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Through the Scratched Lens

~ A collection of profiles, stories, opinions and shared thoughts

Through the Scratched Lens

Category Archives: Column: Scratching the Surface

The Slow, Painful, Extinction of the “Reliable Source”

19 Sunday Apr 2020

Posted by mcgurk in Column: Scratching the Surface

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Prior to the 80s, when it came to the news, sources were limited. For most Americans, the daily newspaper was the go-to medium for “reliable” information. At least, that’s what we thought at the time. We had no reason not to trust The Boston Globe, New York Times, Chicago Tribune and countless other big city newspapers. From the late 50s to the end of the 70s, people gathered around the tube and trusted the word of Huntley and Brinkley and Walter Cronkite. We received our news in a nice, neat, no frills package—no gimmicks, no opinions, no expert panel—just the news. Cronkite was once referred to as “the most trusted man in America.” He kept us updated on big news events including the moon landing, JFK assassination, Vietnam War, and President Nixon’s resignation.

Nixon, on the other hand, was one of the first notable persons to refer to reporters and journalists as “the media” as his distain for the press blew up after the release of the Pentagon Papers and during the investigation of the Watergate break-in. In 1972, Nixon told his confidant Henry Kissinger, “never forget, the press is the enemy, the press is the enemy…write that on the blackboard 100 times.” It may have been the first instance where the “reliable sources” we’ve counted on were being brought into question. The cracks now appeared in the foundation.

When News Became Not News

Once the 80s awesomely rolled around, we became inundated with talk shows, including the new category of “shock” or “trash” TV. Led by Jerry Springer, Geraldo Rivera, and Maury Povich, the airwaves were filled with topics revolving around sexual perversions, religious cults, and lying, cheating spouses duking it out on live television. After years of trusting the words of talk show greats like Joe Franklin and Edward R. Murrow, the infestation of the tabloid shows also brought into question the legitimacy of the content being served before us. Crack.

But, some shock hosts were legitimate news reporters prior to this nose dive into garbage entertainment. Springer was a political campaign advisor for Robert F. Kennedy before he was hired as a news reporter for WLWT (NBC) in Cincinnati, Rivera broke in as a reporter for WABC-TV in 1970, Povich was a news reporter for WWDC and WTTG in Washington, D.C., and his wife Connie Chung, was a long-time, respected journalist on several networks.  There was also Morton Downey, Jr., a disc jockey and wannabe singer who had a short stint on KFBK with a talk show and was soon fired and replaced with Medal of Honor recipient, Rush Limbaugh. Phil Donahue, who started his talk show in the 60s covering respected topics in current events and politics, later followed suit with the trending times and covered many taboo topics in the 80s.

The fact that people actually watched this gunk was only part of the problem, but some actually believed what they were hearing and seeing. And why not? Many of these talk show hosts, as we mentioned, were journalists and reporters at one time. The non-believers, remained faithful to Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings when it came to reporting truth to the masses. They were the big three of network news throughout the 80s.

The trash TV era still reigns strong today with Povich, Springer and a host of new “personalities” paired with a slew of “Judge” shows which spawned from the 80’s hit “The People’s Court” featuring Judge Wapner. Judges! Who can be more reliable and truthful than a judge…right? The seeds were planted and the weeds had grown high, camouflaging reality with an alternative façade that would soon be called…well, “reality TV.” Crack…crack.

The Birth of the 24-hour New Cycle

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With the launch of CNN in 1980, the era (or error) of 24-hour news cycle had begun. CNN’s broadcasts started out with opinion-free news from well-respected journalists such as Bernard Shaw, Lois Hart, Dave Walker, and later, they added well-known radio interviewer Larry King.  But out of tragedies such as the Gulf War, O.J. Simpson murders, and the attacks on 9-11, came new shows that made Wolf Blitzer, Greta Van Susteren and Nancy Grace household names.  MSNBC and FOX News both launched in 1996 and we were now drowning in a 24-hour spin cycle of information. Not all necessarily news, but entertainment created for ratings and to keep your attention by any means possible.

