Vicissitudes and Victories

Context and Understanding

I have focused on religious issues for the last two days, but I have something else that I want to think about through my fingers tonight. I was discussing the situation with my roommate about the pope and the comments he made in his recent speech in Germany that inflamed the Muslim world. He expressed the opinion that journalists that reported the incident in an inflammatory way should be held partially responsible for the deaths caused by raging Muslim radicals in Somalia. I defended the reporters at some level--trying to give them the benefit of the doubt.

I always try and see the world from the perspective of the people that I might have occasion to criticize. I tried to point out the complicated and pressure-filled world which reporters inhabit. He tried to explain to me that blatant misstatement and misrepresentation is a crime. I tend to agree that there is no excuse for blatant misrepresentation. Reporters should not disregard certain evidence regarding a story in order to present a more inflammatory headline. I also agree that reporters that purposefully lie hold some responsibility for the actions that such words incite. I pointed out that the killers hold primary responsibility. News stories simply gave the radical Muslims an excuse to commit crimes that they already wanted to commit--to express hate that they already felt. I am still not sure what level of responsibility I am ready to place on reporters. I read through the New York Times coverage of the story, and felt that their reporting was more than fare. But I don't know about how others wrote about the incident. I am trying my best to understand both the situation and my roommate.

posted by Joel @ 9:40 PM