First it was equal
opportunity.
Now it is unending aggrandizing of often
non-existent difficulties & examination of special
specialties of the most special. |
 |
The Associated Press
announced an important change in a high-profile news
beat that is overseen by its national desk. This new
beat is called "race and ethnicity." Will
this unending exposing force us to all get along? |
|
AP editors selected a
writer from the 449 candidates under consideration.
The fortunate soul is a long-time AP staff writer,
Jesse Washington. Before this assignment, Jesse, a
39-year-old, was the entertainment editor at AP. |
|
Jesse's career
includes a stint as an editor at two prominent
hip-hop magazines. Recently, Jesse published his
first novel, "Black Will Shoot." This work is a tale
of America's hip-hop culture. The book's jacket
labels it a "compelling look at the most impactful
(sic) and influential cultural movements of the past
thirty years." |
|
How might AP's new
race and ethnicity beat impact the type and style of
the source of most Americans' news? |
|
In olden times, when
news was real news and American journalism set high
standards of excellence, its beats had functional,
descriptive names, such as police, city government,
national politics, and so on. However, in today's
post-modern journalism micro-detail unending
analysis of mundane non-news items, beats including
"race and ethnicity" have encroached and over-taken
real news having meaning and of value. |
|
Today, these
contrived topical displays of pseudo-analysis of the
trite stories spun into inflammatory notions feed
the false -- but narcissistically fulfilling --
perception that in America, race relations are in
serious trouble. |
|
A one-time too famous
Rodney King opined, "Why can't we just all get
along?" Today, in the United States, we do almost
all get along... except for those who make a good living
at not. |
|
NOTE: Jesse
Washington's bio includes the fact that he grew up
in the projects, went to Yale, married a doctor, and
lives with his wife and four children. Nice goin'
Jesse! Are race relations -- and implicitly --
opportunity really lacking in America? |
|
* * *
END * * * |
|
Observing
Our World:
As soon as we think perhaps the top has been
reached, there comes along another inappropriate
narcissistic excess. The very existence of this
excess identifies much about our culture. It also
generates a question: Will there never be an end to
the You're-So-Special narcissisms contrived by our
demented, self-absorbed culture? |
|
What our
culture really, really needs is a serious something
event that is capable of grabbing our attention and
allowing us to re-set perspective on what is needed
to make progress and stop looking at ourselves. The
events of 9/11 failed to accomplish much long-term
other than further divisive discourse. |
|
Today we
observe the children of friends who have rarely been
reprimanded when they do something rude or
incorrect. A reprimand would have instructed these
children on how correctly act or handle a situation.
We can see in many work, retail, and social settings
these children who, after having aged in years,
remain incapable of dealing with problems and
definitely do not accept -- nor learn from -- a
reprimand. |
|
Is that
why so many people drive through red lights? Some of
those aged children do receive a reprimand when they
get broad-sided by a truck. |