Lynch is pretty, was alone, and has blonde hair

[dsc]

When asked if there was any merit to the charges that Johnson, a black soldier from the same unit, was treated so differently from Lynch upon return from captivity he said the above to justify the difference. Given this is the same magazine which famously darkened the OJ photo I guess we shouldn't be surprised. But to hear it stated so strarkly.

People like Ms Johnson are evidently good enough to serve our country in numbers greater than their numbers in the population but they aren't a suitable symbol of our armed forces. Somehow I bet this will go down the media's memory hole but it sure shouldn't.

This was just on CNN's late edition.

[Don_G]

1. Typical Damsel In Distress

Saved by the brave handsome Prince. Isn't that how fairy tales go?

[JI7]

2. like elizabeth smart

they don't care for the others. that's why they are media whores.

[Mz Pip]

3. Who said this?

I think Lynch and Johnson are receiving different benefits, as well. Lynch is getting more than Johnson.

I'm glad these things are being pointed out. It just further hits home the callousness of this Administration.

MzPip
:dem:

[JI7]

5. time magazine

some guy from time magazine said it. it was worse because i thought he would agree and say something like -yes, there is different treatment. but instead he tried to justify it by saying lynch is blonde, pretty.

[RichM]

4. This is very much how things work in our society, all right.

I don't know who "he" is, in your post - but your point is on target.

[dutchdemocrat]

16. I saw that

It made me sick. What a fucking asshole that Time cretin was. And there was Wolf saying "good job buddy" to his friend at CNN's sister publication, Time.

Sometimes I really wonder if Ted Turner was dead whether he would turn over in his grave when I watch CNN-International here in Europe.

And there was Blitzer pushing the Europe is all anti-Semitic button with a recent Swedish poll that had over 50 per cent of the public pick Israel out of 12 countries as the most dangerous to world peace. The whole line-up was one sided and they tried to make the European intelligentsia look like they were holding hands with Islamic terrorists.

Sweden’s Jewish population is tiny (18,000 out of a population of 9 million). They used a stupid poll to spin into Jew hatred in France. Yes there are young Muslim men in France (five million Muslims in that country) that are going after synagogues. And they are wrong, most definitely, as anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism are two different things.

But that sequence was way over the top and Blitzer’s 10 years at the Jerusalem Post was seeping out of his rhetorical questions.

Source for quote below

http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/vjw/Sweden.html

“Sweden is considered a pioneer in Holocaust education. In November 1997, the Swedish government introduced a large-scale educational program, called the Living History Project, to educate Swedes about anti-Semitism. For this project, a free book was distributed about the Holocaust to every household in Sweden and minority comminutes were given the book in their own language. A website devoted to the Holocaust was designed and Uppsala University opened an institute designated for the study of the Holocaust and other genocides. Uppsala University also hosted an international conference on Holocaust education, in 1998. In January 2000 Sweden hosted an international gathering to promote awareness of the Holocaust, which was attended by heads of state from numerous countries throughout the world.”

[dawgman]

6. He also made sure to let everyone know that Ms. Johnson

was only concerned with how much money she gets.

[DuctapeFatwa]

8. As she damn well should be, she has a little girl

And when all is said and done, that is what it is about.

You can have an ethnocentric standard of beauty that says she isn't pretty. You can like blond hair better than black.

But the thing that is going to matter to a parent is how much money will I get so my kid can go to school.

[SOS]

7. Ms. Johnson

made the mistake of being from Texas. Those electoral votes are secure for Bush. West Virginia is a swing state with 5 electoral votes. Bush knows that without those 5 votes, Al Gore would be in the WH. The most important thing about Ms. Lynch is her home state and that's why Rove seized her story.
Ms. Lynch is wise enough to know she is being used and will say so on TV this week. I hope Bush's political exploitation of this soldier backfires in a big way.

[gardenista]

17. Good analysis. nt

.

[Gman]

9. Jessica is very white

There is an appeal based on Lynch's whiteness. The fairest (whitest) people are blonde hair and blue eyes. When the Bush "administration" first released the propaganda about Lynch, they saw an opportunity to appeal to people who feel being white is first and foremost of all issues. (Of course, also being an evangelical "christian" is right there with being white but that's another topic.) Bush's stooges were appealing to those in the country that consider whiteness and fellow white people America's first priority. Goups targeted with this message include
but not limited in any way to the English first movement, those that complain about illegal immigration (i.e. Mexican immigrants), southern latent-segrationists and many other like thinking groups. The message about Lynch was not us (liberals), it was to the 20-30% of the country that consider being white a priority.

I jacked with a lot of people the other day by talking about how white Jessica was and "don't trust whitey" and was amused by a lot of the responses from people that don't like to talk about those things from the perspective of people of color. The whole point is that there is a very well-established, but not spoken very openly attitude in this country that white people come first. If you want to be one of "us", then act white. If you want to be an American, then act white.

Leticia Van De Putte, leader of the Texas Dems that went to New Mexico was told openly in the Texas Senate cloakroom that if "they" acted "like Mexicans" they will be treated like Mexicans meaning, we will treat you like people beneath us. It's this attitude that we are seeing when we see Jessica Lynch cannonized as a saint of white people. Lynch allegedly went down fighting (lie). Lynch gets the Bronze Medal. But then Shoshona Johnson gets absolutely nothing compared to what Lynch has received.

[slaveplanet]

14. the fairest

//The fairest (whitest) people are blonde hair and blue eyes.//

are Albino's.....after that Redheads tend to be fairer skinned than Bln/blu.....not sure what you're going after there...

[gardenista]

18. I hope Johnson keeps up her fight

I also think that her story is just as interesting as Lynch's.

One day the media will let go of its ridiculous notion that we are only interested in hearing the storys of the "pretty, and the fair".

I want to note, however, that I think Shoshana Johnson is a beautiful black woman.

It also bears pointing out that Lynch knows she was a pawn, and is openly ridiculing the WH for using her. I think she and Johnson are friends.

Wouldn't it be amazing if they teamed up to make a story of the three of them- Lynch, Johnson, and Peistewa, where Lynch and Johnson controlled the content. That would be an interesting film.

[Scott Lee]

10. "911 - White Woman in trouble!"

The funniest line from "Scary Movie 2". And sadly, so true.

[fknobbit]

11. Sad to see this become a racial issue

Bush is an equal opportunity screwer as far as military/Vet's go. Many of us (any color) would have loved to have been discharged with what lynch fell into.

[corarose]

12. Shoshanna has a pretty face

She is just as good looking a Jessica except she has one major drawback she isn't a Blonde.
What a load of SHIT!

Let's weigh the pro's and con's here.

Jessica Is White
Shoshanna Is Black

Shoshanna was shot
Jessica the story is a load of BS

Shoshanna might not go along with the LIARS but Jessica might have been forced to say anything at first.

Why the hell didn't they do a story that combined the both of them as HEROES?

[Jim Sagle]

13. Thank you! I thought I was the only one at DU who thought so.

At least one of Shoshanna's DEFENDERS lamented the discrimination against her on the grounds that she was "fat and ugly." But I saw nothing ugly about her.

[Ellen Forradalom]

15. whaaa? "ugly?"

Have you seen Shoshanna's smile? It lights up the photograph!

I agree, Shoshanna is not getting as much publicity for one reason only--race. I am very glad, though, that Jessica is refusing to be the Administration's patsy.

[gardenista]

19. Maybe Jessica and Shoshana could join forces

to do a truthful portrayal together, and include the extraordinarily compelling story of Lori Peistewa. That would be awesome.

And it wouldn't surprise me if it happened.

[DuctapeFatwa]

21. Well, now in MY TV movie, they would get together and form

the Lori Piestawa Memorial Underground Railroad, to help people who did not want to go to the Crusade get to Canada, and indigenous people of the continent who wanted to move from one part of it to another to do so safely. :)

[corarose]

20. Shoshanna is

A prettier girl and just because Jessica is blonde and blue eyed does not make her better looking.