Comments on: Review: They Can’t Kill Us All, Wesley Lowery

By: Jenny @ Reading the End

Jenny @ Reading the End — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 14:03:00 +0000

In reply to Aarti.

We do, we doooooo need to trust reporters and the media. But Spotlight also reminded me how entirely the whole system can fail — my favorite moment in that movie is when Michael Keaton’s character admits that EVEN HE ignored this story, that the systems that failed these abuse survivors included the system of which he is now a part. I’m not ready to throw any of the institutions out, but I know that I’ve become much more suspicious of their good faith as I’ve gotten older. 🙁

By: Jenny @ Reading the End

Jenny @ Reading the End — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 14:03:00 +0000

In reply to Jeanne. Fwoo, yeah, that sounds like a miserable drive to be taking.

By: Jenny @ Reading the End

Jenny @ Reading the End — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 14:01:00 +0000

In reply to Athira. Absolutely! I recognize that it's hard for books to get written about a movement that's still so new, and about which we can't really draw any longterm conclusions yet, but I also think it's so valuable to have books like this that lay out all the facts. In the storm of black deaths, it can become overwhelming, and even worse, you end up forgetting what's come before because you're perpetually focused on whatever the next crisis is going to be. So this book is definitely really great for that reason.

By: Jenny @ Reading the End

Jenny @ Reading the End — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 14:00:00 +0000

In reply to Naomi. I know it's not a good attitude to view everything as impossible, but some days it's hard to avoid. I'm trying to keep on trucking, and some days are easier than others. Sending hugs to you and your brother.

By: Jenny @ Reading the End

Jenny @ Reading the End — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 13:59:00 +0000

In reply to Michelle. Oh gosh, I definitely don't think the reputable ones are filing false reports, so much as not fact-checking adequately the claims that they're quoting. I also think that the focus on clicks has guided how people report the news, and I absolutely believe that the media was complicit in making Trump seem like a viable candidate early on. By the time they realized they needed to take him seriously, it was too little too late. So. Yuck.

By: Jenny @ Reading the End

Jenny @ Reading the End — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 13:58:00 +0000

In reply to Stefanie@SoManyBooks. Yeah, it's been really frustrating to me to watch people tie themselves into pretzels to deny that the police have ever, ever done something wrong. To me it seems so clear that we need increased accountability and transparency around the YOU KNOW EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS being carried out by state actors. Like it seems really basic to want heightened scrutiny on that?

By: Jenny @ Reading the End

Jenny @ Reading the End — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 13:57:00 +0000

In reply to Laila@BigReadingLife. Yep, do it. It's a good overview!

By: Laila@BigReadingLife

Laila@BigReadingLife — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 00:37:00 +0000

Yep, I need to read this.

By: Stefanie@SoManyBooks

Stefanie@SoManyBooks — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 17:45:00 +0000

Sounds like a good book. My reaction to the 2013 date was completely opposite to yours, wow, it’s been that long already? It sadly seems like it just happened and keeps happening over and over and over. The good thing is, we are hearing about police shootings more, bringing the ugly into the light of day where it can’t hide. Though as you say, there are still far too many white people who are somehow managing to ignore it or twist it into something that justifies their racism.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 15:14:00 +0000

I wish I knew what the answer was to your current distrust of news institutions. I find it difficult to believe that the reputable ones will go out of their way to file false reports. Yet, the focus on headlines only thanks to social media makes it so easy for even reputable sources to sensationalize their headlines as clickbait. The problem is that very few people actually click on the article to read the story, so we have millions of people receiving their news via headlines and 140-characters snippets. It does not help that some sites still require a subscription to read the story. I know I sound curmudgeonly and old when I say that social media has not done society any favors (it actually slays me to say that given how much I adore social media). That and the fact that the more traditional news sources have done a poor job adapting to social media in a way that keeps their integrity and gravitas intact.