The Associated Press provides the latest example of why fewer and fewer people trust the Associated Press every day:
OAKLAND, Calif. – Many in the crowd outside Oakland City Hall shouted “Burn it! Burn it!’’ as masked protesters prepared to set fire to an American flag. That’s when a woman emerged from the scrum, screaming for them to stop, that it would hurt the cause.
Moments later, the flames began, and suddenly a movement that seemingly vanished weeks ago was back in the spotlight, this time for an act of protest that has long divided the nation and now the movement itself.
The images of the flag-burning went viral in the hours after Saturday’s demonstrations on Oakland’s streets, with Occupy supporters denouncing the act as unpatriotic and a black mark on the movement. Others called it justified.
The flag-burning, however, has raised questions about whether the act will tarnish a movement of largely peaceful protests…
That’s as far as I got. “Largely peaceful protests.” Yeah, largely peaceful except for the rapes, robberies, riots, shootings, etc. That’s leaving aside the general filth, abandoned babies, physical and economic damage to the surrounding neighborhoods, and other minor considerations. And this is a story about Occupy violence. It’s like covering an arson and feeling the need to remind the reader that the neighborhood is “largely unburned.”
This is exactly what MKH was talking about this morning. The Tea Party is “potentially violent.” A potential they’ve been wasting so far. Whereas Occupy, which is violent, is “largely peaceful.”
And these papers wonder why nobody’s reading anymore.
P.S. Occupy Charlotte largely peacefully dumps human waste into local creek. Yeah, but look at all the creeks they didn’t befoul…
P.P.S. Ace of Spades: Mostly Peaceful Occupy Oakland Teenager Murders Parents.