Well i think the most vital artery of society is its media. Like what obama said at the white house correspondents ball (youtube it), without the journalists, there is no news, without news there is no education and that a free and vibrant media is essential to a nation. No matter the stance on issues these publications take.
Theres the problem right there. Free and vibrant. We've definitely got vibrant news here in the UAE, with all the hate talk about israel and about stuff which 'everybody hates' like america. But its not free. Real, juicy journalism is the stuff which doesnt agree with societys norms. Stuff which brings shock, awe and debate to the forum of media. Not stuff which everyone agrees on. Why would i want to read that everyday for the next 12 months?
Now i understand that we reside in a hierarchical society and that the powers that be dont allow that kind of freedom. But what bothers me is that they portray it as free. They gladly bash israel every single day, but when it comes to reporting about a palestinian man who ran over 2 jewish kids with a bulldozer and was finally killed after a 2 hour confrontation with the police, guess what the headline reads. " Palistinean murdered in cold blood by Israeli police". It has reached a point where a holocaust denier was given a whole opinion section in a mainstream newspaper to write his anti-semitic remarks. He said the holocaust was staged. But i dont know who was the bigger criminal :
1. Him
2. The bunch of people who sent 'letters to the editor' agreeing with him
3. Or the editor who actualy printed those letters. Who obviously agreed with those people, who agreed with the journalist.
Thats what im talking about. Fair enough, we live in caged and constrained times, but dont turn it into gonzo journalism. Its one thing to hate robin hood because he steals from the rich and gives it to the poor. But its completely different when you call yourself robin, but keep the money to yourself. Hope you understand that weird analogy i thought of in the past 20 seconds.
Anyways the point is, that its vibrant and not free. I think those two are related and you can only enjoy real journalism when theres liberty.
Yes, theres no freedom, but then dont go out portraying yourself as a newspaper that has an opinion and stands for values, stay neutral. Because those average folk who read the papers will think its actual raw, unhindered, non-biased reports. Those average folk don't acknowledge that in fact its one big puppet show. Stay controlled and dont try to be a pinnochio.
Thats the underlying message im trying to project. Dont say the shops free, when you charge people to come in.
P.S - Bloody hell ive got an english board exam tomorrow
Till next time,
TheDubaiGuy
Thursday 14 May 2009
Introduction
Welcome :)
This blogs been on the drawing board for a while now, finally got it going.
Im a guy, living in UAE. Actualy i live in Sharjah, nothing really rhymes well with it so used 'dubai', hence the whole dubai-guy-check-out-my-rhymes-ive-got-realy-high-IQ, kind of thing.
Anyways living here, doing the things teenagers do, i dont want this to be a whole teen-life-rant bullshit thing, cause im more mature than that. Wow that was modest wasnt it. I was aiming for this to be more of a forum of opinion on issues. Well technically you lot have no choice, its my blog. Oh yeah, im cherishing these first moments of being a dicatator. Whos got their 'Che' Guevara bandanas ready ?
I go to an ok school, got a fairly decent family, and im fairly rich (compared to poor people).
So yeah, in a nutshell. The perfect middle class, average person
Living in less than an average place, with all the stuff happening in the uae i think its ..... you cant realy describe it, what could you say. This place has given so much to some people, and has stolen lives from others. It is everything, the allmighty, its brahma and shiva. The creator and destroyer, wikipedia those gods if you want more info.
Oh and by the way im not religious at all.
I think if you could describe this place, you'd call it a spinning top.
Always changing, doesnt know where its going, and doesnt abide by the rules of the guy who spun it. Your'e the retard spectator whos just hoping that it wont go and hit the wall or something, marvelling at how cool it looks.
There are many wonders, problems and stuff, about me, stuff in the uae, and stuff worldwide that id like to voice and clarify my opinion on. Hopefully my views are well backed up, and you can see things in a new light.
I wouldn't call this a hate blog, but you cant say dont hate. Beause somethings are just wrong at any standard. Its like terrorists blowing up hospitals. Yes, i believe that "one mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter". But no matter what the hell happened to you young man, there are some lines you dont cross, some values you dont erode and some buildings you dont blow up. There is no justification for blowing up a hospital. Period. And no not that kind.
I think thats a relatively good example of crossing the line. A bit of a violent example for this first post but whatever.
Hope your getting my drift. Yeah.
This blogs been on the drawing board for a while now, finally got it going.
Im a guy, living in UAE. Actualy i live in Sharjah, nothing really rhymes well with it so used 'dubai', hence the whole dubai-guy-check-out-my-rhymes-ive-got-realy-high-IQ, kind of thing.
Anyways living here, doing the things teenagers do, i dont want this to be a whole teen-life-rant bullshit thing, cause im more mature than that. Wow that was modest wasnt it. I was aiming for this to be more of a forum of opinion on issues. Well technically you lot have no choice, its my blog. Oh yeah, im cherishing these first moments of being a dicatator. Whos got their 'Che' Guevara bandanas ready ?
I go to an ok school, got a fairly decent family, and im fairly rich (compared to poor people).
So yeah, in a nutshell. The perfect middle class, average person
Living in less than an average place, with all the stuff happening in the uae i think its ..... you cant realy describe it, what could you say. This place has given so much to some people, and has stolen lives from others. It is everything, the allmighty, its brahma and shiva. The creator and destroyer, wikipedia those gods if you want more info.
Oh and by the way im not religious at all.
I think if you could describe this place, you'd call it a spinning top.
Always changing, doesnt know where its going, and doesnt abide by the rules of the guy who spun it. Your'e the retard spectator whos just hoping that it wont go and hit the wall or something, marvelling at how cool it looks.
There are many wonders, problems and stuff, about me, stuff in the uae, and stuff worldwide that id like to voice and clarify my opinion on. Hopefully my views are well backed up, and you can see things in a new light.
I wouldn't call this a hate blog, but you cant say dont hate. Beause somethings are just wrong at any standard. Its like terrorists blowing up hospitals. Yes, i believe that "one mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter". But no matter what the hell happened to you young man, there are some lines you dont cross, some values you dont erode and some buildings you dont blow up. There is no justification for blowing up a hospital. Period. And no not that kind.
I think thats a relatively good example of crossing the line. A bit of a violent example for this first post but whatever.
Hope your getting my drift. Yeah.
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