Read The Article, Not Just The Headline

Read The Article, Not Just The Headline
by Rob Cottignies

John Lennon's song Imagine includes the line, “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.”

Editing the excerpt this way- “You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not”- is not a misquote since it's word-for-word accurate, but it isn't the entire story.

For another, it is a fact that Mark Twain was born in Florida; the town of Florida in Missouri.

Both of those shortened statements are examples of the truth, nothing but the truth, but not the whole truth.

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I’ve seen too many comments on social media by people who clearly read an article’s headline but not the article itself, then rushed to judgment. Had they taken a few minutes to find out everything that happened, the automatic thoughts may not have even occurred to them.

Information blindness can be a dangerous thing.

People on all sides of every issue are quick to start screaming as if they have all the facts and anyone who disagrees with them is wrong and/or evil.

Social media can be great but giving everyone a voice often leads to turmoil, largely because people 

are so confident in their opinions they present them as factual.

My comments on such statements are generally inquisitive but are often met with unnecessary hostility by people who clearly don’t take time to think critically. Even if I disagree with the “other side”, I want to understand its view.

For example, I was always quick to dismiss people who believe Earth is flat but open-mindedly watched a documentary hoping to discover why they think their theories are true.

The one useful thing I learned was flat-Earthers are often not unintelligent but in fact scientific and clever. Unfortunately, their scientific thinking is misguided so they can never back up what they say with evidence, but trying to understand their mindset was an interesting experience.

(The documentary was called Behind The Curve. I saw it via Netflix and would recommend it to anyone who suffers from curiosity.)

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As I write this in June of 2020, protests are happening around the world which were sparked by a police officer with light-colored skin murdering George Floyd, seemingly only because his skin was dark. Racism in the police/public arena is nothing new, but this attack was recorded, along with three other officers who stood by and let it happen.

(I did not use the terms ‘white’ and ‘black’ above to emphasize that racism is about skin color and little-if-anything else.)

The video is horrible to watch, but after my first viewing, I wanted more information. Why were police going after Floyd? What caused the clash? Is the knee-on-neck strategy within regulations? Did the officer have a history of abusing his power? If this was indeed about race, what made the officer like that? Upbringing, society, a group he belonged to?

Nothing can excuse the killing of a helpless, unarmed person by someone who swore to uphold the law, but researching those questions gave me a better understanding of the situation as a whole.

Arming yourself with information is the only way to convey accurate points.

(For one of many fair articles which summarizes the events, look here.)

These protests are largely peaceful, but some people have used them to cause property damage, steal from stores, and incite violence while tensions are already high.

Many people don’t realize or simply ignore that the rioters are separate from the protesters, so the focus has shifted to the rioting instead of its root cause. As wrong and awful as those acts are, keep in mind they were ultimately spawned by decades of unchecked prejudice by police.

Concentrating on one thing- however important- within a bigger issue is ignorant and harmful to all sides.

For a sub-par analogy, it would be like hating an entire album because you thought one song was poor.

(Also, let us note that racism is not reserved for white-to-black but any group hating another simply for looking or behaving differently.)

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These riots have reminded people of 1990s Los Angeles, when a man named Rodney King was videotaped being physically beaten by four policemen.

The recording was shown all over the news and charges were brought against the officers, who were all acquitted of assault and three of excessive force, with the fourth case being dismissed because the jury could not reach a verdict.

The L.A. Riots ensued, which resulted in dozens of deaths and countless other damages. Unlike the George Floyd case, this did not begin with peaceful protesting. People were very angry, and once more the main reason was race: King was black and the officers were white.

So, why did the officers get acquitted? I won’t say police privilege had nothing to do with it, but many people were unaware that the video shown by the media was only a small part of the story.

King, already on parole, drunkenly led police on a high-speed car chase. When they caught up to him, he resisted arrest multiple times, so the officers used physical force. (Source)

One could certainly argue the force was excessive, but the rest of the facts and images weren't given to the public. Had they been, perhaps people would have known why the officers acted that way and the riots would have been less or not taken place at all.

However, racial tensions in Los Angeles were growing so maybe a riot was inevitable and this situation was its trigger.

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In March of 2019, two women were scheduled to make the first female-only spacewalk from the International Space Station. When the mission was postponed, misleading headlines led to the idea that NASA called off the mission because of sexism.

Again, people judged without all the information.

The mission had not been cancelled, but one of the astronauts was being replaced.

Why?

After a prior solo spacewalk, astronaut Anne McClain determined her suit was too big, so she suggested somebody take her place. Spacesuits are intricate and expensive so it's not like NASA has a warehouse full of them in all sizes. Also, astronauts don't fully know if their suits fit correctly until they are in zero- or micro-gravity, which is what it took for McClain to report the improper fit and scrub herself from the mission.

If NASA had indeed been sexist, they absolutely should have been called on it. However, doing so inaccurately caused much unnecessary anger.

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If you hear about a story and immediately get upset, consider the source is trying to heighten that emotion from people. It may not be the case but doing a little research is a simple way to know if your reaction is appropriate or not. Plus, you’ll likely gain some knowledge which can be used in helpful, civilized discussion about the issue.

(Maybe John Lennon was right- He’s not the only dreamer.)

What's my point? Get all the details. Don't judge a book by its cover and all that.

Lastly, I'm reminded of a story which went something like this- A writing professor walked into his classroom backwards, stood on a desk, and yodeled “Good morning” to the class. He then wrote on the blackboard, 'The teacher came into the classroom and greeted the students'. His point was to compare what actually happened against how most of the students would’ve described it, based on their poor work.

The headline was what the teacher wrote but the full narrative is what happened in the classroom.

There's usually more to a story. If you question its summary and do research, you might be proven correct or accidentally learn something about another aspect of the issue. Gasp!