Why?

Why is it that if there is a crime in Preston, when you look at the article in the Chronicle Herald, right after the heading, the town is identified as Preston? Why is it when there is a crime committed in Millbrook, when you look right after the heading, the town is identified as Millbrook? Why do you find the same thing with Membertou, Pictou Landing, Wagmatcook, and Eskasoni?
Why is it when there is a crime in Cole Harbour, when you look at the article in the Chronicle Herald, right after the heading, the town is identified as...Dartmouth? Why is it that when a crime is committed in Porter's Lake, when you look right after the heading, the town is identified as Dartmouth? The same is true for many other areas. What got me thinking about this...once again is an article in the paper today. Turns out a great deal of stolen goods had been recovered in Debert and the article, right after the heading, said Truro. For those of you who do not know Debert is located approximately 14 kms Northwest of Truro and has a population of 1422. I remember looking at an article about a crime that had happened in Millbrook First Nation a couple months back and found it, well, not surprising, that right after the heading, it was actually identified at Millbrook. For those of you who are not familiar with the area, Millbrook is located on Truro's side doorstep and has a population of 1345. One only has to take a look at the racial makeup of these towns that are identified in stories and the racial identity of those towns that are not identified to see what the "real" story is behind the reporting of crime in the media. Shame on you

Welcome to page 9 of the Chronicle Herald

So as a continuation of my blog from September 16 "5 arrested in raid in Preston", my point has once again been proven. Today in the Chronicle Herald, an article ran on the drug raid yesterday in Cole Harbour and Dartmouth. Get this... ON PAGE 9! Please read the previous blog if you are unsure about what I am talking about. I checked the CBC website and found exactly what I expected...nothing. Well, not exactly nothing. There were three comments:

• Put them in prison for life (11 disagreed)
• Unspecified(small amount), no weapons, what a waste of officers time and tax payers money (11 agreed)

• So what? The government is a big drug dealer anyway (18 agreed)

As predicted, CBC did not even run the names of the communities in the headline "12 charged in Halifax-area Drug raids" News flash, none were in Halifax. Last time I checked, Dartmouth and Cole Harbour were part of HRM, but not part of Halifax, nor is Preston, but they ALWAYS make sure that is known.
Amazing, and proves my point. A couple months back when a raid happened in Preston, people were all over this site wanting to get rid of the neighborhood, saying how it was such a horrible community. When I mentioned these raid happen all over the place, not specifically in one community and dared to even mention to check with your neighbors, as they may be dealers (think about it, what a great cover, selling drugs out of a middle class white community, police will never think of looking there), people were all over me. Correct me if I am wrong, but this raid was in Cole Harbour, and those names don't quite seem to fit the names people on this comment site THINK..yes THINK fit the names of people who should be charged in these raids. If you want to see then names, try not to get too tired flipping all the way to page 9, but they are there. Let me tell you, that Cole Harbour is nothing but a slum and crime community...sound familiar?

What is media, I mean, who owns media and why they say what they do

Media is more influential today than it has ever been, even more so than the reports from the mid seventies on the cold war and the general hatred spread towards Russians. Canadians, the same as Americans, have always depended on the media to tell us what to think, how to think, and how to judge others. When I look at the media, I do not look so much at the message, but first and foremost, at whom the message is coming from. I am not talking about the picture of “whiteness” that is on the screen, but the people you do not see. The people who have the say in what is put out there, those with the deep pockets, those who have the privilege to tell society what is the norm.

Up until the election of Obama as the 44th president of the US, the only time (generally speaking) you would see a person of colour in the news was if he was gunned down by the police for threatening them not with a weapon but with a cell phone. Instead of reporting the MURDER as done by the police, the focus is on the previous records of the victim. This happens all too often. One of the big offenders of this portrayal of people of colour as violent is the show COPS. Do you ever see them following an officer in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Connecticut? Do these areas not have crime?

The portrayal in sitcoms is even worse than the news. The recent hiring of Adam Beach, a First Nations actor, to the cast of Law and Order was a big day for FN people everywhere. Finally a FN actor not being type cast. After only a season, the last scene he was in saw him getting hauled away in the back of a police car. What does this tell society? First Nations people have always had a rough go with the media, from the cartoon antics of Bugs Bunny, the Flintstones, the Jetsons, even up to current children (teen) cartoons like the Simpson (who have a license to attack everyone it seems) to children programming on YTV that portrays the “noble savage” otherwise known as the Hollywood Indian. These are shows, produced by the dominant society, for, get this, their children! If these negative stereotypes are a thing of past generations and if society continues to let the media dictate what the dominant society believes and holds true, then how far have we truly come, where did we really come from, and where are we heading next?

