TV CAUSES RACE RIOTS 

ONE OF THE SKILLS FOR SURVIVAL IN THE INFORMATION AGE IS THE ABILITY TO SIFT THE TRUE AND VALUABLE FROM THE HUGE VOLUME OF EXISTING INFORMATION, AND TO RECOGNIZE AND ADJUST FOR MISINFORMATION CIRCULATED UNDER THE GUISE OF LEGITIMATE DATA. THIS IS ESPECIALLY DIFFICULT WHEN THE MAJORITY OF INFORMATION SOURCES COME EXCLUSIVELY FROM ONE COUNTRY OR CONTINENT.

I WATCHED THE FALKLAND ISLANDS CONFLICT FROM A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE. I LINED UP TWO TV MONITORS, AND FED ONE NEWS FEEDS FROM AMERICAN AND CANADIAN TV STATIONS. THE OTHER TV RAN NEWS FEEDS, VIA MY SATELLITE DISH, FROM SIN (SPANISH INTERNATIONAL NETWORK) AND XEW-TV IN MEXICO CITY. I SAW TWO DIFFERENT WARS.

RECENTLY A UNIQUE SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES LED ME TO CHECK THE AMOUNT OF TV NEWS IN CANADA DEVOTED TO SOUTH AFRICA. THE SURVEY SHOWED THAT DURING 15 MONTHS, MAJOR CANADIAN TV NETWORKS DEVOTED AN AMAZING 121 HOURS TO THIS SUBJECT. A CHECK ON MY TIME-CODED AND COMPUTERIZED TV NEWS FROM NHK, THE JAPANESE BROADCASTING NETWORK, SHOWED THAT THEY GAVE IT 12 MINUTES COVERAGE DURING THE SAME 15-MONTH PERIOD!

WHAT DID THIS TELL ME? THAT CANADIAN NEWS PROGRAMS, AND APPARENTLY VIEWERS, ARE POLITICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY ORIENTED. AND THE JAPANESE? THEY ARE ECONOMICALLY ORIENTED. IN A COMPETITIVE WORLD THEY HAVE OPTED FOR OWNERSHIP WHILE IT LOOKS LIKE WE WOULD RATHER SPEND AN INORDINATE AMOUNT OF TIME INVOLVING OURSELVES IN OTHER PEOPLE'S PROBLEMS. I SUSPECTED WE WERE NOT REALLY AWARE OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN SOUTH AFRICA. SO I WENT THERE. FROM WHAT I HAD SEEN AND HEARD ON CANADIAN TELEVISION I AGAIN SAW TWO DIFFERENT "WARS".

SOUTH AFRICA IS A BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY. I ENCOUNTERED NOT ONE DISTURBING "INCIDENT". I SAW NO HARRASSMENT OF ANYONE -- WHITE, BLACK, BROWN OR GREEN. I WALKED AROUND PRETORIA AND JOHANNESBURG AT NIGHT, RODE IN BLACK JITNEYS AND FELT SAFER THAN I HAVE FELT IN DETROIT, WASHINGTON, NEW YORK AND TORONTO.

I ALSO CHECKED ON THE NOTORIOUS SOWETO DISTRICT. ARE YOU AWARE THAT 18 BLACK MILLIONAIRES ARE LIVING THERE? ONE RESIDENTIAL AREA, IRONICALLY CALLED "BEVERLY HILLS" , MATCHES MOST HIGH CLASS AREAS IN OTHER URBAN CENTRES. DID YOU KNOW THAT WINNIE MANDELLA IS BUILDING A $250,000 (WOULD COST ONE MILLION HERE) "PALACE" THERE? NO? NEITHER DID I.

I WAS A SPEAKER AT UNISA, THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA. UP UNTIL RECENTLY, WITH 92,000 STUDENTS, IT WAS THE LARGEST UNIVERSITY IN THE WORLD. TOTALLY INTEGRATED SINCE OPENING NEW BUILDINGS IN PRETORIA IN 1976, IT ALSO HAS THE LARGEST LIBRARY -- TWO MILLION VOLUMES -- IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE. IT COURSES ARE OFFERED NOT ONLY TO BLACK AND WHITE SOUTH AFRICANS BUT ALSO TO ANY AFRICANS!! UNISA EVEN HAS STUDENTS IN AUSTRALIA. THE UNIVERSITY PROVIDES A DISTANCE LEARNING FACILITY THAT USES BOOKS, RECORDS, TAPES, COMPACT DISCS AND THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY. TO ANYONE WHO APPLIES. COSTS BY OUR STANDARDS ARE ALMOST NIL. THE GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIZES EDUCATION HEAVILY.

