Pixelated Semantics

Red Raggin'

At last a good news story: Mexico has a long history of suspected leftists vanishing after being detained, often illegally, by government forces. Many were apparently tortured and killed, echoing the "Salvador Option" (recently resurrected for Iraqnam). Today, against the tide of extremism across the globe, leftist activists have won a "stunning victory" in the southern state of Guerrero, ousting the conservatives after 76 years of repression. A communist party candidate said they had "achieved the miracle of the vote". Mexico's ruling conservative National Action Party managed to win only 1 percent of the vote, the result of decades of repression by conservatives.

A day later and I note that the US media is already seeking to propagandise the victory by associating violence with the left, often via a quick headline, which in this case belies the fact the violence is closely associated with the now-defeated ruling conservative party. By mentioning the left and "guerilla tactics" in the lead to the story or the headline and a clear if false association is created, distracting attention away from the real substance, and feeding the irrational demonisation of socialists.

Item posted by AutoEditor at 9:05 am ::