A thread about the abuse of power and its association with double standards.

[Rakaia]

DISCLAIMER: Please approach this thread from a sociological & psychological viewpoint not a political one.

The inspiration for this thread comes from commentary about two recent deaths, the health care CEO and the prison inmate.
There was a comment about a lynch mob mentality in one post about the prison killing and it made me think about the very public display of the accused killer of the CEO being helicoptered in and paraded with the mayor of NYC getting camera time. The spin for this was, from memory, an anti-terrorist angle, I see similarities in the public reaction to both killings but with a different spin in the media and social commentary.

It's the nature of the imbalance of power that the powerful have better control over public commentary which in turn is used to sway public opinion.
I'm curious to see how others perceive and how they perceive the subtle and not so subtle ways of influencing our thoughts. The words we choose can inflame or de-escalate situations so the motivation of those who use language this way is worth considering. Why do they use this language and to what end?

 

[January]

Interesting topic.

something we can also apply to ourselves or our reading - good excercise to remove all emotive words and see how the bare facts sound different without them.

If I remember rightly, there was video of the CEO being shot - was there complaints about it being released i n the media though or wanting the killer's rights protected as there is in the other case?

 

[Rakaia]

If I remember rightly, there was video of the CEO being shot - was there complaints about it being released i n the media though or wanting the killer's rights protected as there is in the other case?

Yeah, same same but different...

 

[Mr. Ed]

Sensationalism buys the most action

 

[Rakaia]

Sensationalism buys the most action

The killing of both of them was sensationalised but spun in different directions. I'm talking influencing the mass psyche, not just the fifteen minutes of fame.

 

[Mr. Ed]

It has always been this way for as long as I can remember. Persuasive and pervasive language that spark emotion.

It is sort of like attending church services where the language is persuasive and biased.

 

[Paco Dennis]

OJ, the many school shootings, the Boston marathon bombing, and the plethora of acts of murderous violence happens all the time. We arrest the perpetrator/s and they are tried by a jury of their peers. Whether or not justice was served is often a matter of opinion. What else can we do?