Americans (myself included) are understandably desperate to know what motivated suspects Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and Dzhokar Tsarnaev, 19, to engage in mass murder at Monday’s Boston Marathon. But this desire for answers is no excuse for the blatant bigotry espoused by reporters, pundits and so-called “terrorism experts” who wasted no time linking “Islamic extremists” and Chechen rebels to the attacks based not on evidence but pure speculation and ignorance.
I spent the entire week monitoring media coverage of the bombings, which included CNN‘s John King reporting (falsely) that there was a suspect who was “dark-skinned” (what could go wrong?!); watching the New York Post proudly splash the face of two teens of color on their front page essentially declaring them the bombers (they weren’t); and a million other awful things said by pundits, reporters and so-called “terrorism experts” (outlets should really start identifying which security company they profit from). And who can forget the Associated Press dedicating an entire article to the statement of a convicted Al-Qaeda terrorist who was unsuprisingly delighted about the Boston bombings, the equivalent of airing the Westboro Baptist Church’s excitement over LGBTQ hate crimes. Only in the US does the opinion of a murderous lunatic qualify as news.
Despite all the racist, Islamophopic douchebaggery I witnessed, nothing prepared me for the out of control media response after the suspects were identified as 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev and 19-year-old Dzhokar Tsarnaev. They were Muslim!
Al-Qaeda Linked Chechen Rebels
Long before their names were released, the establishment media had already placed the blame squarely on Muslims and Arabs who have come to be synonymous with terrorism in the American psyche since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a symptom of more than a decade worth of exposure to the otherization of Muslims, Arabs and South Asians, both American and foriegn.
Given that the suspects turned out to be white, you would think pre-conceived notions about “terrorism” might cause the media to pause and reflect on the wisdom of speculating in this manner. Instead the opposite happened with pundits, reporters and “experts” doubling down on the “Islam” factor. To make matters worse, the the suspects’ Chechen ethnicity was quickly labeled a motivating factor. And just like that the media narrative evolved into blaming “Al-Qaeda linked Chechen rebels”.
Articles immediately popped up pontificating about the inherent violence of Chechens, specifically the Muslim ones.
Mother Jones, a typically progressive outlet, published a piece titled, “Did Boston Bombing Suspect Post Al Qaeda Prophecy on YouTube?“, despite no confirmation that the YouTube account belonged to the suspect and no actual videos demonstrating the suspect’s support for violence in the name of Islam. The headline of an article by the National Post’s Jonathan Kay screamed, “How did Chechnya’s culture of terror come to Boston?” ABC News published a similarly inflammatory headline for an article that described Chechens as “a group that has a long history of violence against Russia and ties to Muslim extremists.” The Seattle Times joined in as well, calling Chechnya a “hotbed for violence“.
But according to Luke Harding, a foreign correspondent for The Guardian, it would be more than just an “unprecedented development” for Chechen rebels to attack the US because it would mark “the first time militants from the former Soviet republic have carried out a deadly attack outside Russia.”
Everyone’s An Expert on Chechnya
In the blink of an eye, MSNBC and CNN’s “terrorism analysts” transformed into “experts” on Chechnya and the surrounding region (apparently old white men are experts on everything!).
The worst was former ATF agent James Cavanaugh, who has appeared on MSNBC at least once every hour to spout his nonsense, and that includes the network’s two most progressive shows (Rachel Maddow and All In with Chris Hayes).
Cavanaugh–who as far as I can tell knows nothing about Chechnya, Chechen rebels, or Muslims in the former Soviet region– confidently declared that Al Qaeda is brainwashing ex-Soviet Muslims (specifically Tamerlan and Dzhokar) to become extremists.
“There’s a long period of inculcation into the suicide ideal,” said Cavanaugh, adding that young extremists are forced to “pledge fealty to Osama bin laden.” There is literally no evidence to back this up. That doesn’t mean that Al Qaeda supporters are nonexistent in that region (I don’t know, I’m not an expert like Cavanaugh), just that there’s no proof of this “brainwashing fealty to Osama” crap. On a separate note, Cavanaugh mistakenly said Obama when he meant to say Osama at one point in the day, but I digress.
