(She couldn't have done it! She was babysitting her grandchildren.)WHO BENEFITS?
About two months ago, the doors at the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency offices in Olympia were glued shut. Did you hear about that? Maybe. It was briefly mentioned, and only in passing, in an article covering the ORCAA demonstration in the Olympian. Did you see it in the Shelton local paper? No. (Not even a few words about the demonstration that was locally organized specifically to address the ADAGE ORCAA permit application.)
Last Monday night, the doors at ORCAA were glued shut again and a window broken.
This time, the incident makes the front page of the Shelton-Mason County Journal. The Olympia paper carried the story, and the AP wire picked it up. If you have ever been involved with PR, you know that this kind of coverage rarely happens spontaneously. Somebody is working overtime.
This time around, the vandalism is BIG news. Everyone is pointing fingers at anti-biomass incinerator activists using phrases like "to some, the connection between....." and "other people are making the connection that.....". It is startling that a journalist from our local newspaper would choose to use FOX news propaganda techniques like this. The demonstration that is being connected to the vandalism wasn't even organized locally. (It was organized by a group in Olympia to participate in the 1000 Cancuns International Day of Action for climate change.)
This all may seem puzzling at first. However, we can always assist ourselves in understanding why things happen in politics and the world by using the technique of asking, "Who is benefiting?" and/or "Who is making money from this?".
Do the anti-biomass incinerator activists, who are trying to inform people about what is really going on, benefit from the vandalism? No. The vandalism is being used in a direct attempt to discredit them, to distract public attention from the real issues.
Does ORCAA benefit? It is hard to see how they would.
So who does benefit? One guess! ADAGE and biomass incinerator proponents are clearly benefiting from the vandalism.
Isn't it amazing that glued locks and a broken window in Olympia became a front page story in the Shelton paper? Isn't it intriguing that in the same edition, the newly formed "Citizens for a Prosperous Mason County" (promoting biomass incineration) is given a 1/4 page guest editorial slot? (It has Mason County in its name but apparently residence here is not required to be a charter member...go figure.) The coincidences rather boggle the mind. Somebody's PR department must be very happy.
It has been suggested by some, that those who benefit from the vandalism might be behind it. This may seem very far-fetched, but we've heard that there are some who do see such a connection. Would a corporation go so far as to lie, cheat, and break laws just to make a profit? Would most people have a hard time believing that? How about you? Personally, we shudder at the thought of it.
Photo by Christine
Ouch! But who can disagree? I emailed your post to the Shelton-Mason County Journal. They need to read it most.
ReplyDeleteThe ORCAA demonstration in October (as mentioned in this post) was organized locally.
ReplyDeleteI personally sent a press release to the "Journal", along with a copy of the letter to ORCAA that was to be presented to Fran McNair during the demonstration (see BLOG POST: 10/6/10 Letter to ORCAA: Do No Harm!).
I also followed up with a phone call to the "Journal", & was told that Tuesday was the "Journal" submission day, & since that was the day of the demonstration, no one would be able to cover it, or write up something in time for publication on Thursday.
John Dodge, environmental reporter for the "Olympian". was sent the same press release & letter, & covered the demonstration which made the front page of the "Olympian" the next day (see BLOG POST: Extra! Extra! Read All About It! Front Page News!).
In his article, Mr. Dodge made brief mention of the glued door incident that occurred the previous night, along with quoting me as saying that "...the Adage project opponents are not law-breakers. We’re mostly families, children and gray-haired people." No connections between the demonstration & the vandalism were made, either directly or indirectly.
Excerpts to the letter presented to ORCAA were also quoted in the "Olympian" coverage. We later sent Mr. Dodge a letter of appreciation for covering the demonstration.
In addition, "Works in Progress" also covered the demonstration & published the letter to ORCAA in its entirety in their November issue.
However, there was never any mention of the demonstration or the letter to ORCAA in the "Journal", our local paper.
Christine,
ReplyDeleteAlso sent your comments to the MCJ. Hope they pick up on THIS story.
Makes you wonder what "we the people" need a Shelton-Mason County Journal for; it is obvious what "we the corporation" need one for - it's called propaganda, which used to be frowned on in this country.
ReplyDeleteBut everything was turned upside down a decade ago, and thanks to great PR/propaganda), good became bad, and the people who love war, the indiscriminate use of the death sentence, murdering doctors for performing legal surgeries, and unlimited access to automatic weapons (for hunting?) became the "party of family values."
I was so excited by an early (April or May 2010) Journal article, front page, which seemed to be accurately reporting on the Adage project, that I subscribed to the Journal.
Since then, however, I am finding the Journal to be the personal propaganda machine for all things corporate in Mason County: ADAGE, The Port of Shelton's unbridled development without concern for public health, Simpson/Solomon, the Economic Development Council, the Chamber of Commerce. What the heck do we need a "Citizens for a Prosperous Mason County" for? Did we not have enough organizations feeding us crap to earn their livelihood? Someone had to create yet another one; whose organizing members who are also now or who have also been members of the EDC?
Because items of concern to the health of our community are no longer being reported with any sense of urgency, and the Journal continues to list all of the (made up) attributes of ADAGE, and ignore all the dangers, because they have become the PR arm of all things corporate in my community, the Journal is now only fit to line the bottom of bird cages and for washing windows.
Thank goodness for the internet and this blog. There is a reason newspapers are dying in America; things which exist only to serve the corporate machine do not resonate with the citizens!
I wrote a letter to the Olympian also, --can't say if they published it, but John Dodge did call me, saying I was pretty sure we Shelton folks had nothing to do with the property damage.
ReplyDeleteVandalism is wrong, and a big deal. I think we are all mature enough to know it is not helpful to threaten people or destroy property. And, I believe we can win this battle without such shenanigans.