Pay No Attention to Those Veterans Chained to the Fence

[Satya]

News Black-Out in DC: Pay No Attention to Those Veterans Chained to the White House Fence

There was a black-out and a white-out Thursday and Friday as over a hundred US veterans opposed to US wars in Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world, and their civilian supporters, chained and tied themselves to the White House fence during an early snowstorm to say enough is enough.

Washington Police arrested 135 of the protesters, in what is being called the largest mass detention in recent years. Among those arrested were Ray McGovern, a former CIA analyst who used to provide the president’s daily briefings, Daniel Ellsberg, who released the government’s Pentagon Papers during the Nixon administration, and Chris Hedges, former war correspondent for the New York Times.

No major US news media reported on the demonstration or the arrests. It was blacked out of the New York Times, blacked out of the Philadelphia Inquirer, blacked out in the Los Angeles Times, blacked out of the Wall Street Journal, and even blacked out of the capital’s local daily, the Washington Post, which apparently didn't even think it was a local story worth publishing.

[JohnLocke]

As much as I commend these protesters for standing up for what they believe in, what did they expect to accomplish? The government doesn't care if their are "some" people who dislike fighting in foreign countries. To even make your ideas heard you have to have millions of devoted followers who care about the cause as much as you do. These people are patriots but their plan wasn't very well thought out. I personally do not agree with wars in foreign countries but I deem them necessary to ensure the countries safety.

[Rei]

As much as I commend these protesters for standing up for what they believe in, what did they expect to accomplish?

I think they hoped to accomplish getting attention to the fact that the people of their country disagree with a war they are fighting. Which is apparently threatening enough that it was blacked out of all the major newspapers.

[Dr. Mobius]

Is this a case of conspiracy or simple incompetence? Did the media try to cover the event and were told not to by the government (which in and of itself would be a major story) or were they simply not paying attention? Did the protesters contact and the media and say "Hey, we're doing this thing at the White House, you should come." or did they just expect the rest of the world to read their minds and know what they were doing?

[JohnLocke]

The media is afraid of what individuals as a group can accomplish. We live in a country where the "people" or "taxpayers" make the choices. The government knows this and is trying to shy away from widespread rallies and protests. With media blackout of this story, they are not only silencing the american people's will but also using it as an "anesthetic" to put the subject of fighting foreign wars to rest.