One of the many reasons I mostly don't bother with the so-called professional media any more -- I don't watch teevee news, I don't watch teevee crap like Survivor and Stupid Shrill Boring People Feed Each Other to Cannibals Island, I have even quit listening to the local rock station in the car since it became an All-Nickelback-All-Day station:
With the second anniversary of the 9/11 attacks only three weeks away, TV networks have planned nearly no special programming to commemorate the horrible events of that day.
Rachel Lucas is pissed, as well she might be. I remember the Our Di Died 24/7 coverage, the endless footage of the pile of sodden teddy bears in front of Buckingham Palace, the crowds of assholes demanding that the Queen get down in the slog with them and cry like the fucking babies they were... And don't even get me started on the Laci Peterson thing. See, when it comes to a dead celeb, or a gruesome murder of someone these journos don't know, then it's meal ticket time. "We won't have to think up a story for weeks! Years, maybe!" But let something happen that makes the media mavens themselves remember they are human (and thus can be killed), then suddenly they pull out the "We think it's time for some closure" shtick. Fucking swellheads.
Then again, as Rachel says:
And you know, that's fine. Their version wouldn't be right, anyway. They'd edit and splice. They'd add moving music and make montages of moving moments. They'd do voiceovers and talk about all manner of ancillary facts that didn't really matter on that day. Blah, blah, blah, they'd do their "thing" and the end result would be a Hallmark card. No thanks, I think I prefer my own unedited tapes.
So maybe it's a good thing. But they are still a bunch of fucking swellheads. Me, I think I'll commemorate the anniversary by buying 9/11. (I have it on video but it was from really crappy antenna reception. I didn't have cable when it was aired.)
Posted by Andrea Harris at August 26, 2003 09:27 PMI echo Rachel's last sentiment. I don't want the network's schmaltzy, ham-fisted "Princess Di" approach applied to something that deserves more somber reflection.
Perhaps something on C-Span will be worth watching.
Posted by: Norbizness at August 27, 2003 at 10:34 AMSeconded and Thirded.
I don't want the networks to do anything "special" to commemmorate, hell, anything, let alone something like this.
They're not very good at doing it, and doing it wrong is arguably far worse than not doing it at all.
People will remember and commemmorate as they see fit - media doesn't have to do it for them.
Posted by: Sigivald at August 27, 2003 at 03:10 PMIt's deeper than that. The Left wants nothing to do with anything that reminds America that we are deep in a war.
We are deep in a war for our very national and cultural survival.
We are deep in a war that, for whatever reason, the Left is ON THE OTHER SIDE.