Despite his wild imagination, Cavanaugh was repeatedly brought on to MSNBC to spew conjecture (which I’m almost certain he was pulling out of his ass). One segment after another, he made patently false statements about the suspects’ connection to Al-Qaeda with no challenge from the news anchors interviewing him. And remember, there is absolutely zero proof at this point that the suspects were religiously motivated to carry out this attack, let alone provoked by Al-Qaeda.
The suckiest part of the nonsense is that it has dangerous implications for already vulnerable communities in the United States.
Consequences of Hate-Mongering
A person who’s consumed news only from MSNBC (the “liberal” network) for the last several days has been repeatedly exposed to statements like: “We killed Bin Laden but we didn’t kill the virus he unleashed on the world,” which was actually said by Cavanaugh, who believes the bombing suspects were infected with this “self-replicating” virus. Cavanaugh also compared Al-Qaeda to a “spiderweb” that reaches around the globe, the brothers being the Boston outgrowth of that web.
Keep in mind that Cavanaugh wasn’t alone is saying this sort of stuff, he just happened to be the most obnoxious.
Meanwhile, only a handful of guests with some expertise on Chechnya appeared on MSNBC. One was Charles King, professor of international affairs and government at Georgetown University. King, who was interviewed by Rachel Maddow for a little over three minutes (at the end of this video), made it clear that while it makes sense to look into all possible motives, focusing on just one characteristic of the suspects is wrong:
On the older brother’s Youtube channel there are an equal number of rap videos. I don’t know why we tend to focus on this one particular aspect because these guys frankly have a lot of consonants in their names and we’re kind of worried about that somehow. But in lots of other contexts of mass killing, we go to other kinds of motivations and I think we really ought to look at those in this case as well.
These guys come from a very very complicated heritage, but I think as time goes on we’re going to be looking, I hope, at other kinds of motivations that we would look for in other instances of mass killings.
Another guest who understood the region was Time Magazine’s international editor, Bobby Ghosh, who said Chechen rebel involvement would be “highly unusual” because their struggle has always been isolated to Russia.
So, after several days of MSNBC coverage of the Boston bombing suspects, this hypothetical MSNBC-watching person is likely going to end the week angry at and terrified of Muslim Chechens.
And if the past is any indication, generalizations about entire groups of people, especially those who Americans know little to nothing about, can be dangerous. The suspects’ Uncle clearly understands the dangers of collective blame, which is why he begged Americans not to blame all Chechens or Muslims for the actions of his nephews.
Even if it turns out that the brothers were motivated by extremist religious beliefs or a sense of anger over the Russian treatment of Chechens or resentment about violent US actions abroad, that’s no excuse to collectively blame all Muslims or Chechens or anti-imperialists, just like it would be wrong to blame all conservatives or all white men for the violent white supremacists and neo-nazis on the fringes of the right-wing.
Recognizing the United States’ propensity for collective blame, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov released a statement saying, “Any attempts to claim a connection between Chechnya and the Tsarnaevs, if they are guilty, are in vain.” Kadyrov advised the US to instead focus within for clues about motivation. “They grew up in the USA, their views and convictions were formed there. The roots should be looked for in America,” he said. Chechen insurgents have also denied playing any role in the bombings.
But none of this matters because the damage is already done thanks to the irresponsible journalistic malpractice displayed by major US media outlets. Americans following the story have been told that Chechens and Muslims want to kill them.
This likely led Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert (R) to demand that the US government investigate and deport Chechen immigrants with violent leanings (whatever that means). And I’m certain it will lead to more of the bigotry and hate crimes against Muslims that we saw taking place earlier this week.
What We Do Know
It can’t be stated enough that there is still no proof that the suspects have any ties whatsoever to Al Qaeda, Islamic extremism or Chechen rebels. That doesn’t mean it’s not possible, just that right now everything we’re hearing is speculation and should be treated as such.
