Article Commentary: Blackouts
Today there were blackouts across much of northeastern America and central Canada. I was reading a random article about it from USA Today and was struck by the subtle editorialising in the article. To wit:
``..."We have no indication that there is any terrorism involved," said Bryan Lee...''
Of course, we must keep the hot-button fear-based issue of the moment at the forefront. Why not mention what is the cause?
``Traffic lights were out, and subways and buses stopped, as many started trudging home on foot.''
Why "trudging"? Trudging has obvious negative connotations and makes one think walking home is an unwelcome burden.
``In Toronto, Canada's largest city, workers also fled their buildings after the blackout hit.''
"Fleeing'' conjures up images of escaping from some catastrophe. I mean, we're talking about some lights not working here...
In a related CBC article on this event: ``Energy experts have been warning about large-scale blackouts in North America since the early eighties.''
So, why weren't we listening? I certainly don't remember hearing anything about this. The quoted alleged expert [some what wryly?] notes, ``Browning says it often takes a major event to make authorities realize something needs to be done.''
Uh huh.