Opposing public demonstrations regarding the ongoing Hamas-Israel strife provide a revealing window into not only the supporters of each side, but also how the media cover these events.
Hamas supporters tend to be destructive, belligerent, offensive. Witness handprints in red paint placed at places including the White House, to symbolize blood on the hands of Israel and its supporters. Public places and memorials similarly were defaced by pro-Hamas types. The call, either outright or implied for the extermination of Jews is a staple of these events
Just Wednesday, the headquarters of the DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE in Washington, D.C. came under siege by a mob of pro-Hamas types, requiring an evacuation of the area and police intervention in what an account of the event described as “chaotic.”
That turnout was estimated at 150 by NBCnews.com, citing U.S. Capitol Police.
Contrast that with the scene earlier in the week, when a pro-Israel rally brought mammoth crowds (more on this later) to Washington D.C., to support the Israeli cause.
No violence. No arrests. No damage to public property. The people showed up, many draped in Israeli or American Flags, or both. They listened to speakers, which included both Republicans and Democrats. They cheered. They waved signs.
I saw footage of the crowd and was impressed by the size.
Some news organizations, perhaps with an agenda to push, didn’t seem willing to cite specifics of crowd size.
A report from APnews.com headlined “tens of thousands of supporters.”
On CBSnews.com, the headline was “huge crowd” and the first words of the story were “A large crowd.”
Perhaps CBS, knowing full well video of the rally would be available, chose to use vague terms that could be interpreted however the reader chose and thereby refrain from pinning itself down with misleading terminology.
When it came to using numbers, the CBS story deferred to figures from “organizers.” Those “organizers” reportedly had estimated beforehand that 60,000 might attend but, after witnessing the actual turnout, estimated in all 290,000 had participated.
I’m not an expert, but based on footage I’ve seen, it was closer to 290,000 than to 60,000. Remember, in events such as this, people come and go, so a peak attendance at any particular time doesn’t necessarily reflect total participation.
Technically, AP was correct. There were tens of thousands present. But 20,000 is tens of thousands. So is one million. Which description more accurately captures the scene?
Back to the original premise of this post, those who protest for Hamas reveal themselves as having questionable awareness, warped judgment and a general inability to control themselves so as to act in a civilized fashion, sort of like the people they support.
This a significant reality that should be included in any calculus regarding the relative merits of opposing positions of this conflict.
Sam Ross Jr's site 