By 2007, MSNBC had been accused of leaning left in the political spectrum. They soon parted ways with Tucker Carlson, who later joined FOX News, and adding liberal commentator, Keith Olbermann. FOX, on the other hand, was not shy about its right-leaning agenda as they placed Republican media consultant Roger Ailes at the helm as its CEO.  As the Network thrived, Alan Colmes left the highly praised Hannity & Colmes show as the liberal commentator. He was not replaced, and FOX News seemed quite comfortable in their conservative threads.  Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly went on to develop extremely popular shows, which are often mistaken for news, along with The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC, Don Lemon’s CNN Tonight. Today, most of these shows focus entirely on politics and report very little on national or international events unless they are of high-importance (like global pandemic).

The years of Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings were now gone for good and, though anchors such as ABC’s David Muir and NBC’s Lester Holt, are trying to maintain a format similar to the big three, many siphon their daily information from cable news and consider these outlets to be their “reliable sources.” Crumble.

The Death of MTV and the Birth of Reality TV

Not too long after Walter Cronkite said his last, “and that’s the way it is…,” MTV (Music Television) launched in August of 1981. After many successful years of chart-topping music videos, MTV decided to go into uncharted territory (no pun intended) by adding game shows and other programming to its lineup. In 1992, The Real World debuted which followed the “unscripted,” “real” events surrounding a bunch of teenage friends. What significance does this have to the search for “reliable sources?” Well, MTV may be the true epicenter of the “reality TV” explosion. The success of The Real World led to a massive change in the way we watch TV today. From Survivor to Keeping up with the Kardashians, so much of what we watch today is based in this false “reality” format. Even shows about animal doctors, treasure hunts and polygamist families are set up so to appear to be happening in real time. MTV realized the goldmine it had discovered and ditched their music format around 2001.

The important point in bringing up MTV is that so many of these “reality TV” shows that spawned from The Real World have the essence of believability to them. People believe that treasures are found on Storage Wars and Pawn Stars or that ghosts were found Ghost Hunters. Producers want you to believe that what you are seeing and hearing is real. I think that’s important to note.

A New Medium of Misinformation

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By the early 90s, a new medium launched in the form of the World Wide Web.  In the beginning, there was very little regulation and the internet was filled with bad neighborhoods of hate groups, perverse pornography and conspiracy theory sites. It didn’t take long for people to become swayed away from their normal “reliable sources” and get caught up in a whirlwind of far out-of-the-box points of view and flat out false information.

Then came the birth of social media. After MySpace died a quick death, Facebook launched in 2004 and soon people could create their own little bubble of friends and family to share ideas, politically opinions and photos of breakfast, lunch and dinner. But, there were no regulations in place stopping people from creating groups and memes promoting false information. Now, the majority of users certainly would never replace the newspaper or evening news with something Uncle Bob said on Facebook, but as the platform grew, so did the amount of misinformation. After the 2016 election, Facebook was put on trial to respond to why its platform did not stop Russian groups from posting misinformation campaigns.

In addition, posts from deep web, extremist groups to opinion blog posts were going viral leading to dangerous levels of falsities. Twitter emerged in 2006 and reduced the world’s attention span to just 140 characters. Twitter allowed for everyday people to connect with celebrities, sports figures, journalists and politicians and curate specific subjects with the help of the #hashtag. In the midst of what looked to be the decline of the platform with the emergence of Instagram, Snap Chat and Whats App, Twitter became the communication tool of choice for President Donald Trump. They soon up the ante to 280 characters. From 2016 on, Trump used the platform to reach his base and encouraged them not to believe traditional news outlets such as CNN, MSNBC and newspapers such as The New York Times and the Washington Post.  He referred to their coverage (which often did not favor the President’s agenda) as “fake news”. He often called the press on Twitter as “the enemy of the people.” Sound familiar?

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And there it is, now the “reliable sources” of information we depended upon had for so many years had been called into question, this time on a greater stage, as Donald Trump continued campaign rallies long after winning the presidency. Now what? Crack, crumble, crumble.

The Division

With the election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States, the country became more divided than ever. Many longtime friends were lost on social media due to picking opposite candidates. Dinner tables became quiet and I wouldn’t be surprised if some marriages broke up. But, something else happened. The cable news networks went after each other too. Before, there was this unwritten rule about mentioning competing stations or seeming uncivil to the news anchor across the isle who leaned a different way. Trump’s attacks on news media outlets, newspapers and journalists called into question whether the “reliable sources” many depended upon for years were actually telling the truth or were they spewing “fake news.” CNN anchors attacked the credibility of FOX News anchors and visa-versa. Anchors such as Sheppard Smith who refused to follow a particular agenda when reporting the news, left FOX News after 23 years.

