by Robert M. Traxler
Facts are pesky things because they get in the way of feelings.
“For people who identify strongly with one side of the political spectrum or the other, it can feel like their opponents are willfully ignoring the facts. But right or left, both sides believe their positions are grounded in evidence. We now live in a world where there are red facts and blue facts, and I believe these biased motivated-reasoning processes fuel political conflict. If someone firmly believes some fact to be true that you just as firmly believe to be false, it is hard for either of you not to see that other person as stupid, disingenuous or both.” — American Psychological Association.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Sunday that there’s “a lot to be upset about” following the not-guilty verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. He joins the President, Vice President, and most of the “impartial” media, upset that the truth has come out.
Facts reported by many of the good folks at MSNBC, CNN, NBC and many others were indeed not facts, but made-up truth they wished to be true and were damned lies.
A few of the lies:
*Mr. Rittenhouse was/is a white nationalist.
*Mr. Rittenhouse was/is a white supremacist.
*Mr. Rittenhouse had no ties to the Kenosha WI. area or even Wisconsin, and had no business being there.
*Mr. Rittenhouse illegally crossed state lines with a short-barreled rifle.
*Mr. Rittenhouse killed three African Americans; he ran them down and shot them for no reason.
*The victims were all African Americans and part of a peaceful demonstration.
*Mr. Rittenhouse’s silence in not talking to the press, police or prosecutors is a clear indication of guilt.
Not one of those allegations is true, but who cares? They sound good, and the left wants them to be true, so they was reported as slam-dunk facts. Tens of millions of people still believe in the made up “facts” as reported by the media, and will go to their graves believing them.
Let’s look at the reported “facts.” No proof exists showing Mr. Rittenhouse was a member of any white nationalist or supremacist group.
Mr. Rittenhouse’s father lived in the Kenosha WI area, giving him ties to the area.
Mr. Rittenhouse was chased by the demonstrators who hit him with a skateboard, stomped his head into the pavement and stuck a loaded semi-automatic pistol in his face.
Mr. Rittenhouse’s rifle was not a short-barreled rifle (a rifle barrel less than 16 inches), and no proof exists he crossed state lines with it.
Three men were shot by Mr. Rittenhouse; none, zero, were African Americans, and two died, not three. A fairly basic fact the media and the head of the DNC should have known after the trial was over, when they again reported it. Until the week of the trial, reporters in other countries were repeating that lie, because it was reported in US media.
The peaceful demonstrations in Kenosha were in response to a police shooting of an “unarmed” Black man; the gentleman shot had a knife that he refused to drop, and charged police. The “peaceful” demonstrations looted and burned millions of dollars’ worth of property, and slung bricks and firebombs at the police.
Mr. Rittenhouse and every other American citizen has the constitutional right to remain silent, a fact the judge forcefully reminded the prosecution of more than once.
The media is “shouting fire in a crowed theater;” they are not stretching the facts, but making them up as they go along. The truth is what sounds good, and they wish to be true anything to stir the fire of hate and discontent.
We must wounder how many Pulitzer Prizes will be handed out to socialist media for their false reporting on the Rittenhouse case and trial. Perhaps as many as were given out reporting on the “Steele Dossier” in the Russia investigation into President Trump, a story the Washington Post has retracted, but not most of the media.
Not be deterred by the innocent on all counts verdict, the media reported that white supremacists celebrated Mr. Rittenhouse’s acquittal, leaving the impression that Mr. Rittenhouse was a member of their hate group; he is not.
It reminds me of an old story that President Lyndon Johnson as a candidate for lower office told his campaign to put out a story that his opponent has sex with animals. When told they had no proof, Mr. Johnson said, “I know that, I just want to hear him deny it.”
The media needs to take a long hard look at the way they report the facts; shading the truth is one thing, out-and-out bald-faced lying is quite another. Left and right media do this, but there is five times the media supporting the lies on the left than the lies on the right, and social media that encourage liberal lies, even banning the true facts in the Rittenhouse case.
My Opinion.
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