Harry Targ
I know I write too much. I promised that I would try to restrain myself for a day or so from writing and posting my words of wisdom. But after reading my local morning newspaper I had to do something!
For starters, the local newspaper was bought out by the
Gannett corporation a few years ago. Its reporting staff was cut. The paper is
mostly filler: articles from other Gannett newspapers have no relationship to
the needs of or information about the Greater Lafayette area. To fill up space,
the obituaries, usually posted in the “Life” section are printed in a type face
about four times the size of a few years ago. And there are full-page
advertisements for remodeled bathtub showers, window replacements, furnaces, or
hearing aids.
News stories, often on the front page, announce the opening
of new delicatessens, restaurants, and mini-markets. Also, the community gets information about the
latest petty crime occurring in the community. Usually such stories are coupled
with alleged criminals who are people of color. (Sometimes, we are told, they
are criminals who came to the Greater Lafayette area from Chicago, 120 miles
away. Chicago, we are led to believe, is the epicenter of crime and violence in
the Midwest).
Aside from some informative coverage on the pandemic in
Indiana and ways to register for vaccinations, the biggest industry, Purdue
University, is the source of several, often laudatory stories. An excellent
reporter, who provided information about subjects such as the university’s
failed bid to run a nuclear laboratory or the creation of online university
using the Purdue brand name, recently retired. Occasionally the paper prints
stories about the university relying on information from the university news
service. Examples include stories about the university’s “innovations,” university
rankings for one thing or another, or world-class advances in some research
project.
But what I read this morning was the last straw! The Purdue story on page one was headlined:
“Purdue University Hosting Paul Ryan, Heidi Heitkamp for Virtual Discussion.”
These two speakers, retired members of the House of Representatives and Senate,
“national political figures,” will be speaking on “American Democracy: Where Do
We Go From Here.” This is part of the Purdue president’s continuing lecture
series which over the years has included George Will, Condoleezza Rice, George
Shultz, Arne Duncan, Bob Kerrey, and for those who wish to scorn Appalachian
folks, J.D. Vance. Purdue President Mitch Daniels who is a former governor of
Indiana assured citizens of the state in 2013 that as university president he
would not be political.
In addition, the story reports on the co-sponsor of the
talk, The Purdue University Political Discourse Club, an organization formed to
support “civil political discussions.” The goal of the lecture series has been
to expose students and the broader community to “inspiring ideas, courageous
leadership and models of civic engagement and civil discourse.” President
Daniels, applauded the students from The Political Discourse Club for their
role “in fostering this type of civil discourse on our campus and a healthier
political process overall.”
But the story on page two with the headline “Battle Ground
Man Charged With Attempted Child Seduction,” pushed me over the edge (and that
is why I am writing). This is the lead to the story, minus the man named: “____
watched porn late Sept. 13, and when his penis became erect, he put a rubber
band around it, according to a probable cause affidavit filed with charges.”
The story went on to tell that the rubber band became stuck
on the man’s penis and he rushed to a teenage girl who was in the house to ask
her to “remove the rubber band.” She refused. Fortunately, the story says, he
was able to remove the rubber band himself but an affidavit was filed with the
charge of “attempted child seduction.”
Since the man named in the story had three felony convictions he was
charged as an “habitual offender.” The story did say that none of these prior
convictions were sex-related crimes. And to summarize, the story ended: “As of
Tuesday morning, ___ has not been arrested on the new charges, according to
jail officers.”
Many well-meaning people are grappling with questions and
seek solutions to problems including : “Why did the insurrection of January 6
occur?” “Why are we living in a world of crises including environmental
disaster, pandemic, poverty, rampant violence, and racism?" Perhaps part of our inability to understand
the problems we face and to reflect on solutions to them relate to the inadequacies
of our educational institutions and the media.
As the great Hoosier novelist Kurt Vonnegut once wrote: “So
It Goes.”