Just reading Facebook posts, I have never seen such division based on what a particular network was telling them. People went about their daily lives and spread information based on what news network they found to be a “reliable source.” Now the calls were coming from inside the house. Crack, crumble, crack.

A Tested Time of Crisis

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So, now in a world where everyone is getting their information from different outlets, what happens when a real crisis hits and people need a “reliable source” to depend on for their own well-being?

Say hello to COVID-19, aka the novel coronavirus, the first pandemic to hit the world since 1918. At the beginning of the crisis, cable news organizations were greatly split. CNN and MSNBC were being accused of spreading fear and overreacting to the capabilities of this virus. Some FOX NEWS and right-wing radio hosts claimed reports about the virus were an attempt to bring down President Trump. During a rally in North Carolina on February 28, Trump called the left’s criticism of his administration’s handling of the COVID-19 response as “their next big hoax.” Oh, there’s more…

On March 9, FOX Business reporter Trish Regan said the coronavirus was “yet another attempt to impeach” Trump.

On March 10, Sean Hannity said on FOX News that the left was using the coronavirus as a “political weapon.”

The folks on FOX & Friends on March 13 touted that it was “the safest time to fly” despite warnings about COVID-19.

The aftermath, Trish Regan was fired for her comments, everyone else comfortably kept their jobs.

It was during this moment I realized the true damaging effect of having too many sources of information.

Folks on the right relied upon the President’s words and the conservative media as their “reliable source” of information. While others depended on left-leaning networks, podcasts, blogs, websites, and so on as their “reliable sources” of information.

So, here is the vital question: How do we get important, TRUE and reliable information to the masses during a crisis when everyone believes what they want to believe?

Whether it’s Anderson Cooper, Rush Limbaugh, Rachel Maddow, Sean Hannity or whoever, in an emergency like a pandemic, earthquake, hurricane, war etc., people should be able to depend on TV news anchors and personalities to supply them with reliable, truthful information.

Even on April 17, 2020, as I write this story months into this pandemic, information is all over the place. Many who watch CNN believe testing for COVID-19 is lacking and opening up government is too risky as FOX News viewers are being flooded with “open up America” stories as protesters take to the street and the President touts “liberate America.” How does it end? What does your reliable source tell you? Only time will tell. And that’s the way it is…

I Drank From a Garden Hose and Lived to Tell About It

11 Friday Jan 2019

Posted by mcgurk in Column: Scratching the Surface

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287152637-h“Go out and play!” How many of you heard that exclamation from your parents growing up? On Saturday, parents all over the country scooted their offspring out the door at dawn and didn’t expect them back until dusk. They would finally round them up by opening the front door and screaming at the top of their lungs. “DINNER!” No cell phone or GPS needed.  Every kid recognized the sound of their mom’s voice with in a five-mile radius. We spent the whole day playing outside away from our parents, and they got a break from us too. It was a win-win.  In Philadelphia, where I grew up, we played all different games out in the streets, whether it was handball, Nerf® football, tag, or Army/Navy, which required roaming about the entire neighborhood trying to capture the other team.  It was glorious! Oh, and after a long-sweaty day out in the heat, we ran home and got a nice, refreshing, cold drink…from the garden hose. Yep, I drank from a garden hose and lived to tell about it.

I’m not really sure what exactly happened as the generations have gone by. Why don’t kids go out and play anymore? It’s a different time they say. But is it really? One thing I do know, I live in a very safe neighborhood, with beautiful lawns to wrestle on, trees to climb and bushes to hide behind—but it’s like a ghost town. Kids aren’t playing catch, tag or football. Sports are boringly structured in organized play on school yards with coaches, refs and parents yelling from the sidelines. Phooey! What happened to pick-up games where you made up the rules as you went along? Where hiding a football under your shirt or spitting on a Wiffle ball was all fair play? Now you have to wonder, is it for the kids or the parents? “Why don’t you put my Johnny in? You know he’s the best player on the team.” Meanwhile, poor Johnny is on the sideline, palm in face, sulking down in embarrassment.

Have you heard the saying “Go play in traffic”? Well, we actually played in traffic. We tossed the Nerf and played full, four quarter football games with about 10 kids in the middle of the street. Granted, we stopped every five minutes to yell “CAR!!!” No different than the NFL with commercial breaks every five minutes for…CAR!  These days, it’s not football unless it involves two joy sticks and a jolly photo of John Madden and a star player who will probably now be out for the season.

