Tag: media literacy

deriving meaning and intention in the various forms we are given to consume

Words in Sentences

Two Times an Impeached President

by ErinLeave a Comment on Two Times an Impeached President

Was listening to NPR this morning and heard that the House is going to put forth one article of impeachment: stating that Trump incited the violence at the US Capitol.

I listened to my favorite liberal elite (you know, college educated / black lives matter / take care of humanity) podcast for some insight. It is also in the news that House Republicans are calling for Pelosi to not move forward with impeachment in the name of unity. Eh.

While making our smoothies this morning, I thought it through. If he is tried, and testimonies and evidence go through and show that without a doubt he incited the violence: there ya go. If he is tried and he says, “I never did that” or “I didn’t want them to do that” or whatever lies, then it’s kind of like when my kids were little and acting insane. In humor, I would say to them, “Hey little girls, where is your mother?”

They would look at me so confused. Continue acting insane in the store or at the pool… I would turn my head and squint my eyes and repeat, “I’m sorry – I feel so bad – what is your name? Where is your mother? Do you want me to call her?”

They would giggle and laugh, obviously I knew who their mother was and didn’t need to call myself. But you get it? Trump being like, “You think I told this guy to put a viking hat on and wave a Trump flag and go threaten Congress? I don’t have any kind of coddling relationship with these people.” I mean. I kind of would love to see the media take a spin (the election was rigged, overthrow the results) that was spun (I never said to overthrow the results) and spin it (Trump loves us and this is all code for…..) I mean – as a media major, their message is ALL over the place.

The GOP really needs to figure out their identity and whether or not they are Trump’s party. It is sad to me that these people involved in last week’s debacle are likely part of a demographic that is limited in their ability to pursue life, liberty and happiness for all the same reasons the “liberal left” want systemic changes. What is sad about it is that they don’t even realize they are being spoon fed rhetoric that keeps them in a mind prison. <tabling rant on media literacy>

If you eat a box of something because the label says it will make you strong, you need to pay attention to whether or not you get stronger. I just want people to realize their options and the power of their choice. Likewise, after reading an article interviewing a 50 some odd year old guy who was at the Capitol last week who lives with his dog and spends most days alone… gosh, it just made me feel sad. I wish he would realize his options and the power of choice.

Where is his community? Who is connecting with this guy? Who is allowing his heart to exercise compassion?

Every time I start thinking politically, I start to wonder about the small towns here in Missouri. About the kids in schools who are learning about “heroes” like Christopher Columbus and how racism ended with slavery. I wonder about how we connect with people to broaden their worldview. How do we get media out there that is middle ground and fair and progressive in its ability to include others?

Inclusion is the baby step, here in 2021.

Anyway, it’s Tuesday and time to clean the floors. I am so curious to see what happens with impeachment and how the media treats it. David and I turned on Fox News during the election, just to see what they are saying. You know Fox News is listed as an “Entertainment Channel”?

Pretty much says it all, doesn’t it? Stay safe out there. Don’t just eat the news.

Words in Sentences

So Sick and Tired @ Front Steps in the Sun

by Erin1 Comment on So Sick and Tired @ Front Steps in the Sun

My belly has been in knots lately and I know it is because I am back to regularly consuming news media.

I have also recently been exposed to first hand Trump thinking via several people in my immediate orbit and it honestly makes me want to cry.

I am so sick and tired of the evolution of our society being at the mercy of “dems” or “republicans”.

I am so sick and tired of elected officials obviously not understanding the dictionary definition of “public” or “servant” in regards to their role.

I am so sick and tired of narrow minded views trying to cast a lens on the whole of society.

I am so sick and tired of watching my neighbors work upwards to 3 or 4 jobs and have to pay $8 to cash a check at Wal Mart.

I am so sick and tired of fees and charges being passed on to entrepreneurs for services to launch their small business. Services of which the founders are in the top 1%.

I am so sick and tired of fees and charges being passed on to people doing the right thing and ordering groceries through Amazon to avoid risking their health due to a global pandemic when the founder of Amazon is in the top 1% and could care for their delivery personnel easily.

I am so sick and tired of women’s reproductive rights being summed up to “abortion”. Period.

I am so sick and tired of people being ignorant to the fact that our country and ways of living are largely built on racist principles. Facts that you cannot ignore or spin.

I am so sick and tired of people justifying murders because of what the murderer was wearing. I am so sick and tired of people thinking all lives matter when only black lives were enslaved in America, only black lives were discriminated against in America, only black lives were taken, limited and scrutinized. Get over it. GOD. Get over American ideals of pursuing the dream being accessible for everybody when they simply were. not. Were not. Are not. Oh that one really gets me.

I am so sick and tired of being the wealthiest nation in the world and believing you really can make it in America yet being afraid of pursuing my own dream because my corporate job gives me health care.

I am so sick and tired of the middle class not having free and informed tax consultation. I am sick of not seeing the whole of my tax dollars. I am sick of loopholes. And I am tired of our President.