The older brother, Tamerlan, who was killed in a gun battle with police on Thursday night, spent six months in Russia last year, at which time he reportedly traveled to Dagestan and Chechnya, though his father who lives in Russia says he was just visiting family. Officials are focusing the investigation on what he was doing during this time. The FBI also confirmed that in 2011 Russia asked them to investigate whether Tamerlan had ties to extremists. The FBI determined that he did not. While this is certainly worthy of further examination, it’s far from solid evidence of a motivating factor.
In fact, the suspects appear to have been typical young American men who just happen to be Muslim. After all, they have lived in the United States for a decade. And the younger suspect, who is now in police custody, became an American citizen last year on September 11, a date the media tried to make a big deal out of, as though he planned to receive his citizenship on that particular day (I don’t think you can do that).
The media also tried to make the case that the older brother, Tamerlan, was intentionally named after a medieval warlord, which Josh Shahryar hilariously debunks here.
Their family is understandably in disbelief, but so are the people who knew them. Friends, teammates, coaches and classmates have had nothing but good things to say about them, although Tamerlan, who died in a gun battle with police on Thursday night, seems to have shown subtle signs of shadiness here and there, but still nothing solid enough to go on.
It was recently revealed that Tamerlan left behind a wife, 24-year-old Katherine Russell, and a three-year-old daughter. The Russel Family released the following statement:
“Our daughter has lost her husband today, the father of her child. We cannot begin to comprehend how this horrible tragedy occurred,” the statement said. “In the aftermath of the Patriots’ Day horror we know that we never really knew Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Our hearts are sickened by the knowledge of the horror he has inflicted.”
Clearly, these young men are more complex than they’re being portrayed. Can someone please tell that to the mainstream press?
In America this is forced on us. Most people I talk to think this was overkill and have no concern over terrorism. There are going to be the nuts that hate everybody and will start screaming terrorist and be looking for groups to go after, but most Americans seem to think this was something the US government did to make us scared.
This is the same US government that allows the our own military to rape. Most Americans have no idea this is an issue, the more that learn this the less will trust the government, media and US military.
But most people no longer trust the media, and this boston thing was total overkill.
http://www.theusmarinesrape.com/FaceBook.html
Yep. An 8 year old blasted to bits, people with their legs amputated at a SPORTING EVENT. Innocent, oblivious. And now DEAD. And the press is OVERKILL? AMERICA is to blame?
My, my – you are a deluded, hateful person if thats your main comment on this event. Sad.
You are dead inside.
Excellent post — very thought-provoking and to the point. Thank you. 🙂 I still respect MSNBC for the reason that, with some exceptions that you noted, they do try to remain intelligent and neutral in regards to asking some of the same questions that need answers (kudos to Michael Isikoff and Pete Williams, among others, who cautioned against reporting anything substantial during the past few days until all of the facts could be verified). Just my two cents of course… 🙂 Thanks again.
We don’t even know if these guys did it. How is the media obsessing about their motivations? These guys are like the end in a list of long suspects: the Saudi, the courthouse arrest, the Moroccans, Sunil and the white guy, and finally the “Chechens” – what horseshit. Americans will believe anything if it makes then feel like they are in an action film.
Maybe you should calm down and think about who owns and controls the media. For the most part the mainstream media pumps up the war on terror almost every chance it gets because that media is owned and operated in part by huge corporate interests that make big profits from the war on terror and the military industry that supplies it . Also consider that this endless war and the unconstitiutional ,even treasonous activity that has resulted from it, such as tne Gitmo Bay detentons and the NDAA that Obama signed into law last year, needs all the public support it can get. We live in the midst of what is essentially a miitary economy , a fear-based economy, to the tune of 700 billion dollars a year.
And there is no real justification for it , except that a very small power elite wills it so in order
to reap collasal gains from military and security related contracts. Not so long ago the enemy was Communism. Now it’s Terrorism and the media have so arranged it that it wears a Muslim face, for several reasons.
