According to isidewith.com, I am 75% liberal. I was watching the news--CNN, of course--when I decided to do an experiment. I turned off my news notifications, intentionally scrolled past my typical liberal media sources (however the Trump/'Legally Blonde' speech got my attention), and decided my only source of news for the next 24 hours would be Fox News. I'm on summer break, and my internship and summer class haven't started yet, so I spend a lot of time either out with my friends or sitting on the couch working on Odyssey things.
Now I will include the disclaimer that this has 0 results that mean much of anything. This is just one political junkie's short experiment with how 'the other half lives.'
1. Fox News hates liberals
This is how I imagine every conservative is reading my article right now. Y'all ready to fight, but hold up. Read my point again. This is not about conservatives, Republicans, or even Trump. This is strictly about Fox News. Yesterday I watched Tucker Carlson Tonight, I ended up watching the same clip of five men smashing a window and a riot breaking out at a protest five times over the course of three interviews. The fear mongering is real, and I felt uncomfortable. If this is how all conservatives have felt throughout this election, I really am sorry. It needs to stop. It accomplishes nothing but dividing us even more.
2. Speaking of Tucker Carlson, he needs a new wardrobe
3. There are in fact a few brave souls who dare question Trump
There are those who are against Trump, see above, and there are those who honestly just want the truth. This morning while watching 'Outnumbered,' I watched as Meghan McCain relentlessly defended that she just wanted the accurate, honest, unpoliticized news. She said, "I don't want people to politicize [revealing sources to Russia]. I don't want 'The Washington Post' to do it, I don't want never-Trumpers to, I don't want never-question-Trumpers to. I just want to know what's going on here, and I don't trust anyone. I don't trust The White House, and I don't trust 'The Washington Post,' and I don't trust the pundits..."
This is when I found myself screaming. I agree with every cell in my body. I had been watching Fox News since the news about him revealing *things* to Russia broke, and I just wanted someone to step back and ask if we can really trust his administration. His actions are sketchy regardless of whether he did anything wrong or not. To fire the man investigating his ties to Russia and then the next day to invite Russian foreign ministers into The White House with no American journalists and only Russia journalists is sketchy. They could have been discussing ice cream flavors for all I know, but that's just it: nobody knows except the people who have routinely and systematically lied to the American people.
4. There's a lot of yelling in political commentary (and a sprinkle of sexism)
While this did not air last night, this is the iconic clip of Bill O'Reilly's meltdown on 'Inside Edition' that got him onto Fox News all those years ago. Since then, there's been lots of...passion.
And sexism...
...but don't worry. Even though that happened 2 years ago, that's the ONLY example of people working with Fox News treating women as inferior.
Yep, no mistreatment of women here.
None at all.
This article was written before Roger Ailes past away. While he made decisions that I consider inappropriate, that does not change that he was a man with many friends and family, and this is a time of mourning for them. They are in my thoughts and prayers.
The fact that nearly all women have ample cleavage, bubbly laughs and blonde hair got under my skin a little bit, but knowing that these two were the kings for so long made it so much worse. The way women were treated/talked to was nearly always uncomfortable. It was only on 'Outnumbered,' the show with four female hosts, that I finally heard women's opinions fully articulated (without being interrupted) and respected. And look at how Fox News describes that show:
Wow, good for that #oneluckyguy. (Because that surely doesn't suggest anything sexual.)
5. The liberal media is a real thing
But so is conservative media. No matter what party most closely relates to your values and convictions, take a walk on the other side. It has become abundantly clear that asking a human to provide commentary on the laws that affect their life without being biased in like asking a fish to fly. It just won't happen. It is our duty as American citizens do to what we can to be educated votes. In the world we live in, simply watching the news is not enough anymore. We must go to the original, primary source and then draw our own conclusions.