I am so sick and tired of the media not having accountability and the Associated Press not offering fact accuracy percentages on mainstream media articles. I am tired of media not being required to denote what are facts and what is opinion. I am tired of misinformation in advertising.

I am so sick and out right tired of the lack of community revolutions in order to change the country from ground up.

I am so over it. I am over all of it. I am tired of knowing immigrant families who work back to back and pay their taxes and be scrutinized.

I am so sick and tired of people thinking that because they believe homosexuality is wrong or who subscribe to their assigned gender that people who are homosexual or gender fluid *do not deserve the same rights*. ARE YOU KIDDING ME.

So much of right wing propaganda is on par with a statement like “because we don’t like peanuts, we do not offer grocery stores”. I am so sick and tired of living in a society where people do not even know they are slaves to media and marketing.

I am so tired of people being media illiterate and not knowing how to question the news.

I am so tired of people not being able to focus and be fully present on the real and painful realities in their own lives because they are afraid and preoccupied with the people governing and their incompetencies to serve the public.

I am so sick and tired of single use plastics. I am tired of the lack of choice in recycling. I am tired of fast fashion and the cotton wars. I am tired of how much people consume. I am tired with how much people throw away. I am tired of major leaders in industries not realizing that innovation should not be only about the middle and upper class but about interconnectivity and opening doors.

I am tired of all of it. I am tired of poison in our water and in our food. I am tired of how advertisements reflect my digital profile. I am tired of my data being used and sold. I am tired of nobody informing the public on how this works. I am tired of small seemingly insignificant tweaks to make life better for the whole of America be overlooked for profits.

I am tired knowing that mental health is misunderstood and that holidays are about spending and not resting. I am tired of the grind people go through to do something they are programmed to do.

I am tired of the people who don’t understand their vote for Trump keeps so many oppressed. I am tired of people who don’t see what Mitch McConnell is doing as disgusting. I am tired of hearing that liberals are ridiculous and naive and stupid when a progressive agenda is actually moderate and on par with the rest of the modernized world.

I am tired of people ignoring human trafficking, connecting the dots between homelessness and the opioid crisis, and continuing to sexualize women and exploit feminine beauty. I am tired of people excusing the President for his misbehavior and for their double standards of what they expect from the men in their homes and in their lives from what they expect from the highest office in the land.

I am tired of the women who do not expect more from the men in their homes and in their lives not realizing they should.

I am tired of protests not hitting our country’s biggest wallets where it hurts. I am tired of business as usual when we have serious work to do. I am so sick and tired of the moderate white woman who doesn’t influence with her dollars. I am tired of the chardonnay white woman who doesn’t even realize the world needs her. I am tired of the educated being ignorant and the ones with the best views being blind.

I am tired of white middle class or white rural people not realizing the benefits of the democratic platform are *for them too*. I am tired of the lack of diversity in news media.

I am tired of everybody being so opinionated based on click bait and news bytes and holding tight to that rhetoric and never sitting with a person at a bus stop, never mourning with a family when their black son was killed, never looking into the reality of what is going on at the border, never sitting with the command to love the foreigner, never sitting with the command to love your neighbor – not even seeing all of the diversity in America AS their neighbors.

I am tired of white people thinking America looks just like them and missing the bigger picture. I am tired of not feeling proud of our country. I am tired of things that should be in place and well-running being debatable, back and forth and unfinished.

I am tired of seeing the poor and the weary giving up. I am tired of the NRA, big pharma, wall street and every other organization holding the health and safety and well being of America hostage.

The current day Republicans have shown nothing to say to me they will help me stop being sick and tired of any of these things. Fox News Republicans are an irrelevant cancer.

I think that will do it. I just had to get it off my chest.

Words in Sentences

Two Ideas for Elizabeth Warren

by ErinLeave a Comment on Two Ideas for Elizabeth Warren

Ok! Got my first invitation to donate yesterday – and, though I need to dig into debates that occurred when I was traveling, I am leaning towards this E. Warren chick thanks to her mighty mouth and strong resolve.

I mean. Girl can go off and I love it.

In considering the candidates and the upcoming election season, I suppose the best place to start is what is important to me.

So – as of today – here are two things.

  1. I should be able to request a download of my child’s online statistics, organized by app or website. I should be able to view a report of what my child’s digital footprint tells marketers and be as informed as the companies that are going to use their data, sell to them and persuade them in all regards. This should be simple: to access and to understand. In the spirit of media literacy, I should be able to click a button, enter my child’s IP address or Apple ID and be able to take good, next action to protect them and their privacy.
  2. I should be able to view an asterisk on a personal profile that warns me of potential danger. This should be a weighting based on a person’s access of porn sites, black web software, registry to key organizations or reports against them. This type of note should simply be able to set public settings as a writer, with a filtered exception.

We have to make the internet safer. I believe that the underlying messages on the web and in the media tie to root causes of all sorts of epidemics. I do not want to fear “what next” I want to us to cause “what’s next” and bring some peace of mind to American homes.

Thoughts, Elizabeth?