Tag: media

Casualties After Undisciplined Brawl on China-India Border

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On June 15, two Indian infantrymen and a colonel died after hand-to-hand fighting broke out between Indian and Chinese soldiers on the disputed Line of Actual Control between the two most populous nations on earth. The incident marks the first time in 45 years that Chinese-Indian tensions have resulted in casualties.

What is described in Indian media as a “violent face-off” appears to be another unauthorized scuffle in the Galwan Valley, where soldiers from the two nuclear-armed nations have engaged in occasional amateurish fighting over the last months. By presenting the tussle as a clash between nations, the media and politicians are only further heightening tensions between soldiers and encouraging the increasing deterioration of basic discipline among border troops.

Media sensationalism

Indian media fueled tensions over a non-existent threat on Tuesday, June 16. Indian broadcaster Times Now called the hand-to-hand fighting by Chinese and Indian troops an “unpardonable provocation” and framed the deceased soldiers as “martyred braves.”

Politicians are using media reporting to frame the scuffle between emotional young men as a serious matter, painting the unfortunate brawl as “China flexing its muscles.”

“It is a matter of serious national concern as it has grave implications for national security,” Indian Congressional Spokesman Anand Sharma stated.

Parliamentarian Guarav Gogoi tweeted that “the Chinese are known for their gradual encroachment and continuous aggression,” as politicians attempt to turn the sad result of a scuffle between disorderly young men into a case of international escalation.

The influence of the media on these events can not be discounted. India’s sensationalist media has taken events that exemplify the undisciplined nature of its military troops as evidence of a looming war. Any statement by the Chinese media is taken as a sign of further escalation while government and military officials stress nothing but de-escalation and disengagement.

Lack of discipline

The amateurish hand-to-hand fighting between Indian and Chinese soldiers has been a regular occurrence on the country’s borders. In what appears to be a prevalent lack of discipline and a failure to obey command structures, Indian and Chinese infantry continue to let emotions overrule their country’s objectives to disengage.

Indian media calls the events a violent confrontation, but none of the facts support this claim. The fact that the scuffle consisted only of hand-to-hand fighting reveals that soldiers made the conscious decision to drop their actual weapons, and instead fought like children on a playground.

The problem is unlikely to be resolved as India’s press continues to frame these events as genuine military developments instead of moments of national embarrassment for both nations. Individual soldiers throwing stones and exchanging blows should be a case for disciplinary action; instead, billions of people are put on edge as if China and India have any stake in escalating tensions.

Deteriorating discipline

The failure to control the emotions of border troops prompted Zhao Lijian, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to lodge a complaint with Indian officials. While the Chinese frame the event as a lack of discipline among Indian troops, the fact that Chinese border troops did not disengage or deescalate highlights that the problem exists in both military forces.

What should have been a quiet unreported event destined for military tribunals has become an issue on which Indian politicians “score points” by releasing increasingly provocative statements to appease India’s nationalist majority. That an actual war between the nation is not in any way a realistic prospect is conveniently ignored.

“During the de-escalation process underway in the Galwan Valley, a violent face-off took place yesterday night (Monday night) with casualties on both sides,” the Indian Army said in an official statement, concluding that “senior military officials of the two sides are currently meeting at the venue to defuse the situation.”

As long as the media and politicians continue to frame soldiers engaging in non-authorized brawls as “martyrs” combating “Chinese aggression,” it is likely that discipline among border troops will only further deteriorate.


A 2017 example of the amateurish nature of Sino-Indian “confrontations.”

Trump: States Should ‘Dominate’ Anti-Racism Protesters

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Protests against institutional racism in the United States, triggered by the death of George Floyd, are meeting state violence and media sensationalism. While US presidents commonly try to bring people together during such moments of national unrest, President Donald Trump used his May 2 speech to decry “an angry mob,” saying that the “biggest victims are peace-loving citizens in our poorest communities.”

Trump promised to “fight to protect you, I am your president of law and order and an ally of all peaceful protesters,” before describing the anti-racism protesters as “professional anarchists, violent mobs, arsonists, looters, criminals, rioters,” and “Antifa.” The US president blamed the death of two protesters on “dangerous thugs,” a racially charged term for black men.

Distorted narratives

US media networks have been busy building the narrative that racism and police brutality are bad, but that violence during protests is even worse. Governors, mayors, and public figures have urged people to stop protesting and “allow justice to be done.” But it appears to be exactly the absence of justice in so many cases of police brutality that are spurring protesters to continue.

Anyone that watches American television is left with the impression that the country is on fire. Images of burning buildings, violence, and the few instances of looting are played over and over while the mainly peaceful protests go under-reported. US media and politicians appear to have settled on a playbook of decrying George Floyd’s death with numerous superlatives, followed by highlighting cases of violence as justification to halt peaceful demonstrations.

Prominent US figures continue to caution of white supremacists infiltrating protests to instigate violence and escalate tensions.

Fanning the flames

As per usual, Donald Trump’s reactions are less subtle than most. He called for increased state violence and for governors to “dominate” those exercising their constitutional right to freedom of speech and addressing their grievances to the government. Trump announced he is “taking immediate action to stop the violence and restore security and safety in America.”

While Trump applauded the mainly-white protests against COVID-19 measures in April, the current protests will face the full mobilization of “all available federal resources, civilian and military.” Trump is now pressuring governors to deploy the National Guard, a branch of the military, against protesters in order to “dominate the streets.”

