Sports radio's role in manufacturing consent

Chuck0 chuck at mutualaid.org
Mon Mar 24 20:18:21 PST 2003


There has been a variety of talk on this list, as well as on other activist lists, about what we should be saying now in our protests against the war.

I suggest that anybody who wants to find out what Middle America is going to say against anti-war protesters, that they spend some time listening to sports radio. I've gone back to listening to the ESPN Sports network after my local Pacifica station went back to playing jazz and airing weird shows. In the last 24 hours, I've heard all kinds of rhetoric from the sports talk hosts that would be right at home on Rush Limbaugh or FOX News.

J.T. the Brick is going off right now on anti-war protesters. He just mentioned a FOX News report that the Iraqis have been given to go-ahead to use chemical weapons (this news is highly suspect) and he suggested that given what's going on in Iraq, that anti-war protesters have no reason to be against the war. He stated that those who oppose the war at this point are just "leftist whackos" who hate fur and won't eat red meat.

These guys aren't very bright when it comes to non-sports talk, but those against the war, who complain about NPR and CNN and FOX News, should not underestimate the power of syndicated sports radio to generate and circulate memes that re-inforce patriotism and anti-radical prejudice.

Chuck0



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