Some do blame these video games for the lack of outdoor adventure. Look, I grew up with the Atari 2600 with its awesome graphics (especially boxing), and still found time for a game of stickball with pals. Finding them was another story though. This would require actually knocking on doors, checking area parks, and yelling their names at the highest pitch humanly possible. There was no cell phone to call Timmy or Charlie on. You actually spent part of your free time finding your friends.  And when you did knock on doors, parents would answer and say, “They are out there somewhere.” Image that. But we survived.

And, by the way (or btw for all you Millennials), these kids were really your friends, not some virtual friend, or one of your 500 Instagram friends. You know, like the one you met one time at some parent-organized picnic where they monitored your every move, and what kind of food you put in your mouth. “Johnny, spit out that chicken nugget right now! My son only eats non-GMO chickens, fed wholesome, organic, corn feed, and raised in the mountain ranges of Colorado, where the air is pure and the water is crystal clear.” What? Really? Give me a break! We grew up on BBQ hamburgers that tasted like lighter fluid and washed it down with Mountain Dew with plenty of high-fructose corn syrup and yummy Yellow Dye #5.  Oh, and we endured.

They don’t make playgrounds the same anymore either. Where are the monkey bars? What’s that slide made out of…plastic?  Where are the good ol’ metal slides that we loved burning ourselves on in 90 degree weather and stuck so hard to it that we would lose some skin on the way down. OUCH! And what’s with the foam padding everywhere? Back in the day, when we fell off the monkey bars it was all blacktop or cement to break your fall. You’d limp home trying not to cry for about 12 blocks (no Uber, sorry), with a scraped up knee, only to have your mom throw a Band Aid on it, tell you “You’re OK,” pat you on the behind and send you back out the door for more mayhem.  These days it would be a trip to urgent care, antibiotic cream and a pamphlet on “How to Avoid Playground Injuries: What Parents and Kids Need to Know.” But, somehow we made it through just fine.

Coming from the East Coast, weather was a factor as kid too. But, that never stopped us. Rain, sleet, snow, we were in it all. And guess what? I never caught pneumonia and died. We would just add “tackle” to our football games when the blizzards hit. Our winter coats, hair, boots and gloves would be so matted with snow that our parents couldn’t recognize us. “Is that our kid?” “I don’t know dear; just stick him in the vestibule until he thaws.” And once I melted I was fine.  Bring on the hot chocolate!

Yep, we built forts with real hammers and nails, climbed rooftops to retrieve lost balls and rode bikes downhill at top speed with no helmet.

Oh, and we drank from garden hoses and lived to tell about it!

Will There Be a Zombie Apocalypse?

14 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by mcgurk in Column: Scratching the Surface

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zombie apocalypse

December 2012

It may have already started

53Zombies have always been a fascination within pop culture ever since George Romero’s 1968 breakthrough film Night of the Living Dead left audiences terrified with jaws dropping. H.G. Wells and even Mary Shelly, to some degree, touched on the subject of the undead, but it wasn’t until Romero’s film that the true horror of the possibility of a zombie apocalypse came to light.

At the beginning of the last decade, a re-emergence of zombie films hit the theaters. 28 Days Late and Resident Evil were followed by a semi-successful remake of the Romero film Dawn of the Dead in 2004, the spoof Shaun of the Dead the same year, and several more Resident Evil films. Zombies had hit an all-time high in popularity. Then when we thought it had reached its peak, The Walking Dead (based on the graphic novel series) became a huge hit on AMC spilling more graphic guts and gore ever seen on a TV series.

Though it’s uncertain whether a virus such as the one outlined in The Walking Dead series can truly occur, there are many that believe it could be a reality one day. From a medical standpoint, Harvard Health Publications has stated its case why they feel the scenario is unlikely: (http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/zombie-apocalypse-only-in-your-dreams-201210315478).

Personally, I think such an event could be happening already, but not in all the ways most might expect.

In the novels and movies, zombies have a unique collection of classic characteristics. I will touch on each one and compare how they can relate to situations in today’s world.

Zombie Characteristics 1 through 3

 

1)      Mobile, but technically dead.

2)      Unresponsive to surroundings.

3)      Don’t recognize outside world.