Police provoke confrontations

An increase in security forces is unlikely to deescalate protests, as police have often been the source of violence. US police forces are overwhelmingly treating protesters as “the enemy” due to years of a militarization of US law enforcement. Heavily armed police officers in riot gear have been wrongly trained to escalate situations and use violence, according to an analysis provided by The Conversation.

“There was a time when the playbook was much more straightforward. The police would meet with the organizers of the protest, and they would lay out ground rules together that would provide for an opportunity for protesters to do exactly what they have a right to do,” Ronal Serpas, a former police chief and professor of criminology told The Marshall Project.

Electoral ploy?

Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman called Trump’s strategy “weaponized racism” in a New York Times opinion piece on Monday as it appears Trump is pitching America’s white and Black populations against each other. The Boston Globe highlighted how Trump ignores racism and police brutality as he fuels unrest between different segments of US society.

Donald Trump appears to see the protests as an electoral winner. The unrest distracts from the 105,192 dead Americans due to COVID-19 and energizes racist elements in his base of support.

By filling his supporters’ minds with fear of racial unrest and burning businesses, he appears to want to trigger the anxiety and fear that too often drive some conservative voters.

With the current de-facto state of martial law featuring soldiers on the streets and political opponents labeled “terrorists,” Trump slowly appears more like the dictators he praises on a regular basis.

US Meets Protests Over Police Brutality With Increasing State Violence

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Protests across the US continued on the night of Friday, May 29. Outrage over the death of George Floyd, yet another black person that died while in police custody, has sparked large protests around the country. While most media express agreement with the main complaints of the protesters, the events are nonetheless painted as violent, destructive, and chaotic.

Systemic racism and widening inequality in the United States appears to have reached a tipping point as civil disobedience and protest are the only tools left for a black community seemingly under siege. But the protests are not being treated as a legitimate form of expression and productive outrage. Instead, the media paint the events as violent disruptions of American society.

State violence

The main complaint of the protestors is the excessive violence exercised by American law enforcement on people of color. The continued disregard for and distrust of America’s black communities by those that are tasked with protecting them has created a state in which a certain section of society has to fear those that police them.

With decades of political inaction, the only recourse left for the embattled community is to take to the streets and perform that most American of all values by freely protesting the government.

State officials are not channeling the understandable outrage into productive events. Instead of granting permits to protests and creating venues for free expression, protesters have met police in riot gear, tear gas, and rubber bullets.

Over half a century since the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. dared to dream that one day his children might live in a nation where they would “not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,” that dream still appears elusive.

Press attacked

Even the press covering the events have faced police repression. A camera crew in Louisville, Kentucky was pelted with pepper-infused non-lethal ammunition. As is common in US policing, the individual officer shooting at the camera crew was not corrected by his colleagues, forcing the local television staff to retreat.

In Minneapolis, state troopers arrested Omar Jimenez, a black reporter for CNN during his live broadcast after repeatedly expressing his team’s willingness to cooperate with police instructions. The governor of Minnesota has since apologized to CNN, but the event remains an example of the distrust and intimidation commonly applied by local law enforcement.

Media framing

US media have covered the protests primarily by first briefly recognizing the grievances of the crowd, before spending the rest of coverage with sensationalist footage of looting and violence.

The Washington Post spoke of “absolute chaos” in its headline, the New York Times similarly called the events a “night of chaos,” while MSNBC emphasized “clashes with police.” Governors, mayors, and state officials around the country have told protesters to “go home” as the media has effectively turned the narrative away from George Floyd’s tragic murder and onto a projecting of chaotic and unruly largely black protesters.

Fox News has been the worst offender as it has disproportionately broadcast footage of looting and violence in an apparent attempt to discredit the protests and reinforce stereotypes of the black community being disruptive and violent.

Black and white contrast

The police and media responses stand in stark contrast to the protests against COVID-19 measures over the past weeks. Heavily armed, mostly white protesters faced no police barricades, tear gas, or rubber bullets, but instead enjoyed a pleasant afternoon as they exercised their unimpeded constitutional right to free speech.

Even when protesters “stormed” the capitol building in Michigan they faced little to no resistance or police response. These protestors were able to enter the government building carrying rifles and pistols and organize rallies with not a single armed police officer in sight.

Systemic racism

The contrast between the protests could not be more clear. Unarmed black protesters with genuine grievances face tear gas and rubber bullets while heavily-armed white protesters disregarding public health advice are treated with “kid gloves.”

The COVID-19 crisis has added even more evidence of the systemic and structural racism that people of color in the United States face on a daily basis. Black Americans are arrested disproportionately, face longer prison sentences, are on average ten times poorer than white Americans, and even die in much greater numbers from COVID-19 infections.

And much more injustice is ahead. As a moratorium on evictions is set to soon expire, a “tsunami of evictions” is coming, which will, again, affect the black community to a much greater extent.

With no political recourse left, a long-unanswered question remains. Americans are left to ponder what black communities are supposed to do to achieve justice and equality in the eyes of law enforcement if merely exercising their constitutional rights to protest their government is met with state violence, media sensationalism, and continuing systemic oppression.

US authorities would be wise to heed the words of Michel Foucault, who said “justice must always question itself, just as society can exist only by means of the work it does on itself and on its institutions.”

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