5 arrested in East Preston drug raid

Ok, so there was a drug bust in Preston today (Sept 16) Not a huge haul 147 plants, a bit of coke, and so forth. Typical raid as far as raids go. What pisses me off, is not so much how this is being reported, but once again, the asinine, ignorant remarks coming from the readers of CBC's web site, who feel it is their life purpose to show their bigotry and ignorance towards a specific community that they have never been to nor probably ever will. Every community has its criminals, not just black communities. How many raids have there been in Colby Village? What about Portland Estates? Lawrencetown? Ross Road? how about the South end of Halifax? If you can't remember, you are not alone. These hit the news, usually page 4, 5,...of section B and disappear just as fast. When these raids take place in a community other than they typical white community, seems "those people have no sense of community" or "those people have no respect for anyone". Umm, what about the grow-ops that are happening next door to you as you read this, stealing YOUR power, or how about the meth lab you neighbour has in their basement? can you imagine the damage if that thing explodes? talk about no respect for your neighbours! So if all this is happening in YOUR communities, why is it the CBC readers think black communities have the monopoly drug raids and criminals? Does Jimmy Melvin live in Preston? I thought not. Speaking of which, it seems a lot of these folks get their misconceptions from a select few. They see a black guy arrested for drugs and suddenly all black folks are drug dealers. If this logic held true, all white males would could be either, say thugs with no respect for those around them, aka JM, or say terrorists, as Timothy McVeigh, or all old white males are pedophiles thanks to the actions of a few priests. Or perhaps all corporate white males are theives because of the actions of Conrad Black. See, this logic does not make sense. So if it does not make sense and you still believe it, what exactly does that make you?

The meanings of Privileged language

I will be quick and to the point. I am very curious about the language not only society chooses to use but that of the media. I can remember seeing many protests or picket lines around Nova Scotia over the years. As a matter of fact, from what I recall, quite a number of them have been public civil servants (you know, the whole" I pay your salary" jobs..trust me, I can not stand this saying either). Now the issue I have here is the language used to describe these picket lines...just that PICKET LINE, or even more rebellious, how about protest ( a little more powerful sounding that demonstration). How many of us have heard of these picket lines not letting anyone through? no vehicles, no bodies. How many of us have heard of folks getting a bit, shall we say, roughed up by these lines? How many of us have heard the tongue lashings these folks throw out on these picket lines. So my question is, why do we chose such soft language to describe these lines, but when the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation near Nelson House, Manitoba, forms a picket line, WHICH, keep in mind is blocking vehicles only and letting people through, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, aka the CBC, runs the headline "Natives blockade norther Manitoba dam project"?? BLOCKADE?? That sounds more like a demonstration to me.
By the way, if you are wondering what exactly are they demonstrating against, no, it is not that it is sacred ground. No, it is not over land that was stolen. It is over promised jobs. Now, for those of you who say they are protesting over jobs that were promised to Natives...WRONG..they are protesting over jobs that were promised to LOCALS, it just so happens that locals in this situation happen to be from a First Nations community. Just the same as if the dam was being built in Guysborough (or fill in the blank with any small town Canada or US name) and most of the jobs were promised to said town. Now, if said town were upset and decided to demonstrate against what was promised, I am damn sure the CBC would not use the word "blockade" in the headline...CBC...smarten up, or is that too much to ask, after all, I pay your salary

Too many to talk about, whiners abound

I have been reading a lot of posts recently, on Facebook groups, CBC discussions on articles, and have seen a common theme. "Minorities stop whining". "Pull yourself up by the bootstraps", if you have never had the opportunity to own boots, how is this possible.
I just finished reading through post about a article in where a local drugstore had a display case, under lock and key, for certain products for Black folk. Yes, under lock and key. Along side you could buy products such as you aussie shampoo, brylcreem, clips, barrettes, combs, and any of the other millions of products geared towards White folks. While reading through the comments people insisted the store had a right to lock up anything they feel neccessary. They had a right to protect their property. I totally agree to this, yes, they do have a right to protect their property. But are they protecting it properly? Since statistics in the US and Canada show the majority of shoplifting is done by White mid to upper income females, should they not be locking up the aussie shampoo? what about those barrettes? This is not protecting your proprty. This is buying into the stereotype that Black folk are theives, and not law abiding like the "norm" of society. Like I said, buying into and perpetuating the stereotype. The same stereotype we see on shows like Cops, Law and Order (remember Adam Beach, in his final show, even he was hauled away in the back of a police car.. I wonder if he was dropped on the outskirts of Saskatoon like so many before), even the current season of 24 has the Whitehouse being taken over by a poor country in Africa who the Americans are trying to save. The same stereotype that shows a black man on the front page of a local newspaper being put in the back of a car (caught) and a White guy's picture, small as possible, buried in the paper even though he is wanted for robbing a bank.
The other comment I noticed over and over is that minorities should "stop whining". I find it interesting that pointing out an injustice is considered whining. Is it whining that is going on in the South end of Halifax because they want to divert tucks onto the throughway for the train? No, it is called a community rallying together. Is it whining when a group of Black folk get together to protest the newest racial profiling case, aka "driving while Black", by the police? Why do these two questions get different answers. I find it quite ironic that when White folk are telling minorities to quit whining, they themselves are the ones doing the whining.

A picture says a thousand words

Looking through the paper this morning and I noticed a trend that seems to be long running. Just curious, but do you think posting a picture in the paper of a suspect of a bank robbery, who is still out there, is more important than posting a picture of a suspect of a person who is in custody for a robbery? Ok, I agree, both are crimes to be reported, but what makes one priority over the other? I find it ironic, no, surprising, no typical, that the picture of a black male being put into the back of a police car warrants a large picture on page two, but a suspect in a bank robbery, who is white, in a predominately white community (Cole Harbour), and still on the loose, gets his tiny picture on page seven in the small Across Nova Scotia section. This seems to happen over and over in the paper. The same type of crime, different coverage.