Mobile, but technically dead

silly_goofy_zombie_cartoon_character_photosculpture-p153190255907981454bfnwk_400Here’s an experiment. Go to any busy street corner or ride public transportation and see how many people exhibit these 3 characteristics. They are mobile, shuffling down the street, unresponsive to their surroundings…dead to the world. Zombies. Ok, maybe not fully, but the initial changes could be occurring. You may even recognize the warning signs within yourself. People seem to be on auto-pilot when walking (and driving) these days.

The Washington Post noted in 2012 that Apple has sold 85 million iPhones since 2007. Now add in the non-Apple products as well and you’ll find that everyone from your 12-year-old little sister to grandma are using gadgets for internet searches, games, music and yes, even for phone calls. While people are hooked on these gizmos, they are tuning out the outside world.

 Unresponsive to surroundings

 Although many will claim they are multi-tasking as they walk, drive, text and tweet, recent studies have shown that multi-tasking is not possible. In an interview on NPR, neuroscientist Earl Miller noted, “Switching from task to task, you think you’re actually paying attention to everything around you at the same time. But you’re actually not.”

Don’t buy it? More of a numbers person? Well, the National Safety Council has reported that there are 1.6 million cell phone related car accidents each year. Twenty thousand caused by texting while driving. “I need to quit texting, because I could die in a car accident,” said Chance Bothe, a Texas college student. During the text he drove off a cliff. Bothe was lucky…he survived. But many don’t. Forbes reported that 11 teens a day die as a result of texting and driving. There has even been a commercial where a highway patrol officer pulls someone over who is texting and driving. When he returns to the police car, he shakes his head and says, “zombies.” Exactly.

Besides car accidents, there is a plethora of viral videos of zombie-like people walking into walls, falling down stairs etc. as a result of focusing on gadgets rather than paying attention to where they are headed. There was one case a few years ago where a girl from NY, who was texting while walking down the street, fell in to an open man hole. The family sued the city, of course, because why would anyone consider taking responsibility for their own actions?

In a small experiment of my own, I entered an elevator on the top floor and pressed floor “2.” After several trips over a week’s time, I noted that 8 out of 10 people who entered the elevator after me and were concentrating on their gizmos, failed to press their desired floor of “1.” They were rewarded by a trip back up the elevator.

 Don’t recognize the outside world

 Cartoon zombie isolated on white“Go out and play.” How many of us have heard that yelled out by our mothers growing up? Times have changed. With HD TVs, DVRs, interactive video games systems and portable DVD players, why leave home? In addition, the technology of today has also made some parents afraid to let their kids out of their sight. With Amber alerts and sex offender registry sites telling us who is living in our neighborhoods and a full variety of both drama and reality TV shows depicting kids being kidnapped, killed or sexually abused, parents are much more hesitant to let their kids go out and play.

The result? A Colorado-based study, in 2008, showed a decline in outdoor physical activity by 11 percent compared to the previous year. It has also caused an increase in obesity rates among this age group, which we will delve into more later.

 

1)      Mobile, but technically dead.

2)      Unresponsive to surroundings.

3)      Don’t recognize outside world.

Zombie Characteristics 4 through 6

4)      Lack of communication skills

5)      One track mind

6)      Living in a decaying state

Lack of communication skills

 In 2010, USA Today claimed it was “The year we stopped talking to one another.”Technology has taken the place of human interaction.Face to face social skills are diminishing. In the next 10 years, teens may be unable to understand emotions through facial expression and more through LOLs and OMGs. Social Networking, email and texting are the preferred communication methods among today’s college students.

The Daily Athenaeum, the publication at West VirginiaUniversity, noted that social networking has hurt communication skills of college students. In 2010, student’s grades were 20% lower when they had Facebook accessible while they were studying. “Students have become reticent and intimidated in the classroom to speak directly with me. Rather, they feel more comfortable sending me an e-mail from behind a computer screen, which is impersonal and does not contain context at all,” said Dr. Kelley Crowley, a public relations professor at West Virginia University.

A 2012 Penn State study noted a significant decline in language and grammar skills among tweens. The study showed that kids who became use to “text speak” using language such as “gr8” for great and “LOL” for laughing out loud, had trouble adjusting back to proper grammar. A precursor to the simple grunts and groans in zombie speak? Could be!

