advancement it is. It's all whitey's fault!

More on topic, Stewart isn't even an actor. He's a comedian and an establishment stooge. People think if they're laughing when they hear propaganda it must be true.

To those members who don't watch TV, and are not living in the USA, this whole situation may seem very sad if not comical.

If you're not in Ferguson or nearby, then please stop participating in this circus by promoting it. I've little to no doubt there are more productive things you could be doing with your time to affect your local community as opposed to repeating propaganda of a remote situation

a reply to: Urantia1111

Yeah, just look at Africa! No European influence there. I guess you're unfamiliar with the Berlin Conference. I guess the Amerindians owe us a debt of gratitude also because really, what were those savages doing with all this real estate and resources anyway?

I'm sure that hundreds of years of slavery followed by a hundred years of oppression and disenfranchisement has had no bearing on the black population in America. I mean, it's been 50 years since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when are they going to get over the lack of access to education, employment and means for accumulating wealth — and lets not forget a total absence of LIBERTY (I mean, right-wingers are all about LIBERTY, right?) — and get with it!

It's not like there's any inequality these days either! After all, it's not like black people are arrested for marijuana possession almost 4 times as frequently as whites despite almost identical rates of usage! Silly them!