Discomfort, Journalistic Integrity, and the Bill of Rights

There’s a story circulating about the WBC protest of Staff Sgt. Jason Rogers’ funeral. The story is that the group was planning to protest, and members were (allegedly) assaulted and detained (via civilian manipulation of traffic).

I haven’t been able to verify this story via any mainstream (or reliable) news outlets. However, I would not be surprised if the story was true, because there is a precedent for such behavior at previous WBC protests. There are documentaries about the group that have caught people throwing garbage from their cars and screaming at the protesters (and while I don’t think that the WBC has reported any of these assaults, they have commented that they bring their young children to the protests).

A few months ago, a case against the Westboro Baptist Church was brought to the Supreme Court. The plaintiff was arguing that the Church’s protests were emotionally damaging enough to constitute the illegalization of funeral protests. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the WBC. The church is full of lawyers, they have been very careful with their protests, and they knew that they had done nothing wrong. And while their message might be disturbing and upsetting, that’s the point. They think that the way they live and think is the only right way, and they want people to know it. And, in that regard, they are no different from anyone else.

The above picture is a piece from a Kara Walker exhibit. I chose this picture because I think it’s an accurate representation of her work. You have to look twice to see what’s there (and when you realize what you’re looking at, you usually begin to feel uncomfortable). While not all of her work is as subtle as the above, I think the subtlety is incredibly important; it reveals the insidious ways that we continue to objectify and deny the black American experience.

Kara Walker is an artist, her message makes people uncomfortable, and it can be seen in galleries and museums.

The above is from a WBC ad campaign created in reaction to the pro-LGBT rights NoH8 campaign. This image is also uncomfortable; not only is the message one that Americans are currently struggling with, but it is coming from two very young children.

The WBC is a religious organization, and their message is delivered from street corners and sidewalks. People throw garbage at them.

The message is different, but the feelings they incite are the same. The difference between Kara Walker and the WBC is that Walker is observing something that the majority of people can agree upon (watered down, she tells us that racism is bad, and while there’s more to her and to the issue than that, Americans have generally agreed that racism is bad), while the members of the WBC really only totally agree with each other. And there are less than 100 of them, making them one of the loudest minorities in America.

Why do they have less of a right to speak than Miss Walker? Should they be hassled and harassed just because we don’t like what they have to say? We (Americans) used to lynch black men and women when we didn’t like what they had to say (or because we didn’t like them and that was reason enough). If that is no longer acceptable, then why is this?

I think that news coverage of the group is becoming part of the problem. There are videos of journalists getting in screaming matches with members of the Church, but few journalistic records of the harassment the group has received (including death threats and verbal harassment). It’s very clear that the media has sided with the majority, and in this way it is not fulfilling the role that we need it to fill. Unbiased information. Humans are not infallible, and the challenge of being unbiased is probably one of the most difficult things I could ask of another human being (since I myself am often guilty of taking sides). But that, in my opinion, is a journalist’s job.

Another big part of the problem is the strong polarization that we have come to accept is part of the political process (Christians vs. atheists, conservatives vs. liberals, with each side calling the other irresponsible and crazy). You can be a Christian and a liberal. You can be pro-gay marriage and still support a conservative budget. It does not have to be us vs. them. When it is, when we all agree that we are right and they are wrong, this is what we become:

Source: http://www.picturesforsadchildren.com/index.php?comicID=362 Pictures for Sad Children