 One track mind

 An important factor, but how is it defined? Shuffling off to a job everyday to provide for ourselves, and/or family? Is that one-track mindedness? Is it similar to watching a trail of ants or bees to a hive? When we are focused, set on a task, not much can break us away. But on a deeper level, what if we are not using our minds to there fullest at all? Scientists and Spiritualistic individuals alike have noted that we hardly even tread into what it truly means to be conscious. In fact, we may be zombies already, according to Todd C. Moody, an associate professor in philosophy at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, who raised the question in his paper titled “Conversations with Zombies.” The argument being that the only difference between us and zombies is the “conscious state.” So, if this is true and you attached it to Eastern Philosophies such as Zen, which says that human beings, most of the time, are not fully conscious, then that would mean that we are, in fact, zombies.

 In a decaying state

 This section may lean a bit more toward the tradition theories related to the zombie apocalypse. According to the Centers for Disease Control, one-third of the U.S. population is obese. If this current trend continues, it is projected that the rate of Type II Diabetes in this country will double in 15 year. That’s about 20 million by 2025. Obesity is the result of more than just over eating. Lethargy and inactive lifestyles are contributor’s as well.

Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia have also seen a massive increase of 245% since 1970. Early stages of Alzheimer’s include impairment of learning and memory, as the disease advances patients fail to recognize loved ones and often develop coordination control.

Now, I’m not saying that obese individuals and those suffering from Alzheimer’s are zombies. I’m simply pointing out the similarities in characteristics as a result of our own life styles.  All the above, including the new technology is a result of a world we created.

Drug choices have changed too. Synthetic cathinones such as “Bath Salts” have been in the news lately as they can cause “zombie-like” reactions from their users. In May 2012, a Miami man was shot and killed by police after he was found eating another man’s face.

There have been similar cases involving similar drugs over the years.

In conclusion:

 Now, I’m sure I can toss out more similarities (such as more pale skin as a result of fear of skin cancer), but I won’t.

Why is it occurring? Maybe we just can’t grasp the realities of our own existence and eventual demise, so we fill up our time with escapism in the form of entertainment, information, food and other mind-altering substances and spend less time in what’s real ‘cause it’s too scary? Who knows?

But, either way, we need to take a good look at where we are headed and maybe, just maybe, we won’t get there!

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Hatred in America (California Edition)

20 Thursday Sep 2012

Posted by mcgurk in Column: Scratching the Surface

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September 2012

Time to say, “Not in my backyard!”

When it comes to terrorism and hatred, we often focus our attention overseas. Yet, everyday, in our own neighborhoods, Americans are displaying acts of hate toward non-Americans and Americans alike. What’s the reason for this hate? It’s because as humans, we are all different. We have different views in the areas of race, religion and sexual preference and what seems ok to us, doesn’t sit well with others. And instead of just being tolerant and accepting of other’s belief systems like many, some individuals and groups feel this way of life is wrong and must be stopped by any means possible.

According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, in 2010, 1,949 law enforcement agencies reported 6,628 hate crime incidents involving 7,699 offenses. There were 6,624 single-bias incidents that involved 7,690 offenses, 8,199 victims, and 6,001 offenders.

2011 stats are still being broken down, but nevertheless, the stats are astronomical:

 

Racial bias

In 2010, law enforcement agencies reported that 3,725 single-bias hate crime offenses were racially motivated. Of these offenses:

  • 69.8 percent were motivated by anti-black bias.
  • 18.2 percent stemmed from anti-white bias.
  • 5.7 percent were a result of bias against groups of individuals consisting of more than one race (anti-multiple races, group).
  • 5.1 percent resulted from anti-Asian/Pacific Islander bias.
  • 1.2 percent were motivated by anti-American Indian/Alaskan Native bias.

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement.  A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

  • 65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
  • 13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
  • 9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
  • 4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
  • 3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
  • 3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
  • 0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.  (Based on Table 1.)

Sexual-orientation bias

In 2010, law enforcement agencies reported 1,470 hate crime offenses based on sexual-orientation bias.  Of these offenses:

  • 57.9 percent were classified as anti-male homosexual bias.
  • 27.4 percent were reported as anti-homosexual bias.
  • 11.4 percent were prompted by an anti-female homosexual bias.
  • 1.4 percent were the result of an anti-heterosexual bias.
  • 1.9 percent were classified as anti-bisexual bias.

