terrshee's Diaryland Diary

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Autopilot Press

Yesterday afternoon I was walking back to my office and passed a demonstration against the human rights record of the Vietnamese government with many people recording the event with handheld videocameras. I thought about how it was only in Washington, DC that political protest was a tourist attraction.

After listening to a report on Viet Nam on NPR this morning, I'm not so sure I saw what was happening correctly. The correspondent was talking about restrictions on the press and how images of the protests were scrambled on the CNN feed in local broadcasts. When I think about who was recording, I realize it may well have been members of the protest group trying to get something that will escape censorship and be seen by at least some people in Viet Nam.

Shame on me. I'm technically a member of the press and there I was being all cynical. Speaking out against injustice should never receive that kind of passive dismissal. It is entirely too easy to take freedom for granted.

8:45 a.m. - 2005-06-22
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