Newspaper Comment Sections Become Cordoned-Off Hate Crime Scenes

[Judi Lynn]

Newspaper Comment Sections Become Cordoned-Off Hate Crime Scenes
Sunday, 06 July 2014 00:00
By Roberto Cintli Rodriguez, Truthout | News Analysis

The unexpected new locations for hate crime scenes in the 21st century appear to be the comments sections of the nation's leading newspapers, where calls to violence have become routine and through which progressives have decided correcting the record is a waste of their time.



Hate crime scenes are dehumanizing places of revulsion. They shock the conscience and psyche of entire communities and leave searing memories. One normally associates hate crimes with cross burnings and lynchings or something equally heinous, however, the shocking and unexpected new locations for hate crime scenes in the 21st century appear to be the editorial pages of the nation's leading newspapers, (1) where calls to violence have also become routine. (2)

In Arizona, exposure to constant hate is a daily occurrence in the letters to the editor or comments section of media. Within these contexts, communities are subjected to vicious anti-Mexican and anti-immigrant hate disguised as discourse against "illegals," or "illegal aliens." This hate can be found in not just the daily newspapers, but also in most of the mainstream media and their websites and, of course, right-wing talk radio. Not a few intimate the use of extreme violence. Often, the letter-writers take their cues from editorial or column writers who themselves tend to be hostile toward anything Mexican, again, under the guise of combating illegal immigration. As a result, Arizona letter-writers respond with a vitriol that was not permitted in newspapers until very recently. The following are two letters that illustrate this point from the June 25, 2012, The Arizona Republic in response to an article regarding the US Supreme Court striking down three of the four anti-immigrant SB 1070 provisions. (3)

From caretaker: "FOKES THIS IS GOING TO LEAD TO US'' THE PEOPLE PROTECTING OUR COUNTRY OUR SELVES... THERE'S NO CHOICE, THIS IS WHAT OUR FORE FATHERS MEANT IN OUR CONSTITUTION ..."

From Fastfreddy: "Would you rather see the citizens of Arizona use the 2nd amendment as a solution to the illegal problem or rather see the courts try to solve the problem."

This kind of discourse with allusions to violence has become so normalized that no one appears to give it a second thought. If this constant badgering and threats of violence involved the daily haranguing of other peoples, for example, Jews, African Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, Anglo-Americans or any other identifiable group, it is assumed, per the newspaper's comment guidelines, that they would never make it into these pages.(4) But they inexplicably do and thus, the media, particularly letters to the editor sections, have become what I refer to as hate crime scenes.

More:
http://truth-out.org/news/item/24684-editorial-pages-as-cordoned–off-hate-crime-scenes

[RKP5637]

1. Often I think the first amendment needs to be revisited to define what is

unbridled free speech and responsible free speech for public consumption. Hatred is fueled far too much in this country by irresponsible speech, often for mega-profit, and will likely not end well in the big picture. That said, we have a totally dysfunctional congress, and SCOTUS is a bit bizarre ... so, I guess we will just muck along as usual.

[Rebubula]

3. Disagree

The 1st Amendment is good as is - it simply protects people from getting punished by the state for words.

I do agree that message boards tend to be vile swamps that trolls live in, but disagree that we should think about controlling the words people can say.

What we SHOULD do is make the Internet less anonymous...that would keep the trolls at bay (though I kind of like knowing what the idiots are thinking) if there real name were published with thier nonsense.

Of course, I have no realistic methods of making that so....I am just an anonymous Internet poster.

[RKP5637]

4. Yep, I know exactly what you mean. The state would try to punish people depending on TPTB.

Signed,
Anonymous me!

[liberal N proud]

2. Facebook might be the next crime scene

There is a lot of have posted there daily.