 

Hate crimes is one thing, but also in the mix are organizations that develop out of pure hatred for a group of people. The Southern Poverty Law Center, an American nonprofit civil rights organization, noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups; its legal representation for victims of hate groups; its monitoring of alleged hate groups, militias and extremist organizations; and its educational programs that promote tolerance counted 1,018 active hate groups in the United States in 2011. Of those, 84 of them are in California alone. That’s the largest amount in one state.

Now the Southern Poverty Law Center’s list includes anything from Neo-Nazis, to groups who want to keep illegal immigrants out of the country, to religious groups that feel homosexuality is a sin. Everyone’s opinion of what defines “hate” varies. Going through the list yourself, you can form your own opinion on who the true haters are.

That being said, for the record, I believe in freedom of speech. But, I also believe hate can lead to violent acts against our citizens (as seen in the stats above) and I believe that people need to be aware that these organizations exist in their neighborhoods. So here is a rundown of a few:

 

  1. The National Socialist American Labor Party, (Neo-Nazi) resides at928 N. San Fernando Blvd, Suite J143, Burbank, California  91504(americasvoice@nsalp.org). They don’t advocate any illegal or unethical activities, but you can listen to Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” on the website and see many other racist remarks and deplorable cartoons. Wow!
  2. The American Third Position, (White Supremist) are based in Vegas (american3rdposition.com), but have groups in California including in San Diego and Westminster. Their Mission Statement spouts: Parts of our beautiful country now resembles Third World communities in Latin America, Africa and Asia. White people are already the minority in many cities and counties…enough is enough! Unreal, and they have a Presidential Candidate who you will never hear of.
  3. The Institute for Historical Review,P.O.Box 2739 Newport Beach 92659 ihr@ihr.org describes itself as a “public-interest educational, research and publishing center dedicated to promoting greater public awareness of history.” According to their “history,” big chunks of what really happened during the Holocaust are missing. Their so-called “scholarly body” has links to Neo-Nazi affiliates.
  4.  Concerned Citizen’s for the First Amendment, Hemet,(anti Islamic)why does this sound familiar? Oh, maybe because this is the organization run by Steve Klein, the consultant on the film whose trailer portrayed the prophet Mohammed as a philanderer who advocated child abuse. The 13 trailer sparked deadly protests in the Middle East which led to the death of U.S. diplomats in Libya.
  5. Voice of Reason, Pasadena, Radio broadcast of white supremacy. Look at the line up: Jamie Kelso is formerly from the Church of Scientology, now a white supremist. Here’s a connection, he is a director at the American Third Position (mentioned above). Also, the Marc Weber Report. Marc Weber is the director of the Institute for Historical Review (also, mentioned above).

Oh, how it all comes together to one big happy family of hate. For the whole list, visit: www.splcenter.org/get-informed/hate-map#s=CA.

Hatred is something that shouldn’t have to be tolerated, and though these groups are protected by the First Amendment, there are ways to take action:

  1. By supporting those who are victims of hate crimes
  2. By reporting instances of hate crimes in your community
  3. Get involved: http://www.splcenter.org/get-involved/your-community

R.I.P. Customer Service…for now

14 Friday Sep 2012

Posted by mcgurk in Column: Scratching the Surface

≈ Leave a comment

A customer is the most important visitor on our premises, he is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so.—Mahatma Gandhi

Customer Service? What’s That?

These inspiring words from Gandhi give us a pretty precise idea of what the philosophy of customer service was in a time really not long ago, but seemingly so far away. Other old-school notions such as “the customer is always right” has faded away like Gandhi himself, which leads us to the ultimate question: What happened to customer service?

I worked in a department store in Philadelphia called Strawbridge & Clothier. Strawbridge’s, as it was locally called, was a multi-level beautiful structure in a style similar to the old Macys stores. The merchandise sold was considered classier and the ambience a bit classier too. You felt welcomed when you walked into this family-owned establishment and were often greeted by the Strawbridge family themselves, who chose to be among the shoppers over hanging out in a luxury penthouse suite.

Today, you are lucky to get a greeting in most stores. Instead are followed by leech-like employees looking to make a commission, or watching your every move to make sure you don’t shoplift a pair of $20 underwear. Cash register personnel are often low paid, miserable individuals who spend their hours day dreaming of that “someday” that they will get out of “this place.” The days of “thank you” and “please come again” have gone away thankless.

