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“The
Culture of Fear": Fears based on Fallacies
Americans
have a tendency to underestimate the power of the media and its influence over
our beliefs and expectations in society. News is delivered to our homes in many
different ways including the television, newspaper and word of mouth. It is our first instinct to take what we see
and hear from authority figures or news stations to be true. Therefore, we do not realize that the
“media," in any form, often delivers more or less than solid facts. The media has the ability to report what it
wants you to hear. The messages it
communicates may exaggerate unimportant details but leave out or belittle major
events it is uninterested in. The
promoting of false beliefs is not limited to the media influential organizations
and people (such as politicians) can be just as effective in spreading such
beliefs. The Culture of Fear,
written by Barry Glassner, introduces readers to an inside look at this
concept.
In his book, Glassner uncovers false beliefs
held by a vast majority of people. These
beliefs constitute myths and urban legends that make up an ever-growing “Culture
of Fear" in America. The “Fear mongers," as Glassner classifies
them, promote unwarranted fears among the general public. Americans therefore
focus their attention on “being afraid of the wrong things." The “wrong things"
include unwarranted fears the media expresses as truths. Often more important serious events become
neglected when so much attention is put on propaganda in the news. Using a
plethora of facts and statistics, Glassner supports his argument using specific
examples of how “fear mongers" have succeeded in stirring up fear in the
public. “How fears are sold," “Tall
Tales and Overstated Statistics," and “Faulty diagnoses and Callous Cures" are
a few themes Glassner uses to prove his point.
The
theme, How Fears are Sold, is
initially introduced in the first chapter, “Dubious Dangers on Roadways and
Campuses." This section describes the
ease in which people are sucked into “scares" or “hype" regarding a nonexistent
problem. Glassner describes road rage as a small risk the media successfully turned
into a wide scale fear among Americans. Organizations responsible for
Introducing fear of road rage to Americans include talk show hosts, news
reporters, and printed news sources. In one example, Glassner identifies Oprah
Winfrey as one guilty “fear monger." In
a 1997 program on road rage, Oprah described several incidents where road rage
grew into shootings and fistfights (Glassner 4). Despite the fact that road rage rarely
transforms into anything more serious, Oprah’s “influential power" inspired
fear into many of her viewers. Road rage
is most definitely not a significant risk to drivers. According to U.S. News and World Report, the AAA
attributed only 218 out of 250,000 deaths on the road due to angry drivers
between 1990 and 1997 (Glassner 5).
Another
example of this phenomenon of “selling fears" to television viewers can be seen
in talk shows that repetitively seek out troubled teenagers. These teenagers or
pre-teens in some cases are often rebellious delinquents, drug-attics, or
posses some other combination of immoral qualities. People exposed to these forms of media, which
present teenagers this way, are taught to view all teenagers as potential
criminals.
Tall Tales and Overstated Statistics
reflects the theme of the second chapter, “Crime in the News." Crime in the news occurs each time we turn on
the television and are exposed to exaggerated and right or left wing information.
News channels claim to report reliable facts, but the way in which news stories
are reported often reflect these types of biases. Fox news, whose former maxim
was “we report, you decide," is probably the most notorious channel for
advocating conservative or right wing views. The film, “outfoxed: Rupert
Murdoch’s War on Journalism," presents a compilation of Fox news’ most
embarrassing moments throughout the years.
The Outfoxed film
also includes a series of ex-Fox news employees whom retell their experience
working for the company. The past employees confess Fox was responsible for the
unfair manipulation of News broadcasted to the public. Jon Du Pre, former Fox
News Anchor, confesses in an interview in the Outfoxed film, that as an
employee, he was taught that “we were not necessarily there as journalists or
broadcasters to serve the viewers we were there to serve headquarters. What
headquarters wanted, that’s what we would give them" (Outfoxed). Fox news
utilized methods of propaganda to promote what “headquarters wanted," which was
often to support conservative politicians or beliefs. Du Pre reports that, “we were not necessarily
broadcasting, we were ‘narrowcasting’… we were there to appease a constituency:
That constituency was conservative, perhaps republic, males" (outfoxed).
Outfoxed is a good example of the media’s impact on people and its power to
broadcast what is important to the news station and not necessarily what is
important for viewers to see.
The
“Razorblade in the Apple" is a classic example of the media’s ability to
stir-up fear over an invalid conspiracy.
