The Truth About Fake News

The Truth About Fake News

Whenever the orange ogre screams ‘Fake News’, I used to freak out a bit.

What did he mean?

When you or I hear that term, ‘Fake News’, what jumps to mind? I immediately question the integrity of the reporter. The facts? Are the facts wrong? Is that what the gaseous-ass is complaining about?

No.

I finally figured it out.

It's another dog whistle.

When his followers hear him spew, ‘Fake News’, what he’s saying isn’t that the story’s narrative is false, the facts, wrong. No. What he is telling them is… never mind. Nothing to see here. Go about your business. We have this handled. Don’t worry about this. Now, go back to your lives. You have more important things to concern yourselves with.

And his followers, because not only do they not like to think for themselves, they just plain don’t like to think at all, are only too happy to comply. Yay. Something else they don’t have to concern themselves with. They can go back to watching NASCAR and playing Grand Theft Auto, or shop at Wal-Mart to add to their hoard, or get themselves more deep-fried Ick-Fil-A sandwiches. With fries. And a 72 oz. Diet Coke.

See? They were right to trust this man. To vote for this man. Remember that other man? So much to worry about. To think about. Remember? He kept telling us to think about this, think about that? He kept telling us we had to do things. But this man? He has everything under control. He tells us who is good (we are!) and who is bad (everybody else). He is the most best-est ever.

He’s a friggin’ genius!

Jan. 2017 - Apr. 2020

I don’t know why it took me so long to decipher this. I think it was the alarm that kept going off in my own head regarding journalistic integrity that kept me good and distracted. I kept thinking it was a message meant for me. So, I struggled to make sense of it, from my perspective.

But that’s the wrong perspective…

I remember exactly where I was sitting when I came to this realization - on my Mom’s couch. We were having coffee and watching the news. A story came on - I think it was something about Covid-19 and testing, and my Mom told me that her friend, Toni, told her that what that reporter was saying was fake news, so she didn’t have to pay attention to it anymore. It didn’t concern her.

And I was flabbergasted. Sputtering. And then it dawned on me - ‘Fake News’ was like being handed a get-out-of-jail-free card. A we-aren’t-responsible-for-our-actions card. And that? That explains a lot of what we are seeing in these no-longer United States.

Those people who refuse to wear a mask when shopping at the supermarket? Those people who demand that restaurants reopen so they don’t have to cook for themselves anymore and go to the beach in droves or attend a political rally? Or demand that school’s reopen so they don’t have to take care of the kids they chose to bring into this world?

That person who hung a noose in Bubba Wallace’s garage? That white woman who called 911 because a Black man was walking in the park? Those two wannabe bounty hunters who hunted down Ahmaud Arbery?

That cop who killed George Floyd?

They have all been given permission to be their most awful selves. 

And so they are doing exactly that. Well, the orange one said it was okay. Immigration! Our precious borders. People who are different! We have the right to stand up for what we believe in! You know, like Black people were better off as slaves. And the South never lost that damn war. And Columbus discovered America… well, there was no one here.

He’s given them permission to ignore facts. To ignore history.

They’ve also been given permission to dismiss science.

You see, some people view science the way I view religion. I see Jesus as propaganda. A means of control. They view science the same way.

It’s cultural. It’s why southern states want God in the classroom. So they can downplay the science stuff. Due to their need to over-simplify their lives (because they are lazy - aren’t we all?), they pit the two against each other. For them, it’s a death match and only one can come out alive. And because Jesus promises, well, all sorts of things - salvation, eternal life, forgiveness (you know, for doing things like calling 911 because a Black man is walking in a park or kneeling on someone’s neck) and the possibility of mind-boggling wealth - based on the percentage of your monthly SSI payment you are willing to tithe so your Pastor/Reverend/Financial Guru can afford those Armani suits, lake homes, lavish trips and fancy automobiles. Because Jesus wouldn’t want him walking around in G.D. rags. Oh, yeah… and so you can get into heaven, or whatever. 

Religiosity - 2016

Because people are lazy. Why earn your way into heaven by doing good works and doing the right thing when you can just buy your way in? And - it feels good to be righteous. To win.

And science? Science is hard. I mean, it is practically math! You have to read. Religion is easier. You go to church and get spoon-fed stories. Stories! A lot more interesting than a bunch of numbers and dissecting things...

Besides... What does science have to offer? Nothing.

Science says all those deep-fried sandwiches you buy at Ick-A-Fil are bad for you. They make you fat. That 72 ounce soda you get at the Pic N Save? Bad for you. Gives you the sugar beeties. Science tells you to wear that mask. To social distance. To wash your hands. To watch your diet. To take your insulin. Blah, blah, blah...

Bah. Science.

Science is a bully and just gets in the way of all your fun.

Besides, everybody knows the reason you are 100 lbs. overweight is glandular. It’s all glandular.

Obesity - 2018

Because if it wasn’t, and science was right… you could do something about it. Like muscle up some self control. But, naw. Science is junk… unlike those delicious waxy Little Debbie snack cakes you eat a box of every day. Hey, they’s only $1.09 for a whole box!

Yeah, science is all Fake News.

Now, I hate to use terms like ‘they’ and ‘them’. I know that those terms are divisive. Just as divisive as terms like ‘Fake News’ and ‘Big Hoax’.

And I know that words feed behavior. And it seems to me that both are at the crux of what’s wrong in this country right now.

And I know it’s not just the south. They’re merely an easy target because they’ve made themselves one.

What’s it going to take to fix it? What always takes:

Personal responsibility, hard work, a willingness to listen.

Empathy, understanding.

Owning our shit.

And we, in this country? We have a lot to own.

The other day, I had to explain to my mother why reparations still need to be made for what was done to the Black community. She sputtered, “But it’s been so long.” Yes. And we still haven’t taken care of that.

I told her, one idea to make things right? Just as we handed the casinos over to the Native Americans, we should legalize marijuana and hand that industry over to the Black community. “But why?” she asked.

Because we kidnapped people, tore them from their native land, tore them from their families and everything they knew, brought them to this country to build this country, to build an economy, and then treated them horribly - worse than horrible - what was done was inhumane. 

It still is...

Africans Kidnapped for Slave Trade: 1501-1875

Just imagine what a magnificent continent Africa would be, had we not robbed them of a future?

And the same is true of Native Americans. Imagine what an interesting and marvelous nation they would have developed?

But my mother still struggles to understand. I get it. It has taken me a lifetime to get to where I am.

Words matter. She was brainwashed. Just as I was. To believe in a false history, a false narrative. A history that painted white people as saviors… that takes a long time to work through.

But it is time. To do that.

Time to do the hard work.

And that?

That’s not 'Fake News'.

People Get Ready - Curtis Mayfield

Think! - Aretha Franklin