One of the most insidious kinds of lies, a “lie” that is only apparent when seen in context, is the propaganda technique of giving disproportionate attention to an outlier event while downplaying the more dominant and numerous trend. We see it in the media’s obsession with American war crimes, while paying little attention to those of the Taliban. We saw it a great deal in the Cold War, as in the left’s continuing obsession with the crimes of Pinochet (who killed about 3,500) while ignoring those of the Communists (who killed 100mm plus). But nowhere is this lie more salient today than in the intersection of race, crime, and disorder.
Blacks commit 7-10X more violent crime than whites on a per capita basis. This is a fact, and that is a big difference in crime rates. It is 700% to 1000% more. It wasn’t always such, but it’s gotten this way. This is a problem for America. It is a problem for blacks, the most decent and vulnerable of whom are often victimized by violence. But it’s a problems for whites too, who are subject at times to unusual cruelty, which surely has some relationship to their nonstop demonization. It is the reason so many of our cities are “no go” zones and so much money must be invested in fleeing to “safe” communities with “good” schools. It’s the reason so many people are in prison, and it’s the reason so many people’s lives are damaged by violence.
But why then does the “man bites dog” story of George Zimmerman get so much attention? White on black crime is miniscule today. It’s not a trend and, taken as a class of crimes, it is not a problem. The goal of such attention is to create a misimpression, indeed, one of a sacred victims and a demonic perpetrator class. Why else the misleading photos and audio and tales of Trayvon the drug dealer being an honor student. Regardless of Zimmerman’s guilt or innocence, it’s all so hamhanded and insulting to the intelligence! It’s as if our WWII curriculum spent weeks and weeks on the alleged war crimes of the Finns during their 1940 spat with the Soviet Union, while the cruelty of the Nazis (and the Soviets as well), and indeed, the entire terrible confrontation of Allies and Axis, were treated as a minor affair worthy of a lesson or two and much less attention than the crimes of the Perfidious Finns!
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The Left operates on the theory that there is a limited capacity in airwaves (true), bandwidth (not true now, may be in the future), attention span (true). If they flood each of these zones with their narrative, it will leave no room for anything contradicting it.
As regards WW2 history, what you describe has already happened. My nephew’s 8th grade textbook devotes an entire page to Japanese internment camps, yet devotes half a sentence to the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history. The media and even the educational system have become dominated by political correctness.
In regards to WW2, the BBC’s The World at War is an excellent source made before PC. I learned more from this than from any classroom on this subject. It looks like Amazon is having a big sale on this series. I purchased it a few years back for $100 and thought that was a good deal.
[...] I was also struck by the stupidity and nihilism of it. What kind of person burns down his own neighborhood? Pounds someone into near death in a wolf pack? I wondered from time to time during my years in Chicago if it could happen there too. In the early 90s, the racial tension in Chicago was palatable. Whatever illusions I had about racial harmony and the like after growing up in a comfortable suburb were totally destroyed by the LA Riots, the widespread racial divide over the OJ verdict a few years later, and the day-to-day hostility often seen on the South Side of Chicago. I was living in one world, and the mostly minority underclass might as well be from another planet. I don’t know what profound lessons are to be learned from all this other than the fact that liberalism is nonsense and built on lies and disinformation. [...]