Today’s NYT features a lengthy article advocating a multi-platform media event, lasting weeks or even months, addressing the plight of black people in America. The event would include documentaries, panel discussions, cultural events, and drama. Would it work?
No, because unlike the Germans after World War II, there is no power in this country that can force people to watch. Fox News would never participate. I would guess that 30 percent of the population would watch every minute of it, 30 percent would quickly tire of it, and 40 percent would make a point of never tuning in. The 40 percent, of course, is where the worst of the problem lies.
The idea is not completely stupid. The MSM have made a great effort to portray minorities in greater number and more sympathetically over the last decade or so, and its efforts have been reasonably successful. Using the media to create empathy is much more likely to change hearts and minds than the bulldozer of legislation. Reconciliation is a process, however, not an event. It will take many years, not weeks or months, and it has to be done with gentle persuasion, not a sledgehammer.