The delivery of anthrax to the AMI building in Boca Raton is a case of taunting a raging fire. In the week before the anthrax arrival, one of AMI’s tabloid newspapers asserted that Osama bin Laden is an angry, violent terrorist because he has a small penis.
The story was quite hilarious. Osama allegedly met an American woman in a Beirut nightclub in the 1980s, the woman was shocked by his below-average size and he was never the same. With a newfound hatred of the United States, he went on to a life of crime and terror.
Unfortunately, as we have all learned, it is dangerous to question the manhood of a mass murdering terrorist. Putting yourself in Osama’s shoes, US tabloids–the prime source of blatant infidel media lies and Satanic defamer of High Mujahedeen endowment–is a pretty good place to start some terror activity.
Considering the symbolism of the 9/11 attacks, Mr. bin Laden has demonstrated himself to be a dangerously deep thinker. The Marine barracks, the Naval destroyer, the US Embassies, the World Trade Center and the Pentagon are all significant targets. The tabloid anthrax attack seems like “personal business” for Osama. Up to the AMI, bin Laden’s twisted philosophy held the evasive badge of logical consistency.
Then NBC was attacked. Dumb idea.
Throughout all of Al-Queda’s terrorist attacks against US operations, the media has been reasonably objective. They went into Afghanistan to learn more about the nation and people that help Al-Queda–even as Afghanistan remained on the back pages of every international periodical. They interviewed bin Laden and allowed generous airtime and column inches so he could spout venom to a captive Western audience. They put together documentary works that dedicated hours to “his side” of the story.
Everywhere Osama went, the media followed. Whatever Osama had to say, the media had someone there to report it.
No longer.
Prior to the attack on NBC, the US government had urged all domestic media outlets not to play any Al-Queda “propaganda” for fear that it may contain “secret codes”. The media acknowledged government concerns in one breath while filing that concerning under “CS” for “chicken shit” in the next. The media had a job to do and rightly believed that they were bending over backwards to meet the vague notion of responsible journalism.
At the same time, you could almost feel that the media was collectively concerned about “secret codes”. Nobody wants to believe a crazy idea like that but nobody wants to see anyone else die at the hands of terror. They tossed the concept around the editorial pages and the airwaves and left the matter alone.
Then Tom Brokaw’s personal assistant contracted anthrax. Game over. Osama will no longer receive any objectivity from the national media. Arab-Americans will find heavy discrimination at media outlets and the evaporation of sympathy because of something they had absolutely nothing to do with. The media will now grow to see the government as a trustworthy adviser to the detriment of all.
The “liberal” press was often accused of not being fair in good times. The media’s only enemies were the traditional enemies of government’s collective politicians and bureaucrats. The tables have turned at Al-Queda’s doing. No one will ever truly learn if there is any semblance of a noble, progressive mission in the organization because they have angered the gods of information distribution.
It will be interesting to see how unfair the press can be to a now personalized enemy. If the press chooses to ally with government and exact retribution(by definition, unobjective reporting) against Al-Queda, the actions will be to the detriment of all.
