Good point. Bias can indeed be expressed through half-truths. But bias and racism are different matters, IMHO.
I believe racism is outright dishonesty, and it is irrational. Bias is often just ordinary predisposition. Ten totally honest and intelligent journalists can watch a political debate, and each of their reports will differ on emphasis. No harm intended. Racism and similar bigotry go beyond mere opinion by, for example, declaring a particular group of people as essentially "monkeys and pigs," which is demonstrably false. "... They are those whom Allah has cast aside and on whom His wrath has fallen and of whom He has made some as apes and swine..." (5:60); "...You have surely known the end of those from amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath, in consequence of which we condemned them: Be ye like apes, despised" (2:65); and "when, instead of amending, they became more persistent in the pursuit of that which they were forbidden, we condemned them: Be ye as apes, despised" (7:166). From: Brad Spangler Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 11:01 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Libertarian] Stop the War FOR Terror On Wed, May 14, 2008 at 10:14 PM, Bob Giramma <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Is that racism or merely a statement of facts? The truth cannot be biased or > bigoted. It is objectively factual. Can bias be expressed by an editorial selection process that chooses and accentuates some facts over others and juxtaposes particular facts in particular rhetorical contexts carefully crafted to suit a particular purpose? Nine out of ten journalism teachers will try to explain it to you gently. The tenth will just smile condescendingly. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
