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The Elian Gonzalez story is the corporate media's dream come true. Just like the OJ Simpson murder trial. It combines a good half-dozen hot buttons.

With 50% of marriages ending in divorce, child custody is a burning personal issue to millions of divorced parents.

It has Fidel Castro and the the Communists to revive old Cold War feelings of animosity.

It has Janet Reno, President Clinton and "jack-booted thugs" to catch the attention of the die-hard Clinton-haters.

It has the high melodrama of a child fished out of the ocean while his mother drowned, fleeing presumed oppression.

It kindles passionate debate around the water cooler in offices around the country, and most of all... it sells!

Think about it for a moment. Who is Elian Gonzalez to you? Sure, he's a cute six-year old child whose plight touches us. But I can tell you right now, there are at least 50,000 cute six-year olds out there whose plight would touch you if you ever heard of them. Seriously, if Elian goes here or he goes there, or if he'd died in the ocean, or stayed in Cuba, what would it mean to you personally? Nothing. Not one thing in your life would change for good or ill.

The only thing that makes Elian special is that his story plays well in the media. It grabs us. It's like a car wreck on an expressway with all America as the rubberneckers causing traffic to jam up on the opposite side of the road just to look.

It's that crowd of onlookers who make him special. Because once the corporate media can make us look, they can make us look at advertising. And eyeballs on ads make money. And money is what this story is all about.

If you think the Miami relatives have been using this kid, they are small potatos compared to CNN (Time-Warner), ABC (Disney), NBC (General Electric), and CBS. Those are the big time ring masters in this circus.

-- Brian McLaughlin (brianm@ims.com), April 22, 2000

Answers

Well said Brian!!

-- Michael (michaelteever@buffalo.com), April 22, 2000.

Yes Brian, it was a media conspiracy!

Dumbass.

-- Yeah Right (you@are.FOS), April 22, 2000.


Maybe a little too cynical Brian. There are some important issues here that are dramatized by lil Elian.

But you're right, it is mostly entertainment and now it is over. On to the next show!

-- Lars (lars@indy.net), April 22, 2000.


Who will play Elian in the movie...and Janet?

Mr. Dumbass aka Yeah Right, what is your take on this whole sad drama? Please share your thoughts, as hopefuly this 3 month media show is coming to a close. Your post was a little sparse on info.

-- +*&%$# (#%&*+@...org), April 22, 2000.


>> Yes Brian, it was a media conspiracy! Dumbass. <<

No. "It" isn't a media conspiracy, whatever the heck you mean by "it".

But go on and tell me with a straight face that the amount of media attention to this story is proportionate to its importance. What deep political debate is going on here? Whether Castro is a good guy or a bad guy? Sorry. We could be having that debate without Elian G. anywhere in the picture. All Elian does is introduce an element of irrational emotion.

How about this one: does the right of a great-uncle to demand political asylum for a grand nephew supercede the right of a father to have custody of his child? Sorry. The republic has stood for a long time without needing to come to grips with that one. I wonder why the public is so hot to decide it now? They just got up one morning and this issue was burning in their souls?

No. Elian is just a convenient vehicle for selling soap. If he weren't in the news, something else would be, but at a lower volume. All I said (if you were paying attention) was that Elian's story is a convenient hook into our emotions. The only relevance Elian has to our own lives is that he stirs us. He only stirs not as a real child, but as a symbolic image manipulated by the media, the lawyers and the politicians for their own gain.

The irony is, even our outrage at this manipulation is so much gravy to the corporate media. They don't give a rip, so long as we are well and truly hooked and stay tuned for the next development.

The media version of Elian - the only one most of us know - is a meaningless cipher we pour our own emotions into. If, instead of Elian's tv image, we invested our own lives with the same emotions, we would be better off, Elian would be better off, and the corporate media would make a few less million this year off the pumped-up "news" ratings.

Get it?

-- Brian McLaughlin (brianm@ims.com), April 22, 2000.



Yeah right is a prick...ignore.

-- (...@...), April 22, 2000.

Janet Reno will be played by Shaquille O'Neal and Elian by Leonardo DeCaprio.

-- (nemesis@awol.com), April 22, 2000.

I agree, Brian........100%, although I think you forgot the Hispanic media. Once all the others died down on the story after Elian's return to his father, the Hispanic stations continue.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), April 22, 2000.

....continue making up their gobbledy gook.

-- Real American (tired@of.you), April 22, 2000.

Yeah, but who will play Andy Garcia and Gloria Estefan?

-- movie fan (who@wll.Castro?), April 22, 2000.


Who cares? It's one less spic we will have to support on welfare.

-- Manny (No@dip.com), April 22, 2000.

Manny go stick your head in a toilet and flush repeatedly. You already destroyed one thread, leave this one alone.

-- Hawk Fan (HawkFan@NoMore.Manny), April 22, 2000.

I bet Manny is actually a Cuban spy, trying to figure out our plans for little Elian. He probably is on Klintoon's payroll as well. I say we feed him fake info so Kaftro and Klintoon are thrown off the trail.

-- Will Wonton (not@giving.out), April 22, 2000.

hawk Fan go fuck yourself. On this board I have the freedom to say what is right and true. all minorities should be ask to leave this great country of ours and if they don't then we should have the right to get rid of them by any means we feel the situation warrents.

-- Manny (No@dip.com), April 22, 2000.

>> On this board I have the freedom to say what is right and true. <<

Ah, Manny, my sweet, my child, my pumpkin!

What you forget is that the same right that lets you spout "what is right and true", is not a right to go unchallenged when you spout unadulterated crap. Telling you to go soak your head doesn't interfere with your rights, my sweet little donkey. It is just the usual give and take of free speech. Get used to it and stop whining.

Now, go soak your head like a good boy.

-- Brian McLaughlin (brianm@ims.com), April 22, 2000.



Brian,

He just got through spouting so many racial insults on another thread that OTFR finally had to delete it.

-- Hawk Fan (Hawk Fan@GoAway.Manny), April 22, 2000.


This is a hate crime. We need to do something about this.

-- Not a Manny Fan (No@more.Manny), April 22, 2000.

Again, well said Brian.

-- Michael (michaelteever@buffalo.com), April 22, 2000.

We will all be better off with an all WHITE America. WHITE POWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-- Manny (No@dip.com), April 22, 2000.

Brian,

Those are a couple of _very_ good posts about media attention, and you have my complete agreement. My question to you would be this: Given that Elian was manipulated into becoming a media icon on which to focus our collective emotions, what do you think was the right thing to have been done after that particular horse was already out of the barn? What is the right thing to be done now? If we "turn the cameras off", do you think the rioting in Miami will end? Do you think the question of Elian's legal disposition will resolve more quickly? I do.

I am sickened by this...and expect soon to be seeing the Gonzales family on the Springer show, hitting each other over the head with chairs.

-- (Interesting@stuff.com), April 22, 2000.


>> This is a hate crime. We need to do something about this. <<

Ummm. This is hate, but hate is not a crime, just as boorishness and stupidity are not crimes. I suggest that the best thing to "do about this" is to speak up, not against Manny's right to be stupid, but just pointing out how stupid and hateful his ideas are. That is usually sufficient.

I understand that hateful words are hurtful. But, for those who are the target of Manny and those like him, the most restorative and healing thing you can do is not to silence Manny, but to speak up. When it is apparent that Manny is isolated and scorned for his version of "truth", the sting will be mostly removed from his words. He won't matter, and neither will his misguided hatred.

If, however, Manny ever acts out his hatred against non-whites, then a real crime merits real punishment. At that point, he should be hammered good and hard. 'Nuff said.

-- Brian McLaughlin (brianm@ims.com), April 22, 2000.


Brian, You've got it right in my opinion. Media hype, and that's all there is to it. This Cuban kid and his rag-tag family mean absoluty nothing to me, one way or another.

Thousands upon thousands of children in this country have sadder tales, and no one cares.

Obviously, Elian Gonzalez is made out of pig skin, because he's being kicked from one end of the playing field to the other by our politicans, and our headline grabbing media.

-- Richard (Astral-Acres@webtv.net), April 22, 2000.


>> What is the right thing to be done now? <<

Yes. The horse is out of the barn. One thing to do is to tune it out in the media. Do your best not to respond to the Pavlovian bell. When someone you know brings the subject up, I would suggest the best thing to do is to discuss it as dispassionately as possible.

Especially, I would remind the person how little we all know of the real circumstances of the boy, his father and his family, and that it is probably best to let those who are familiar with the case to work it out without public meddling. Our ignorance is not likely to help the situation, and like it or not, we are all too far removed to be anything but ignorant of the truth.

In likewise, whenever a jury hands in a judgement that the media criticizes, I always side with the jury if at all possible. They deserve to be congratulated for their time and sweat, not vilified, if there is no evidence they were operating out of pure prejudice rather than their best judgement.

-- Brian McLaughlin (brianm@ims.com), April 22, 2000.


Damn. When OTFR deleted that crap, she also deleted a couple of very funny posts by someone describing their worst nightmare. Did anyone save that, or could the poster recreate it here? Best laugh of the day, on a day when laughter is in short supply.

-- (Interesting@stuff.com), April 22, 2000.

>>In likewise, whenever a jury hands in a judgement that the media criticizes, I always side with the jury if at all possible. They deserve to be congratulated for their time and sweat, not vilified, if there is no evidence they were operating out of pure prejudice rather than their best judgement. <<

Brian, you accurately made an earlier connection between this situation and the OJ Simpson murder trial. Largely (if not entirely) due to the media attention, we were all spectators at that trial, and allowed to see the same evidence and testimony as the jurors. How many of us were convinced that there was insufficient evidence to convict the accused of the murders? I would say, because of the media attention, we were able to see that the evidence was there that the jury was operating out of pure prejudice rather than their best judgement. Still, had the decision been otherwise, what impact would it have had on any of our lives? Hmmm...

-- (Interesting@stuff.com), April 22, 2000.


Brian said:

"Do your best not to respond to the Pavlovian bell. When someone you know brings the subject up, I would suggest the best thing to do is to discuss it as dispassionately as possible. "

Then why did you start a thread devoted to it? You are free to pontificate on the matter, but the networks and general public are not? Sounds like the pot calling the kettle black...

-- Monika is tired/Elian is wired (@ .), April 22, 2000.


Interesting,

Check the Deleted Posts/Threads list. It's most likely there.

-- Flash (flash@flash.hq), April 22, 2000.


Brian,

Don't you think that it's best to totally ignore someone who is posting offensive stuff. Any recognition seems to reinforce them. If no one even responds, they'll eventually get frustrated and leave.

-- Flash (flash@flash.hq), April 22, 2000.


Monika is tired/Elian is wired,

Brian's thread is really not about the Elian Gonzalez story per se. Rather, the Gonzalez story is more of a vehicle for discussion of how corporate media is sucking our brains out. In other words, it's more about Matrix than about Monica.

Flash,

Thanks! Where would I find the deleted threads/posts?

-- (Interesting@stuff.com), April 22, 2000.


>> Then why did you start a thread devoted to it? You are free to pontificate on the matter, but the networks and general public are not? <<

I never said that the networks were not free to manipulate us, only that this is what, in my judgement, they were doing. And that the directions in which our emotions were being pushed by the media were of little or no value to us. They could (and sometimes do) devote time to pictures of puppies in mortal peril in order to accomplish the same thing. Elian is just this month's puppy in mortal peril.

I never challenged their right to screw with our heads, if they can pull it off. I simply want to have a countervailing say-so. And I said my say. You can add to the conversation, I don't mind. But, tell me - how important do you think Elian G. is to you personally? What important national debate does his story exemplify and push to a conclusion? Why is reaching that conclusion important to the public? What larger purpose is being served here?

I would agree that this would indeed be a case of the pot calling the kettle black, but only if I were doing what I was criticizing the media for.

In this case, I was criticizing the corporate media for blowing Elian's story far out of proportion to any conceivable public importance it had, and using the public's emotions to make money regardless of the outcome. I don't care whether the form that media manipulation takes is as pontfication, or merely ranting, or selling Elian action figures. It is manipulation for profit.