Not the best example (but one I’ll use anyway) is my recent experience at 7-11. The attendant seemed perturbed that I was actually asking him a question about a product. I guess I threw off the conversation he was having with the voice at the other end of the Bluetooth attached to his ear as he looked at me grimly and said, “I don’t know.” The woman behind me stepped up and said what I should have, “Just because you are a miserable person doesn’t mean you need to take it out on customers.” How true?

Ah, the cell phone, Bluetooth and self-service—yes, technology has played a part in the demise of customer service. Supermarkets have added self-serve areas. Now we have to scan and bag out own items. Gas stations are mostly all self-service and attendants have developed a reputation for ripping people off. (Did you really need a new filter?)

It is hard to speak to a real person these days, and often when you do, you are speaking to someone in another country and language barrier hold us hostage in longer, drawn out calls of re-explaining your situation.

Despite the banking bailout 3 years ago, Bank of America (America no less) has been on the firing and hiring binge—firing Americans and hiring overseas, mainly in the Philippines—where they can get cheap labor. Oh, and they get what they pay for. Wells Fargo followed suit outsourcing jobs to India and the Philippines. Then there are the robots, or automated customer service systems, where a real person is eliminated and replaced with a option of push-buttons and a voice command system. In many cases, the voice command system fails to do one important thing…understand your voice. 

In a study released in April 2012 by the research firm, Vocalabs, 11.14% of Hewlett Packard customers complained about language barriers, followed by 7.28% of Dell customers. Citi Group was cited as having the worse automated customer service system, with Verizon in at a close second. Among the highest complaints from frustrated customers using automated customer service systems:

  1. The system didn’t have the option they were looking for.
  2. They had to call back and start over.
  3. It was hard to reach a real person.

I had this experience recently with a company called Bill Me Later. When I called, the option I needed was not an option at all, and there was no prompt to speak to a real person. After hitting “#” and “0” several times, I finally tricked the system and someone answered. The other thing I noticed about my experience with Bill Me Later, is when I said the words, “I’ll never use this service again.” There was no effort made by the call rep to maintain me as a customer. It’s equivalent to saying, “So what? Leave.”

Back to the Gandhi quote: We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so.

 A concept that has totally gone out the window, especially in the food service and clothing industries. Have you ever been at a counter ordering food and felt rushed to give your order and step aside? Or had some snooty clothing store person treat you like you should be privileged they let you walk in their store? Attitudes like this are all to common in today’s world.

But is it too late to change the gruesome fate of customer service? No, bottom line, the numbers should reflect how much good customer service means to people. A company called BIGinsight compiled a list of companies for its Customer Choice Awards.

The Top 10:

1. Amazon.com

2. L.L. Bean

3. Zappos.com

4. Overstock.com

5. QVC

6. Kohl’s

7. Lands’ End

8. JC Penney

9. Newegg.com

10. Nordstrom

Now according to Forbes, Customer service in the conventional sense has generally implied face-to-face communication: greeting a customer; providing him/her with product information, demonstrations, additional options, or size assistance; suggesting add-ons or complementary products; and finally, completing the sale. Historically, the best opportunity to cultivate great customer relationships is within an environment where personal interaction between the retailer (i.e. sales associates) and customers is at its peak: a physical store.

That being said, how could an online service top the charts? Well, simple put, it adjusted to the times and gives people what they want now, which is quick, reliable service, a good automated system, and the option to have a customer service rep call you. Good thinking! And it’s working.

Topping the list of poor customer service are banks, insurance companies and telecommunications companies. The MSN Money Hall of Shame lineup includes: Bank of America, (remember them, they were mentioned earlier), listed as the worst in customer service. Also in the top 10: AOL, Citi Bank, Comcast, Chase, Farmer’s and Progressive Insurance, among others.

But why banks? Bankers were always portrayed in old-time movies as great customer service providers to the people. Right?  In a recent Time magazine article, banking analyst Dick Bove explains his theory, “For the last 40 years I believed the quality of the product was the key determinant to the success of the company,” he says. “There’s no evidence in the U.S. banking system that offering a labor-intensive personalized service is successful in terms of letting the banking intuitions survive. It’s very costly with virtually no benefit,” Bove says.

So maybe for your banking experience, there may be no hope for quality customer service. But the banks too may crumble. And, someday, somehow, maybe some of the immortal words of yesteryear will reign once again. Like Walt Disney once said, “Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.” That’s what true customer service does!

This may need a part II

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