Incident Protocol for Your Town USA

Something cray cray happened in Texas this weekend. Let the national incident protocol begin!

• Event happens.
• Fox News immediately begins panel discussion to determine if the incident was racially motivated. White panel members say “no”. Black panel members say “yes”.
• Quick, aggrieved people! Get your snapshot videos up on YouTube!
• Quick, accused people! Get your statements together and your stories ready!
• Facebook and Twitter top brass in emergency meetings to come up with clever hashtags.
• Civil rights leaders claiming victory for finally getting black panelists on Fox News.
• Protest! Protest! Protest! Protest!
• People on social media outraged by a version of the event that fits their long stated beliefs.
• Aggrieved family hold first press conference. Family calls for peaceful protests. #SpokesUncle
• Riot! Riot! Loot! Loot!
• Flounder buys ten thousand marbles at Woolworth’s.
• Raging Twitter discussion begins about how black guys say the N word all the time “but we can’t”.
• News media art departments update “Crisis In (insert town name)!” graphics.
• Anderson Cooper! Get your ass to (insert town name)! Report on what gets the most ratings!
• Media cameras focus on that one guy brave enough to stand up to protesters.
• Katy rescues Boone…

• People on social media share appropriate righteous, “thank god it’s not happening in my neighborhood” indignation.
• Reporters on the street in (insert town name) shocked that tear gas makes it really hard to breathe.
• Housewives in every major city in the country complain on Facebook about television news coverage “fucking with my soaps!”
• Church and community leaders call for resignation/prosecution of senator/congressman/mayor/city councilman/police commissioner, chief, captain, officer.
• Al Sharpton and Rush Limbaugh report on exactly what is going on – via satellite.
• News media interviews small business owner whose store was looted. Hopefully an immigrant… accents equal ratings!
• People on social media immediately become experts on the constitution/medicine/law/police procedure.
• Government officials state determination to find out exactly what happened. The truth is the most important thing. Justice will be served.
• Church and community leaders call for calm and peace after checking for scratches on their Mercedes.
• Protesters finally take well-deserved break to eat tasty treats rescued from local Pathmark.
• News media sharing celebrity tweets expressing outrage/support for the people of (insert town name).
• Professional athletes begin wearing t-shirts in support of (insert town name).
• Outrage that no one from the White House attended funeral/memorial service/candlelight vigil. Republicans are incensed. Democrats… not so much.
• Anderson Cooper sipping Evian on private jet back to palatial country estate.
• Event is over. Media is gone.

The country has moved on to the next news cycle… Walter Cronkite stops spinning in grave. Good night, and good luck.

I assume that everyone understands this is meant to be a joke. What is serious are some of the real problems that we have in this world… Racism, media bias, out of whack priorities, and a general disrespect of our fellow man. Clearly, I’m taking some shots at news media. But journalists have a responsibility to provide the truth, and they don’t. We have a responsibility to expect the truth, and we don’t. 

I’m guilty of making rash decisions about situations – or incidents like I parody above – based on minimal evidence. Must work on that… Be better.