Are you saying that what I have done here is the same as what the media is doing? If so, make the parallels clearer, please. I'm not making a penny off Elian. I am arguing in favor of devoting less attention to Elian and restoring a sense of proportion. How is that the same?

-- Brian McLaughlin (brianm@ims.com), April 22, 2000.


>> Don't you think that it's best to totally ignore someone who is posting offensive stuff. Any recognition seems to reinforce them. <<

First, when it comes to racism, I do think it is better to challenge it, always, every time, than to ignore it. I think it is possible to do it in a way that doesn't play into the hands of the racist.

One way to play into their hands is to appear to attack them personally. That only makes them a more sympathetic figure, an underdog.

The next thing to avoid is to get into an argument on their justifications for their racism, unless you can do so from a position of knowledge. Any racist bullsh*tter can come up with ten bogus "facts or studies" that prove racial inferiority faster than you can whistle. If you don't know the real facts, it is better not to step into fantasyland with them. Everything in fanatsyland gets distorted, including you.

It is better to just make it plain that you do not agree with them. Then you've said enough.

-- Brian McLaughlin (brianm@ims.com), April 22, 2000.


Brian:

Just returned home for two days. I have been without TV contact for a while. Who is Elian Gonzalez ?

Just wanted to point out that there are large parts of the country completely ignoring this story [at least in the intermountain west].

Best wishes,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), April 22, 2000.


Interesting,

Try this link and let me know if it doesn't work.

Link

-- Flash (
flash@flash.hq), April 22, 2000.


Just thought to ask Americans this;
Has anyone noticed that 10 millions or more are starving and thirsty in the Horn of Africa? Does anyone care about the wells of Bangladesh poisoned by arcenic leeching. The 'aids' scourge has 50 million souls of Central Africa and tuberculosis' cup runneth over in Eastern Europe. The Indonesian archipelago may well implode quite soon, there's a shiad frolic on. Lovely calamity all about and now I have Elian compassion fatique too.

-- Pieter (zaadz@icisp.net.au), April 22, 2000.

Just a thought for Pieter;

What exactly is arcenic leeching?

Sorry, I had promised not to use lime again.

Best wishes,,,,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), April 22, 2000.


Z,
Arsenic occurs naturally is soil strata, especially in heavily polluted Bangaladesh. Surface water is not bug-proof so the international Rotary aid movement sunk 1000s of bores to pump fresh water from underground reservoirs. Unfortunately these bores have arcenic leeching and are 10 to 100 more toxic than international safe standards. The result is predictable. Loss of limb, rotting flesh and a death toll - quite alarming. The odd thing is the bad wells may be alongside a good wells, so continual testing of each one is necessary. This issue was covered by 60 minutes programme recently, but the problem was highlighted some time ago.

In our Australian eastern coastal region the sulphuric acid leeching from soils is causing problems too - very toxic stuff.

-- Pieter (zaadz@icisp.net.au), April 22, 2000.


Z,Kuehl's research may also have the unintended benefit of helping to solve a public health problem in Bangladesh. Beginning in the 1980s, the World Bank funded a wide-scale effort to improve the safety of drinking water supplies through well development. The assumption shared by international and Bangladeshi health officials was that the groundwater had to be more potable and disease-free than surface water. After people had been drinking from the new wells for several years, however, officials learned that many of them were tainted with arsenic, a toxic mineral that causes birth defects, debilitating illness and ultimately death.

"We think the arsenic is coming from some of the geological formations that we're studying," said Kuehl. "My hope is that our research could ultimately be helpful in mapping out these hot spots where arsenic may be leeching into the groundwater."

Arsenic Link

More arsenic info

Trust this helps, & sorry about spelling - new keyboard with more bells-n-whistles...grrrrr....

-- Pieter (zaadz@icisp.net.au), April 22, 2000.


Bold off. I think I'll retire now...sheesh!

-- Pieter (zaadz@icisp.net.au), April 22, 2000.

Yeah right aka Manny is also known as cavscout.

-- (Told @ on. you), April 23, 2000.

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