Each Halloween, the media reminds parents to thoroughly check their
children’s Halloween candy for dangerous substances such as poison or
needles. The legend of “the razorblade
in the apple" has in fact become so serious that police and medical centers all
over the country have gone so far as to x-ray bags of candy to make sure it is
safe for children to eat. The truth is
that few cases of Halloween poisoning have ever been reported. The two real cases of Halloween poisoning
that have been reported do not involve a deranged stranger giving children
poisoned candy. The two cases both
involved a parent intentionally murdering their child by giving them poisoned
candy. For example, in 1974, Ronald
Clark O’Bryan killed his son by lacing his son’s pixie stick with cyanide
(Radford). Unnecessarily taking such precautions as x-raying Halloween candy
furthers the unwarranted fear of the “Razorblade in the Apple."
Like the “Razorblade in
the Apple," the issues of internet danger and the booming child pornography
business are largely unwarranted fears shaped by the media. According to
Glassner, “A report on NBC news in 1977 let it be known that ‘as many as two
million American youngsters are involved in the fast-growing, multi-million
dollar child-pornography business’"(Glassner 32). This statement was proved to
be wrong: child pornography, in fact, probably accumulated less that $1 million
a year with hundreds, not millions, of American children involved (Glassner
32).
In addition to the
evils of child pornography, the internet is thought to be a very dangerous
place for vulnerable children that spend hours in front of their
computers. According to an article in
the Journal of School Violence, “the internet has provided a new medium
for the victimization of children, and sexual exploitation in cyberspace is
among the most dangerous threats to youth online" (Journal). Although, the internet exposes children to
potential communication with strangers through emails and chat-rooms, Glassner
points out that “government officials do a great deal of lurking and
entrapping" to catch “cyberspace creeps" (Glassner 33). Most internet providers also offer parental
controls that limit a child’s online activities.
Despite the fear
of online pedophiles, few criminal incidents have occurred involving children
and strangers online. According to a Los
Angeles Times reporter, “Such are the frightening new frontiers of
cyberspace, a place where the child thought safely tucked away in his or her
room may be in greater danger than anyone could imagine" (Glassner 35).
Glassner makes an interesting point referring to this comment: “For those most
at risk for sexual abuse, to be left in their rooms with a computer would be a
godsend" (Glassner 35). The media
should focus its attention on these children that are likely to be at a higher
risk for abuse than well-off children that have their own computers with online
access in their rooms.
Faulty Diagnosis and Callous Cures is
the major theme found in chapter three of The Culture of Fear, “Youth at
Risk." The media has a way of
pinpointing minors as highly vulnerable to both committing crimes and becoming
the victims of crime. Many accusations, however, hold little truth. Glassner
supports this point by explaining the reality behind the problem of “missing
children" (Glassner 60). Americans are
consistently being introduced to stories of missing children in the mail and on
television.
The amount of
attention missing children receive is enough to make parents nervous about
their own children being at risk for getting kidnapped by a stranger. Most children that are reported missing,
however, are runaways, fleeing from emotional or physical abuse at home
(Glassner 61). Also, the children that
are reported missing have often been “abducted" by another family member, and
not by a strange kidnapper. Children,
themselves, are likely to be frightened when exposed to the idea of kidnapping.
Pediatrician, Dr. Brazelton, claims “I don’t think it’s really appropriate to
make them afraid of everybody" (Glassner 62).
Fear
mongering in children and teenagers in not limited to kidnapping. School
security measures are becoming more extreme than ever before. More high schools are investing in
surveillance cameras and crime prevention programs. Schools in Baltimore are purchasing specialized digital
surveillance cameras which can both detect motion and see in the dark
(smile). Although the addition of surveillance
cameras is meant to ensure student safety at school, one may wonder if doing so
is really a warranted act. It is unfair
that video cameras consistently watch students when at school. The extra precaution makes schools seem more
like probation centers than places of learning.
Some people are
concerned about the lack of privacy and trust students may experience when
being video taped at school. “I think we’re rearing a generation of
schoolchildren who will always be looking over their shoulders" is Beth Givens
opinion, Director of the Privacy Rights Clearing House (smile). The cameras, though meant to ensure safety,
most definitely produce an insecure feeling in public schools. At Santiago High School
in Corona,
signs above each vending machine read, “smile, you are being videotaped." The signs are meant to prevent potential
vending machine bashers from destructing school property by warning them that
they could face serious charges. In reality, however, these types of warnings
produce feelings of unease in public schools.
Programs
involving drug abstinence are becoming even more invasive in public junior high
and high schools as they involve random searching of student property and in
some cases, the use of drug-dogs to search the school for illegal
substances. Increasingly, drug dogs are
being used in school districts to perform routine drug searches. The Administrators of schools that use the
dogs say that “the program isn’t a reaction to a rise in drug incidents: It’s
about deference" (Perez). In an article
in the Orange County Register,
Magnolia High School Principal, Ken Fox, reports that drug use has decreased
since he started in the district more than 20 years ago (Perez). For Principal Ken Fox, the drug dog is just an
“extra layer of prevention."
