It's a Sad, Sad, Sad, Sad World

Years ago I watched a program in which they showed how the use of selective camerawork can create sympathy for the protesters or for the police. First, the cameras showed footage  of police cracking heads, striking protesters with clubs during a riot. You saw people being hurt by the clubs and being sprayed with mace. The voiceover of a newscaster was describing the scene with clear empathy for the wounded.

Next, they showed an alternate camera angle, police being hit by rocks thrown by protesters, police being taunted and threatened, an officer struck in the head by a brick and going down. The voiceover by this talking head tells a story of mayhem and lawlessness, and how the mob is out of control.

NEXT, they show the same scenes, but filmed from another angle further back, and all the action you saw in the first and second accounts was visible from the longer shot. In this manner we saw how easy it was to tell different stories of the same event and thereby manipulate viewers. (Hence, one of the seeds for my essay He Who Controls the Narrative Controls the People.)

I saw that film 40 years ago and have never forgotten it. I also saw these kinds of scenes during the MayDay protest of 1971, which I experienced first hand. (The police brutality was extensive and of a far greater in scale, but I also saw protesters jumping on officers' backs, ripping tear gas masks off, and over isolated violence directed toward cops.) It should be apparent that the reality of these events is being mediated to us. And it's relatively easy to manipulate viewers. By selective focus, we're coerced into drawing conclusions without hearing or seeing all the facts. 

The George Floyd riots/protests produced a whole gamut of feelings that many people were unaccustomed to, from being angry to sad to afraid, sometimes all simultaneously. Here are some of the headlines and stories I observed at that time.

7-Sigma, manufacturer burned in riots, will leave Minneapolis
by Mark Reilly, Mnpls/St. Paul Business Journal
(EdNote: This was probably a story being played out in many bigger cities across the country.)

Column: Will anyone take a knee for retired police Capt. David Dorn?
by John Kass for the Chicago Tribune

New York Times Journalists Scared To Have an Op-Ed Page
by Matt Welch for Reason

From Twitter user eswalker
But the many people not on twitter, they have no idea! Multiple people I've talked to who only occasionally watch MSM had almost NO IDEA about the extensive, widespread looting and property damage. They truly thought just about the George Floyd peaceful protest...

Minneapolis City Council members consider disbanding the police
by Hannah Jones for City Pages

4 St. Louis police officers shot during violent protests downtown
Local CBS News story

Why Target Stores Were "Targeted"
by Missy Crane

Missouri attorney general says Soros-backed St. Louis prosecutor released all George Floyd protesters from jail
by Andrew Mark Miller

Black Firefighter Spent His Life Savings To Open A Bar. Then Minneapolis Looters Burned It Down
by Andrew Kerr for The Daily Caller

According to Larry Elder:
"How many unarmed blacks were killed by cops last year? 9. How many unarmed whites were killed by cops last year? 19. More officers are killed every year than are unarmed blacks. When do the #BlueLivesMatter protests begin?"

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Lawyer throws Molotov Cocktail into a police car. Blames mayor for not holding back the police. The mayor should have known that the police would get hurt if they tried to stop rioters. Definitely not  a Perry Mason. "Violence against cops was understandable."

Looters In New York City Get Released as Soon as Arrested. Return to streets to loot again.

NYTimes: Shattered Glass in SoHo as Looters Ransack Lower Manhattan

NYPD: 1 Officer Stabbed In Neck, 2 Others Shot In Brooklyn; All Expected To Survive

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