All State Violence is not Equal

[weaponjx]

I'm reading the New York Times coverage of the recent protests in Tibet, which have of course degenerated into violence in one of the most oppressive police states on the planet.
The article in question is available here.I notice that the article covers the protests with a similar format to that the Times uses in coverage of the Israel/Palestine

Comments

[29usc151]

Right on. I agree with your analysis of the Times.

One thing confuses me though. When you title your post, "All State Violence is not Equal", what are you comparing? China/Israel, China/hypothetical justified police action, unprovoked/provoked state violence? I'm curious.

Ah, smartypants.

[weaponjx]

The title is addressing all those things, but specifically the mindset of someone on the NYT editorial board. Do they honestly feel that their formatting, which in the case of Israel could only be intentional, must remain consistent at the risk of discrediting previous coverage? In the past I have sympathized with their decision in regards to Israel without agreeing. I imagine someone stuck with the difficult decision of defending China or abandoning any rational appearance of objectivity in a slew of past stories. I think they made a terrible call, but I see why they did it. My title is my slap in the face of that editor, and it's a cheap shot.