The real ACORN story

I normally do not watch MSNBC, but a friend shared this.

Finally, someone in the mainstream media telling the bigger story on the supposed ACORN scandal. For instance, it more often than not goes unmentioned that ACORN self-reported voter registration problems in the first place. It usually goes unreported that one of the offices these "journalists" visited called the police, and that the videos were heavily edited.

Thousands are dying and going bankrupt without good health care, and thousands more innocents are dying in Afghanistan, and we are actually concerning ourselves with this non-story of ACORN?!?!

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The media fails ACORN Sept. 24: Rachel Maddow is joined by Occidental College politics professor Peter Dreier, who authored a study on how myths about ACORN were manufactured and how easily the mainstream media - not just the right wing media - was led into reporting falsehoods. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/33013202#33013202

Ignorance & Misinformation Among Anti-Obama Activists

Some excellent footage from the recent demostration in DC.

I have honestly tried really hard to understand these people. I do understand some of their legitimate concerns about taxes, the bailout, government spending, fears of losing (good) health care if there were changes, and general concerns over the effectiveness of proposed health care reform. However, this represents a small minority. And even then, that fact remains that:

a) spending and bailouts started under Bush, and this crowd largely supports him (making them hypocritical), and

b) their health care reform concern are not based on real facts (e.g. Obama is not proposing a government takeover of health care.)

After listening carefully and looking at the signs I saw, here is a list of other concerns these people have:
Obama is like Hitler
Obama is a good speaker (like Hitler)
Obama is a Muslim
Obama "already destroyed most of the country"
Obama is going to arm volunteers with weapons
Barack Obama = the Antichrist (according to the Bible)
"Obamacare"
"we didn't vote for this health care plan"
commies
socialists
fascists
"shame on the press"
abortion
lies
people on welfare
czars

And here are some things they want:
God
a Christian in the White House
ruled by God
freedom
change in government
"take our country back"
abolish Medicare
Glenn Beck

My response to these is that while some of these may be legitimate things to be concerned about generally (i.e. fascism) or to support generally (i.e. freedom), the specific connections to Obama and current actual or proposed policies are either mistaken or nonexistant. As for the rest, many of these are just plain ignorant and offensive on the face of it. My overwhelming sense is that what they have to say is largely based in ignorance and misinformation.

One may ask how this is possible in the "information age." But with so many sources of information, you may easily find some (or one) source of (mis)information that suits your preconceived notions and/or perceived values. These people have apparently done so.

I have been worried about this country's future for awhile now, about the possibility of making the American Dream a reality. Sadly, this makes me scared even more.

But at the same time, I must have hope...and continue to work for progress, peace, and justice.