These drastic
measures may conjure more of a “faulty
diagnosis and callous cure" than anything else. One incidence at Magnolia
High School (Anaheim Union
High School
district) left a girl in tears after a drug dog
had found interest in her school supplies.
The student’s mom was called shortly after and the student’s car
checked, only to find that she was indeed not in possession of any illegal
substances (Perez). Not only does the
program seem invasive and unnecessary to students, it is costing the school
districts an average of $50,000 a year in federal grant money to fund the drug
dog program (Perez).
How Fears are Sold, Tall Tales and
Overstated Statistics, and Faulty
Diagnosis and Callous Cures all effectively counter traditional fears Americans
have bought into over the years.
Glassner destructs the common fear of road rage in the first section of The
Culture of Fear, How Fears are sold. In this section, it is brought to the
reader’s attention how easily statistics and other data can be manipulated to
make people believe that there truly is a serious epidemic where there is not
one. Oprah’s program on road rage in
1997 was an effective example of a respected person’s ability to inspire fear. Her prestige as a remarkable talk show host
gave her the power to influence her audience.
In the second
section, Tall Tales and Overstated
Statistics, the long held urban legend “The Razorblade in the Apple," is
destructed with evidence of the only real incidents of Halloween sadism both
of which did not involve strangers giving away tainted Halloween candy to
trick-or-treaters. The Outfoxed film
also fell into this category of Tall
Tales and Overstated Statistics, as it revealed all of Fox news’ flaws in
reporting reliable news. The right wing,
conservative, nature of Fox news is supported by several interviews by ex-Fox
Journalists, Producers, and News Anchors in the Outfoxed film as evidence. The ex-employees all reported various
accounts of unfair news broadcasting.
Faulty Diagnosis and Callous Cures, the
theme of the third chapter, reveals the media’s ability to create a problem
where it doesn’t exist and then attempt to cure it unnecessarily. Glassner explains the reason behind the hype
over “kidnapping": an occurrence that is feared more than it should be. The recent addition of drug dogs to school
security systems also seems like a “callous cure" to a “faulty diagnosis" of
drug problems in public schools.
The American
“Culture of Fear" is a long held tradition that is continuously being
reinforced by the media. Reporters, writers, and other sources of mass media
are constantly selling fears through exaggerated facts, unclear statistics, and
other techniques of persuasion. Fear is the most important emotion the media
can invoke in people because it controls our behavior. Actions such as the
addition of surveillance cameras in American school districts make it clear
that our fears are derived from lack of trust.
According to Dr. John Eyles, “we need to develop and maintain trust, and
cultivate respect in institutions" (Eyles).
Without trust Americans can not trust the government or their fellow
citizens in society.
There are many
ways Americans can avoid falling victim to false or stretched information. One
example is reading Reason magazine,
which has been around since 1968. Reason magazine offers an alternative to
reading or viewing marginal sources of information that use the news as
propaganda. Reason attempts to
promote a free society by “developing, applying, and promoting libertarian
principles, including individual liberty, free markets, and the rule of law"
(Reason). Other ways Americans can
protect themselves from falling victim to propaganda is to do their own
research on political organizations and avoid biased news channels. Simply being aware that much of the news we
are presented with consists of propaganda, can make Americans more
conscientious about the unwarranted fears they are buying into. Glassner’s, The Culture of Fear, provides
information every American should be knowledgeable about regarding the power of
the media to distort facts. Despite the
power of the media, every American has the ability to fight back against
propaganda and to think rationally.
Works
Cited
Glassner, Barry. The Culture of
Fear. New York:
Basic, 1999.
“OutFoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on
Journalism." Interview by Jon Du Pre.
Radford, Benjamin. “Candy Fears are Mere Halloween Phantoms." Skeptical
Inquirer 25 Nov. 2005
http://www.livescience.com/othernews/051025_halloween_candy.html
“Emerging Risks of Violence in the Digital Age." Journal of School Violence. 25 Nov.
2005.
“Smile kids." WTOP radio network 31 Mar. 2005 25 Nov. 2005
Perez, Erika “Drug Dogs Sniff out Trouble at OC Schools" The Orange
County Register 4 Nov. 2005. 25 Nov 2005.
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/atoz/article_750940.php
Eyles, John. “The Culture of Fear and Environmental Health: Making Policy
in Uncertain Times" 21 Mar. 2003. 25
Nov. 2005. < http://www.ec.gc.ca/seminar/Eyles_e.html>
“Reason" Reason Foundation 25 Nov. 2005
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