Quote:
Originally Posted by 314159pi
if the government stops free speech, it won't be the media closed down--it will be us. the media has the power and we don't. so whose knob is gonna be cranked down in the end?
crazy people with hammers are news worthy btw. so is the state of our mental health system which leaves patients like that on the street.
i think it should be made clear to the media through advocacy activities of people like us that we really don't carry hammers around train stations as a rule. and raise the issues of service cuts against our needs. it is cheaper and safer and more productive to help the mentally ill than it is to lock them up. that's the message we need to get out there.
jails are for violent people regardless of their mental health.  |
If we're talking about major news media, it's not really free speech - it's bought and paid for by their advertisers, who are not going to support any news that doesn't support them. I know what you're saying, and I don't want to see free speech go either, but I do think there can be some laws passed that determines what constitutes news and what doesn't, that won't harm free speech - hearing talk of pop stars like Brittney Spears on the nightly news is ridiculous. That didn't happen when I was a kid. The unending parade of violence, etc. has been going on forever, the "if it bleeds, it leads" idea, but that doesn't mean it should keep on going on - it turns too many people off of watching it, and it's vital that all citizens should be informed of what's going on. That doesn't mean that no bad news should air, I just want more equal time devoted to solutions and achievements, rather than problems and tragedies all the time.