Rania:
Can three or four deaths reasonably be called ‘mass murder’. I don’t think so.
I have no better an idea of who may have planted these bombs — the reports seem quite definite that there were two bombs — than does anybody else. The horror is no less, and no more than is the horror when people in many parts of the world face such calamities everyday.
The fact is that whoever did this, is no better and no worse than those from the US, and those the US supports with weapons and cash, who carry out such atrocities on an all but daily basis.
Is anybody attached to the drone program any better? Is Obama who singles out people to be slaughtered by drone attack any better?
Why the massive coverage of what is a regular occurrence across the world, with far more massive death tolls, which go unreported?
Is the blood of Americans somehow of more value than is the blood of others? Why is the fear and trauma of Americans and Israelis so much more an issue than that of say, the Palestinians?
Those and the families of these Boston people injured and killed have my sympathy, but the US as an entity does not, and does not deserve any.
Understand that the Palestinians have suffered worse than this for something over forty years. Adults who for their whole lives have known nothing but rape, assault, incarceration, murder and the destruction of their homes, their livelihood.
Of course may have nothing to do with the above, and nor do I suggest that it does. I am simply pointing out that this is what people live with as a constant, and that the US is the principal cause.
You raise some valid points; however, stating that the United States is the principal cause of EVERYTHING wrong in the world is a very ignorant and unrealistic assumption, considering that the US does do some good in the world. Are we perfect? Of course not. No country/nation is. But NO country/nation ‘deserves” tragedy in any way, shape, or form, and when you advocate for it, you are no better than those that relish in it on a daily basis.
Furthermore, in regards to the drone program, I understand that there are “pros” and “cons” associated with the program overall, but there is some room for debate. In my opinion, if we can utilize drones effectively and responsibly as a last resort to eliminate credible and dangerous terrorists — without risking military escalation/placement to do so — should we at least not entertain that option?
The world has always been a dark place, but there have been/are/always will be radiant and imperfect people out there, making the diverse choices that hopefully move us closer and closer to perfection. After all, it is easy to find a light in utopia; the challenge is finding the matches to stoke the fire today…. 🙂
“US does some good”, please share this good. In recent history, I cannot think of anything significant or otherwise. The US has been brilliant at forcing their way of rule and democracy on nations where there’s a benefit for them. At the same time, these are selected very carefully. Upon the conviction of Saddam Hussain, the US released him back to Iraq and the very inhumane behaviour that he was convicted for, was play out by the “new” rule in Iraq. His hanging and the fiasco that surrounded it. When, your then president GW Bush was question on this, he replied by saying that the “US could not interfere because Iraq was under Sovereign Rule”
Give some thought to where good could have been done. Zimbabwe, DRC, China, India, etc. Sadly, the United States jave placed the people at risk but what they have chosen to involve themselves in as well as the manner in which they did so. Let us not forget, Osama Bin Laden was a friend of the US and had huge financial clout. I suppose the line of love that divides love and hate is easy to cross.
The America I grew up learning about was one the world aspired to. Not anymore. Rania’s post is as objective as it should be. Failure to address the skewed picture that your media paints could result in further calamities. In Africa, its called “Ethnic Cleansing”. We can certainly do without any of that. Let fair be fair and let’s allow “innocent until proven guilty” prevail. I assure you, had there been a more balanced approach to reporting on the Boston Marathon Bombings, the media would have been commended for their work. Instead, the coverage was as useful as pair of sunglasses on a bloke with one ear. Let us not forget, many people have been impacted by this. Five lives have been lost, including that of Tamerlan, many have been injured, many lives altered, including the families and friends of both, the victims and the Tsarnaev’s.
With regards to the corporate backed media – you are spot on. This should make us think. Is the “truth” really what it is said to be?
You are a complete and awful clown claiming that the media is somehow to blame for this act of violence.
This place is a gallery of ghouls – but you are the worst, claiming the perpetrators are somehow were caused by the American policy, status or behavior.
“The America you ended up learning about”?? What!? Are you saying you know any more about America or the world than you do about YOURSELF. You clearly know nothing about yourself because you speak idiot truths that you refuse to examine seriously.
You apparently feel real bad about Saddam Hussein – a mass murderer – being hanged by the Shiites whom he had so often had viciously brutalized, imprisoned and tortured. You feel BAD about THAT???
Yet you see no tragedy in the death of people who were attending a sporting event in a free and pluralistic country that refused to curtail your freedom of idiot speech ?!!!
You are a comfortable, unchallenged, reprehensible and sadly deluded hypocrite.
The mainstream media, is just as biased, irresponsible and reprehensible as the so-called alternative media – the bloggers and self-annointed citizen journalists who come out in droves when tragedy strikes to advance their own agendas. The victims become merely stage props to some grander drama. An event like this is a Rorschach Test exposing the biases and prejudices of the self-righteous and the holy warriors. By their fruits will you know them. Eventually things calm down and we’re left as polarized as before.
http://21stcenturyparanoidblues.blogspot.com
‘“US does some good”, please share this good. In recent history, I cannot think of anything significant or otherwise. ‘
Difficult to find anything after around 1850, not that I know of anything prior to that, either.
Aggressive, expansionist, with no concept of concern for others, or indeed the majority of its own is the ‘American’ way. The only good thing is that it seems rather obvious that it has finally overstretched and that its demise as a super power is rapidly waning.
I suppose the Lend-Lease program during WWII was an example of US doing some good, but even that caused a lot of economic issues for some LL recipients such as the U.S.S.R.
Ask the Brits when they finished paying of their ‘war debt’ to the US’.
On 31 December, 2006, the UK will make a payment of about $83m (£45.5m) to the US and so discharge the last of its loans from World War II from its transatlantic ally.
Let us not forget that the US sat out of the conflict and benefited from the sacrifice of those who were engaged in fighting the Germans.
You pussy. Lend-lease was a complete success for a everyone involved. The US was a country that had to be coaxed out of isolationism and this was the method to do it, until such time popular opinion – it was a Democracry, remember you cunt – was sufficiently swayed to enter the war actively. Read history, for crying out loud.
Oh, wow. Look, NO ONE is blaming ALL MUSLIMS. Maybe two of them. MAYBE. But we’ve had a bad record with extremist Muslims. Duh.
And yes! American media is stupid. Have you not figured that out YET?
Besides, if you think America, its awful press and its incredible oversimplifications and alleged racism – is SO awful then really, out of sheer concern for you, why don’t you move to Yemen, Saudi or any number of progressive countries, y’know the same ones that the rest of us could not pay you enough to move back to?
You childish, ungrateful hypocrites.
You’re a misinformed idiot, Peter. Its no wonder you find out-of-the-way blogs like this where your moronic beliefs about a country that you have not bothered to learn about gets treated like a kind of psychological punching bag by you. You fit right in with the rich, scummy girl with not a worry in the world and the rest of the weird zombies that inhabit this place. Why not take some time to learn about the country you live in, rather than to assuage your know-nothing unearned affluence for a kind of fraudulent America-bashing-badge. C’mon!
There has got to be something like about America, you snivelling cheapshot cunt.
Reblogged this on The Online Post Box and commented:
Great article covering the way the media is trying to create an islamophobic atmosphere.
What a terrible, terrrible fascist clown (with a blog). She rails against the media – and calls Washington a “cesspool” but has not the courage to keep herself from CENSORING HER OWN BLOG.
Reprehensible. You share more in common with the country you (or your rich parents) left than you will ever share with country you now call home.
You are a disgrace.
I’ve been really disappointed with the general decline of reporting standards in the past decade or so. I find it harder and harder to find sources that refrain from the kind of sensationalism you bring up in your blog. I’m at least relieved to know I’m not the only one who thinks this.
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