Worrying rise in threats of serious violence against some USA mediapersons; President Trump should publicly condemn such threats
Warning: The video linked below refers to some threats of serious violence. Readers who do not like to see or read such stuff may please skip reading rest of this post.
Threats made to two CNN journalists and some MSNBC journalists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGJo7gje6vo, around 3 mins, published by CNN on 5th Aug. 2018.
Investigative journalists do get threatened. I think it is an occupational hazard of that profession. But it seems to have gone up now in the USA, as compared to earlier.
My considered view is that USA president Trump should issue a statement/tweet that he condemns such threats of violence made against USA media, even if such media write critically of him. I think that's what's expected of the top man in a democratic country, whether such a democracy is in North America, Europe or Asia (don't know enough about democracies in other continents to comment).
President Trump is publicly critical of many sections of the USA media and I think he has the right to be publicly critical. I am not saying anything about whether such criticism of President Trump against USA media is correct or not. I mean, Trump says they are Fake News. I don't want to say anything on whether I think he is correct or not. What I am saying is that I think he has the democratic right to call them Fake News and the media has the democratic right to counter his statements and perhaps even challenge him on it in a court of law in the USA. I must say, however, that calling the USA media the "enemy of the people" is going too far and unacceptable for a President of a democratic country to say. That's the language of autocratic dictators and not of democratically elected leaders.
Criticism is one thing. Threats of physical violence on journalists and politicians who say critical things about some groups of people is another. Such threats are just not acceptable as normal or allowed behaviour, in any country that claims to be a reasonably functioning democracy. And so the top leader of the concerned country should publicly condemn such threats.
Please note that I have a PUBLICLY (POLITICALLY) NEUTRAL informal-student-observer role in these posts that I put up about USA politics. Of course, as I am an Indian citizen living in India, there is no question of me having voted in USA elections.
Threats made to two CNN journalists and some MSNBC journalists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGJo7gje6vo, around 3 mins, published by CNN on 5th Aug. 2018.
Investigative journalists do get threatened. I think it is an occupational hazard of that profession. But it seems to have gone up now in the USA, as compared to earlier.
My considered view is that USA president Trump should issue a statement/tweet that he condemns such threats of violence made against USA media, even if such media write critically of him. I think that's what's expected of the top man in a democratic country, whether such a democracy is in North America, Europe or Asia (don't know enough about democracies in other continents to comment).
President Trump is publicly critical of many sections of the USA media and I think he has the right to be publicly critical. I am not saying anything about whether such criticism of President Trump against USA media is correct or not. I mean, Trump says they are Fake News. I don't want to say anything on whether I think he is correct or not. What I am saying is that I think he has the democratic right to call them Fake News and the media has the democratic right to counter his statements and perhaps even challenge him on it in a court of law in the USA. I must say, however, that calling the USA media the "enemy of the people" is going too far and unacceptable for a President of a democratic country to say. That's the language of autocratic dictators and not of democratically elected leaders.
Criticism is one thing. Threats of physical violence on journalists and politicians who say critical things about some groups of people is another. Such threats are just not acceptable as normal or allowed behaviour, in any country that claims to be a reasonably functioning democracy. And so the top leader of the concerned country should publicly condemn such threats.
Please note that I have a PUBLICLY (POLITICALLY) NEUTRAL informal-student-observer role in these posts that I put up about USA politics. Of course, as I am an Indian citizen living in India, there is no question of me having voted in USA elections.
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