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The Five Partners of Betrayal

A BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY

It was the tombstone that got him started. In 1838, British novelist Charles Dickens saw it in the graveyard of St. Giles Church in London, England. The inscription told of the sudden death of a boy at Bowes Academy. Dickens was so moved that he decided to investigate. Bowes was actually one of a number of "academies" with a reputation as dumping grounds for unwanted children. After visiting Bowes and seeing how the children there were abused, Dickens sat down and wrote "Nicholas Nickleby." It was a tragicomedy, which provided enough entertaining characters to hold the reader's attention while also conveying the sad details of the children's plight.

"Nicholas Nickleby" described in graphic detail the misery faced each day by those who had been abandoned at the academies. Beatings, neglect and psychological torment were common. No one was there to protect the children. Londoners purchased tens of thousands of copies. As a result of their subsequent outcry, the vast majority of academies were shut down.

One wonders what would happen if a similar act of citizenship was attempted in the modern-day United States of America.

Picture this: It's 2004 and Charles Dickens publishes his book, this time about a chain of child-abusing boarding homes in several states. The "New Bowes Academy" promptly hires a high-priced public relations firm. The PR firm floods the media with articles about how the vile "liberal" Dickens has maligned the good people at New Bowes, just so he can make a buck. Rush Limbaugh tells millions of his radio listeners that what's really going on is the children are complainers who haven't been taught to work hard and do what they're told. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is a Republican from the state where the academies are headquartered: Texas. Representative DeLay gets a call from an old friend who is now CEO at New Bowes. Within a few hours of the call, DeLay goes public with accusations that Dickens and liberals like him threaten the jobs of the staff at New Bowes; hard-working ordinary people who never did anything wrong.

Fearing a lawsuit, the company publishing Dickens' book suddenly stops printing and distribution of "Nicholas Nickleby," and bookstores are required to either return or destroy their remaining copies. The national media briefly mentions Rep. DeLay's remarks, sandwiched between longer news stories about a grandmother rescued by her Golden Retriever and a sex scandal surrounding a black musician. New Bowes Academy quickly recovers from the incident and continues business as usual. And the children there remain abandoned, more frightened than before because their only voice is silenced.

That's what we face nowadays. It's a frequent crime that requires clever partners, like any well-orchestrated scam.

The first partner in betrayal is the businessman who profits from the suffering of others.

The second partner in betrayal is the public relations firm, which systematically lies about the mistreatment being perpetrated.

The third partner is the politician who gleefully manipulates the public's fears as part of his right-wing scheme to erode their democracy.

The fourth partner is the corporate media outlet that willingly provides the corrupt businessman, the deceitful PR firm and the smug politician with a way to spread their poison across the United States.

And the fifth partner in betrayal is a large segment of the American public all too willing to accept the tale spun by the businessman, the PR stooges, the politician and the corporate media; all too willing to focus on a glossy version of reality, and turn their backs on the victims of the businessman's crimes; all too willing to ignore that small voice in their hearts telling them the corporate media is not really believable.

A BuzzFlash Reader

A BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY