Monday, January 03, 2005
aye I just happened to notice, and read...
...the short story about bloggers being selected as ABC News' "World News Tonight" as their "People of the Year". I don't read other blogs (I don't, in fact, read much of anything, anymore) except for one written by one of my most prolific commenters on my The Mom & Me Journals, brainhell which is singular and interesting and upon which I comment as well. Someday, I'd like to have some time to blog surf.
Anyway, the story mentioned that political blogs are surprisingly influential as an alternative news source. I've known this and haven't given it much thought. This morning, though, when I scanned the above mentioned story, I was reminded of a situation that would have played itself out quite differently if blogging had been standard procedure during the Vietnam war when I lived, with my born-into family, on Guam. At that time Guam housed an air force base that hosted B-52s between their bombing missions. It was the U.S. military base that also received the highest amount of civilian traffic on the island, as it had the handiest exchange and commissary and almost everyone on the island had privileges through a variety of means. One or another members of our family visited at least once a week, if not more, especially since, for a number of years, my mother taught, then administered, the local kindergarten and elementary school just outside its perimeter. The B-52s were in full view of the public as we traveled the main base road to and from concessions. Almost everyone knew that, as the B-52s made their rounds to and from Southeast Asia on their bombing missions, the pilots would paint significators on the hulls of the planes indicating the number of completed bombing missions. During the periods when one president or another would announce that we were on a bombing hiatus the citizens of Guam would note, with irony, the B-52s flying out like prey picking up the scent of carrion on regular schedule and the bombing raid significators continued to be added to B-52 hulls. I can't help but think what a difference it would have made if, at that time, local bloggers had been reporting on this disjuncture of information and reality.
I was also reminded of the erection of the War Memorial to the Japanese War Dead of WWII, of which the Government of Guam not only approved, along with the local citizenry, but helped finance, located about 1/8th of a mile outside the gates of the aforementioned military base. The official story was that the commissioning and building of the memorial was controversial but, in fact, it was not. During the Japanese occupation of the island many civilians mingled socially and sexually with the Japanese, even as some suffered the atrocities of occupation. In any event, not an insignificant number of islanders became related by blood to the Japanese occupying forces and, thus, to Japan. As well, after the war, when Japan became a U.S. ally, Japanese presence on the island became highly significant socially, politically and economically. The island was, when I left, considered a prime honeymoon spot for Japanese tourists. If bloggers had been present during this time, they would have reflected the overwhelmingly positive local sentiment toward the erection of this memorial.
Anyway, the story mentioned that political blogs are surprisingly influential as an alternative news source. I've known this and haven't given it much thought. This morning, though, when I scanned the above mentioned story, I was reminded of a situation that would have played itself out quite differently if blogging had been standard procedure during the Vietnam war when I lived, with my born-into family, on Guam. At that time Guam housed an air force base that hosted B-52s between their bombing missions. It was the U.S. military base that also received the highest amount of civilian traffic on the island, as it had the handiest exchange and commissary and almost everyone on the island had privileges through a variety of means. One or another members of our family visited at least once a week, if not more, especially since, for a number of years, my mother taught, then administered, the local kindergarten and elementary school just outside its perimeter. The B-52s were in full view of the public as we traveled the main base road to and from concessions. Almost everyone knew that, as the B-52s made their rounds to and from Southeast Asia on their bombing missions, the pilots would paint significators on the hulls of the planes indicating the number of completed bombing missions. During the periods when one president or another would announce that we were on a bombing hiatus the citizens of Guam would note, with irony, the B-52s flying out like prey picking up the scent of carrion on regular schedule and the bombing raid significators continued to be added to B-52 hulls. I can't help but think what a difference it would have made if, at that time, local bloggers had been reporting on this disjuncture of information and reality.
I was also reminded of the erection of the War Memorial to the Japanese War Dead of WWII, of which the Government of Guam not only approved, along with the local citizenry, but helped finance, located about 1/8th of a mile outside the gates of the aforementioned military base. The official story was that the commissioning and building of the memorial was controversial but, in fact, it was not. During the Japanese occupation of the island many civilians mingled socially and sexually with the Japanese, even as some suffered the atrocities of occupation. In any event, not an insignificant number of islanders became related by blood to the Japanese occupying forces and, thus, to Japan. As well, after the war, when Japan became a U.S. ally, Japanese presence on the island became highly significant socially, politically and economically. The island was, when I left, considered a prime honeymoon spot for Japanese tourists. If bloggers had been present during this time, they would have reflected the overwhelmingly positive local sentiment toward the erection of this memorial.
Labels: abortion, blogging, politics
