I can't believe the news today - part 2

The second story from yesterday's newspaper that grabbed me was about how many horror stories of the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina appear to be complete fabrications. I'm sure there were car jackings, and shootings, and rapes but the actual amount of these sordid incidents seems to have been greatly magnified by the amount of talking that has been done about it.

Rumor spread to journalists, who reported it to their bosses, who printed it, and the whole world treated it as absolute truth. Let's not let a little thing like fact checking get in the way of a good blown out of proportion story. This reminds me of how Dan Rather cried on air recently about the climate of fear that was caused by the new media, essentially because due to the 24 hour news stations now it was hard to get away with as much stuff as had been before.

But now we see that it's still easy to get crap out there and get people talking about it.

But where did this hyperbole come from originally?

My theory is that came originally from the poor black people who have no food and no water and whose twinkies are being stolen. I bet the refugess thought if they approached a newsman, and made up a story, they would get more attention and food, and a better place to stay. I bet a lot of them thought that, and groupthink went wild.

I'm basing this on my first hand accounts of how poor black people lie to the white man to get what they want. I'm astounded by the lack of ethics displayed by poor black people on a near daily basis. They will literally lie, cheat, and steal to get ahead by any means possible.

I remember picking up a poor black woman in Norfolk one time who said she only wanted a ride to her neighborhood and didn't want any money. I told her I was going home on the highway and I could drop her off on the side of the road and I definitely wasn't giving her any money. At the time of our drop off, she started hassling me for money, and begging me to drop her off at her doorstep. I told her to get lost.

Dan Rather thought a climate of fear was having 24 hour news reporting? Try having 20 poor black people stand outside your door at night for no apparent reason.