Somerville News Coverage of MS-13 Arrest

[cemeterygates.livejournal.com]

I think that the Somerville News piece about the recent MS-13 arrest did an unusually good job depicting the grey area of morality that is so often ignored by the media in their coverage of criminals. I know that such an opinion is commonly viewed by the masses as bleeding-heart, or liberal-guilt, or what have you, but I can honestly say I am proud to be part of a community that recognizes the human side of all people, and I feel this article is an excellent example of that. I do not know specifically what actions Morales was responsible for as a gangster, and I do not question that MS-13 is a very powerful and dangerous entity; but because of this article perhaps a few more people also reflect on the fact that no-one is only a thug.

I would welcome your thoughts.

Comments

[androidqueen.livejournal.com]

Okay, so regardless of my own feelings on the situation, can you really start out an article with the sentence:

Civil rights violations are being alleged as a terrorized immigrant community reacts to the federal raid immigration authorities said was a sweep for gang members on Tuesday.

And claim to be reporting unbiased news?

[ron_newman]

I see what you're saying, but I feel proud to live in a city where such news is reported from the (immigrant) residents' point of view rather than that of the federal thugs.

[androidqueen.livejournal.com]

I don't feel like the other article was reported from the point of view of the "federal thugs." It starts off (and I know you've read it, but):

Federal immigration authorities raided a Medford Street auto body shop today, Aug. 28, and arrested one alleged MS-13 gang member while checking the immigration status of the shop’s other employees.

This tells you what happened without throwing an immediate and blatant bias on it. If you, like me, find it bizarre and troubling that the feds would check the immigration status of all of the employees of a workplace simply because one of them is an alleged criminal, then you are disturbed. You don't need the author to impose her own opinion on the events because you can make up your own mind.

[righteousness-1.livejournal.com]

Um, I thought the Feds were the good guys. Not sure what those arrested did but anyone with MS-13 tattoos can not be good for any city. I'd rather have the Feds on my doorstep than a bunch of MS-13.

[ifotismeni]

how is that biased?
they're reporting that the violations are being alleged. are they not being alleged by members of the community?
it's not the same thing as saying that the violations actually occured.

[excursively.livejournal.com]

I think the word "terrorized" implies some things, so I understand the point. Just seems like sensationalism to me, though. If the sentence read "concerned immigrant community", instead, I think it would be more objective.

[ifotismeni]

that's inevitably the call of the person on the ground. if the reporter is seeing people too afraid to go to work for fear of being arrested -- i think "concerned" is not the right word to describe that. i think it's a massive stretch to call that word choice biased when describing a community of people that are legitimately afraid.

[ron_newman]

I think the writer is herself an immigrant (from India), so I can understand her taking that point of view. Since it's also my point of view, it doesn't bother me much.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

You appear to be not so popular on the Somerville news forum.

[ron_newman]

Yeah well. Some of those folks would not be popular here (and some would probably be banned here for being abusive).

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

Don't be such a libtard!

[heliograph.livejournal.com]

I've been accused of thoughtcrime here. Does that count?

[ron_newman]

I never saw that, but ... no. You are a valued participant here.

[cemeterygates.livejournal.com]

Yeah but LJ loves him enough to make up for it. lol
<3 <3 <3

[ron_newman]

Check out this post for some previous conflict between me and some of the News folks.

[androidqueen.livejournal.com]

*shrug* I think the word "terrorized" is extremely loaded. Perhaps "concerned" is not strong enough, but "fearful" or "anxious." As far as I can tell, the only person arrested was the alleged gang member. If other non-gang-related immigrants are so fearful of wrongful arrest that they can't go to work, have they been "terrorized" or are they just being paranoid? Obviously, illegal immigrants have cause for concern, but can you really equate the fear of being deported for something that you always knew you could be deported for with the fear of having your workplace bombed completely out of the blue?

Also, at least according to the other article, immigration authorities didn't say it was a "sweep for gang members." They said they were looking for a specific gang member. The former implies a much more arbitrary choice than it actually was, meaning it's much more likely that your workplace could be next!!! ZOMG!

I do find the immigration check disturbing. I do think it was inappropriate, and it upsets me that it was in my community. But I'd rather that my sources of news used language that was not specifically sensational and inflammatory. That's what editorials are for.

[ifotismeni]

i really, really disagree. i don't think that sentence is editorialized.
journalists are careful about their word choices but inevitably a choice they make upsets somebody somewhere. sounds like that person is you this time around.
as for immigrant members being "paranoid," i think that's where personal experience comes in. being part of an immigrant community i can tell you that fear of being deported is very real and very strong -- even when you are fully a citizen. when you're just here on a green card (or worse illegally), calling the fear mere paranoia or anxiety is drastically softshoeing the issue. to me it'd be as ridiculous as calling a grieving family "slightly upset" about the sudden death of their loved one.
terror as a feeling you can only experience at pain of death seems to be a post 9/11 understanding, but that's really only part of the word's meaning. fear of being deported suddenly means your entire way of life is uprooted and your whole family's well-being is at risk. it is a paralyzing fear, it is, quite simply, terror. anxiety is is looking around carefully when you're walking down the street, terror is shutting yourself in your house afraid to leave. if that's what the reporter saw — people living in terror — then it's her job to report that, period.

[androidqueen.livejournal.com]

You are absolutely right. Paranoid was a bad choice of words there which does diminish the situation.

I don't disagree that fear of deportation is a huge and paralyzing fear. But I still can't equate an immigration raid to causing fear for fear's sake. It's certainly a reporter's job to report what she sees, but I also think it's important that a reporter think about the connotations of the words she uses. Nobody in the U.S. uses or reads the word "terrorized" without thinking about other events (particularly recent events, particularly events that happened almost 6 years ago) associated with that word. I have a hard time believing that this journalist can not distinguish between "living in fear" and "terrorized." The former reports the news. The latter implies that this state of fear was caused intentionally. This may very well be true. Not being aware of INS's motivations, I have no way of knowing. But without any evidence to support that claim, I think this implication (which would be quite appropriate in an editorial!) is inappropriate in a news article.

Maybe they should get legal

[jokabri.livejournal.com]

Maybe those that are here illegally should come here legally? That way they won't have to live with the fear of being arrested and deported. Just sayin'.

Re: Maybe they should get legal

[ron_newman]

A better idea would be to legalize all the people currently here.

Re: Maybe they should get legal

[ifotismeni]

argh *facepalm* please re-read my comment. i said this applies to immigrants who are here legally.