Above: Wisconsin Capitol Police arrest Joan Kemble, 80, in the state Capitol rotunda Wednesday. Police arrested 22 people for gathering without a permit in their first crackdown on daily protesters since a federal judge ruled large groups need a permit to gather in the building. Credit: Scott Bauer, AP.
I always get asked why people vote for and support Scott Walker and his GOP allies so I decided to give you a great example in a story that we are all familiar with: the mass arrests of participants and observers at the Solidarity Singalong. Looking at the coverage here on Daily Kos and the Wisconsin media coverage tells you everything you need to know.
As the daily contest of wills between Gov. Scott Walker’s administration and his singing opponents wound down for the week, both sides walked away with more passion and less room to maneuver into some kind of an accommodation. No injuries were reported, buta small wedding party with a permit for the rotunda at the same time as the Solidarity Singalong had to make a snap decision about where to hold the ceremony.
(bolding is mine)No injuries? Technically correct. Putting it that way allows them not to report that a chaplain arrested with his hands bound was unable to reach his nitroglycerine tablets to treat heart pain which, after fumbling around, was given by a police officer. Only after the man lost consciousness, slumped over, and a people demanded 911 be called did an ambulance finally get summoned. The shameful parade of events was finely detailed by noise of rain here.
No, they wouldn’t want to cover that. It would disturb the picture they’re painting of the protesting thugs and poor police just doing their job enforcing the law.
And how about the pair of frail 80 year olds carted off in handcuffs? Or the woman who had hip surgery denied her crutch because she, too, had to be carted off in handcuffs? And how about the others arrested who appear to have been culled from the crowd because they are old, female, and seem to pose little risk of resisting?
Crickets from the TM. Stenograph those arrested as the bad guys and not the victims of an over reacting, oppressive, terrorizing police force.
No, we hear about a wedding that might have been inconvenienced without the caveat that the event was scheduled to be outside if the weather was good (and it was). You only hear about that towards the end of the piece when the hardworking, law abiding citizens have already been outraged by the union thug lawbreakers and have given up reading further.
And Pravda drones on:
Those who show up for the Solidarity Singalong have refused to seek the permit required by the Walker administration, saying that they have a constitutional right to ignore such rules, despite their use in many other state capitols.
By all means make sure you convince people that those victimized by being denied their Constitutional right to assemble are cast as villains. It’s all their fault, right? Right?
“The group is being cited for not complying with the law. …The Capitol police have already stated they would approve a permit for the noontime singers if they would apply. The permit is free, and the group could continue to say and sing the same things they are today,” said Stephanie Marquis, a spokeswoman for the Capitol police and Walker’s Department of Administration.
Why, they’re lawbreakers! Criminals! And those police officers are just doing their job! Protecting our freeeeeedum!You also get treated to a quote from a woman who applauded the arrests.
It’s not just one source. You can see it here or in any local newspaper or television newscast.
No matter where you look it’s all the same: present the Walker administration talking points (we’re the good guys) and frame the singers and observers as the law breaking bad guys. Walker officials get quoted right at the top and maybe, just maybe, an observer or participant in the protest near the end.
There’s no mention of the obvious selection of the most vulnerable participants as those arrested (are the police THAT afraid?), that the draconian “rules” being violated were put in place by the Walker administration without input or discussion in direct violation of our State Constitution in order to stifle dissent, or that the use of zip ties or handcuffs or even pushing people downstairs to a “holding area” is completely unnecessary to issue a ticket.
You won’t read or hear about how much this is costing taxpayers as wave after wave of Capitol police officers (supplemented by State Patrol officers) swarm into the rotunda day after day. Or how nearly every one of these tickets get dismissed. You won’t read about how our state highways are less patrolled or that other activities of the Capitol police are being supplanted by the daily arrest ticket-o-rama.
Nope. Not a peep in our Pravdas. And this is how it has been for far too long.
During the recalls when we had to go in groups to collect signatures because of several assaults by Walker supporters, there wasn’t a mention. Well, until a woman complained that a signature gatherer was nasty to her which provided a nice “both sides to it” meme to print or broadcast. And, of course, when Walker signs were “vandalized”, THAT became a story that just had to be reported by the news. Not so much when his opponents signs were removed or destroyed.
That wasn’t news worth reporting.
If you ask most regular folks, they get their news from television and fewer from newspapers. They truly believe that media must report the facts and the truth. Don’t laugh; they really, really believe that. And this affects their opinion on what’s going on.
We, however, know that media isn’t what it used to be. It’s no longer a mandatory public service for the use of public airwaves, it’s now a profit center, reliant on ad dollars from corporations and that most of our media is now owned by corporations who
use it to promote their own agendas and ideologies. And as Fox News has established in the courts, they don’t even have to tell the truth anymore.
This is why people voted for Scott Walker and his Republican band of Not So Merry Men. They’ve been fooled to think they’re the good guys.
Sad, but true
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PS: I don’t blame all the Capitol Police. They, along with thousands of other public employees have lost their union rights and the Walker regime crashing our economy has made jobs very scarce. They’re following the orders of Chief Erwin (former body guard to Scott Walker) and doing what they need to do to keep their bills paid. That said, some of them do seem to be enjoying the work they’re doing far too much (see the last video I posted of observers on the second floor being threatened with arrest for “watching” the Police State in action).
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Here are some videos you’ll never see in the TM:
80 year olds being arrested and hauled away so they can be issued a ticket (for singing):
A male Walker supporter spitting on a woman as police are otherwise occupied with their swarm arrests and have to be hunted down to deal with the “spitter” because they’re too busy putting little old ladies in handcuffs to actually be out there doing their jobs
More arrests to issue a ticket (I’m noticing a draconian overreach pattern):
From yesterday – even people just watching are being threatened with arrest: