
On Portland's streets: Anger, fear, and a fence that divides - Kednicma
https://apnews.com/1dd1bb39093a3691f4e78093787ab877
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marcusverus
> The nation is seething with anxiety and deeply divided about the role of
> police, the value of Black lives and the limits of federal authority in an
> election season like none other.

This sentence hits at the heart of the issue, but not in the way the author
intended.

Our politics is no longer about persuasion, but is entirely about division.
The author here is a participant, unwitting or otherwise, in this division. He
writes "The nation is seething with anxiety and deeply divided about... the
value of Black lives". _There is no division about the value of black lives._
The division is about specific policies and their affect on black lives.

Do we need less policing in black neighborhoods, or more? Do we need to change
the rules of engagement for police officers? Do we need laws about the use of
body cameras? Do we need more community outreach?

But these aren't the questions that are pervading the public discourse. Why?
Because politicians and journalists are intent on obfuscating the real issues.
Because the goal isn't to solve the problems, the goal is to harness the
outrage that these problems generate, and channel that outrage into clicks
and/or votes.

~~~
shureluck
This is very well put, and why I am one of many who are just rolling our eyes
at most news coming out of long-time established news sources. The pushing of
narratives has reached levels that make almost all news regarding politics
untrustworthy.