MY NET IMPRESSION? TELEVISION CAMERAS CAUSE RIOTS! AND, I SAY THAT AS THE OWNER OF A TELEVISION PRODUCTION COMPANY! DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE VIOLENCE, WHEN TELEVISION CAMERAS WERE ALLOWED FREE REIN, THERE WERE ABOUT 50 DEATHS A MONTH. SINCE TV CAMERAS WERE BANNED, THE DEATH RATE HAS DROPPED TO AN AVERAGE OF FIVE A MONTH. UPON ENTERING THIS NEW AGE, WE HAVE TO LEARN CAUSE AND EFFECT. THE SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT HAS HAD TO TAKE QUICK LESSONS.

THE ATTENTION GIVEN BY CANADIAN MEDIA TO THE "DETENTION OF CHILDREN" BY SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE ALSO INTERESTED ME. EVEN THOUGH THE HUGE NUMBERS REPORTED BY THE "DETAINEES' PARENTS SUPPORT COMMITTEE"(DPSC) WERE, BY THEIR OWN ADMISSION, "UNSUBSTANTIATED", I FIGURED NUMBERS MUST BE AT LEAST IN THE "HUNDREDS". THEY WERE DETAINING CHILDREN ALL RIGHT: AS OF MAY 31, 1987 THE NUMBER 12 YEARS OLD OR UNDER: NONE; NUMBER DETAINED 13 YEARS OLD: ONE; 14 YEARS OLD: 2; 15 YEARS OLD: 8. ALL ARE DETAINED AS NEAR THEIR HOMES AS POSSIBLE AND RECEIVE REGULAR VISITS FROM JUDGES, LAWYERS, DOCTORS AND PARENTS. THE 11 YOUTHS LISTED ARE BEING HELD IN CONNECTION WITH CRIMINAL CASES INVOLVING "NECKLACE" MURDERS AND OTHER ACTS OF CRIMINAL VIOLENCE. THE SAME THING WOULD HAPPEN HERE. HOWEVER, THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF KIDS SCOOPED UP AT THE HEIGHT OF THE RIOTS, AS THERE WERE HERE IN THE "HIPPIE AGE" OF THE SIXTIES. AND, JUST LIKE HERE, THE VAST MAJORITY WERE SHORTLY RELEASED. BUT, IN SOUTH AFRICA, THE YOUTHS WERE SCOOPED UP MAINLY FOR THEIR OWN PROTECTION.

WHAT WE DON'T HAVE HERE IS EIGHT MILLION PEOPLE WHO CAN'T READ A STREET SIGN AND WHO ARE BEING EXPLOITED POLITICALLY MUCH LIKE OUR EARLY IMMIGRANTS AND NATIVE PEOPLE WERE (AND STILL ARE IN SOME CASES). UNLESS YOU GO TO A COUNTRY AND STUDY THE LOCAL ENVIRONMENT, IT IS HARD TO KNOW THE FACTS. IT'S MUCH LIKE DIGESTING A BOOK BY READING THE COVER. MILLIONS OF OTHER AFRICANS ARE DAILY TRYING TO GET INTO SOUTH AFRICA TO CASH IN ON THE MUCH HIGHER PER CAPITA INCOME (NINE TIMES THAT OF THE REST OF AFRICA) AVAILABLE TO ANYONE WITH SKILLS OR A DESIRE TO LEARN. IN MANY WAYS IT IS A SIMILAR TO THE SITUATION AT THE UNITED STATES/MEXICO BORDER. THE DISPARITY PRESSURE IS ECONOMIC AND THAT CAUSES ALL KINDS OF PROBLEMS ANYWHERE. MORAL: WATCH WITH A CRITICAL EYE. A GREAT DEAL OF TV NEWS IS SHOWBIZ. TREAT IT SERIOUSLY AT YOUR PERIL.

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