Don't swallow everything you consume

So, apparently, Sony (the makers of playstation gaming consoles) and kids in western civilizations (being that no children outside of Europe and America own playstations) are responsible for the deaths of children in Congo who are forced to mine a metal used in the production of playstations (and many other electronic devices) by Rwandan military groups according to this article.


To summarize, when the playstation 2 launch in 2000 increased demand for this metal, coltan, which is processed into a powder called tantalum and used in a "wealth of western electronic devices including cell phones, computers and, of course, game consoles," (again being that no one outside of Europe or America uses these devices) the market price of coltan quintupled. This allegedly prompted "Rwandan military groups" (read: tyrannical assholes) and "western mining companies" to force prisoners and children to work the Congolese mines for hundreds of millions worth of the metal. Sony has since sworn off the use of tantalum aquired in the Congo.

Excerpts from this article:

"Kids in Congo were being sent down mines to die so that kids in Europe and America could kill imaginary aliens in their living rooms," said Ex-British Parliament Member Oona King.

(Powerful statement, that, if not for its being complete disingenuous bullshit)

Sony has since sworn off using tantalum acquired from the Congo, claiming that current builds of the PS2, PSP and PS3 consoles are sourced from a variety of mines in several different countries.

But according to researcher David Barouski, they're hardly off the hook.

"SONY's PlayStation 2 launch...was a big part of the huge increase in demand for coltan that began in early 1999," he explained. "SONY and other companies like it, have the benefit of plausible deniability, because the coltan ore trades hands so many times from when it is mined to when SONY gets a processed product, that a company often has no idea where the original coltan ore came from, and frankly don't care to know. But statistical analysis shows it to be nearly inconceivable that SONY made all its PlayStations without using Congolese coltan."

(So, Sony is now responsible for crimes in the Congo because it cannot know for sure whether a product it purchases came from there or not.)


This article stuck out for me as a target for this post, but there seems to be a common theme running through much of today's "journalism."

Why is the article written to sound as if Sony and "kids in Europe and America" (again, because outside these countries no one even knows what a playstation is, of course) are directly responsible for the deaths of Congolese children? Why the focus on western countries, specifically Europe and America, noting an anti-West attitude throughout the article? What, no Korean, Chinese or Japanese kids own playstations? And why is there absolutely no mention of the accountability of the military tyrant groups in Africa who are solely responsible for the outrages against humanity in the region? (hint: this "corporate crime" was uncovered by an activist. Why try to indict one of a thousand evil regimes for one of a thousand crimes when you can blame capitalist greed, large corporations, and your own country and make a name for yourself to show how progressive and thought-critical you are?)

What takes place in the above article, and in much of the journalism and ideals abound today is a sort of agenda-driven selective blame. With africa rife with strife and evil tyrants, one more story of "humanity crises caused by evil regime" is fodder. But shift the blame to all of western civilization and specifically a rampant, greed driven corporation in order to indict comfort, consumerism, and anyone who has had the blessing to not be born a mine-working Congolese child and... et voila! Now you're selling newspapers. Or upping digital readership, or furthering progressive agenda, or whatever. Guilt sells. Always has.

Ah, but people push agendas through news media all the time, what's the danger?

First, I suppose, that Journalism becomes strictly Editorialism, that a media with a vast idealistic agenda means you will no longer get to see all sides of an issue with clarity, that opposing media outlets become battling pulpits, and investigative journalism becomes little more than mud slinging politicking. Second, that the selection of blame is actually a deflection, that the main antagonistic party in the story gets off scot-free. So now you've demonized legitimate business, and pardoned murderous behavior. And an environment of selective blame, an environment that abolishes personal responsibility, (and with it, morality) is created and pervades every aspect of our society.

Take a look around you. Who is responsible for the thousands of loan defaults that created the "sub-prime mortgage crisis?" Easy, right? Not just because you know, but the answer is force fed to you all around you, reinforced by news media day after every day. Big Finance. Predatory Lenders. Greedy Bankers. Mindless, Soul-Sucking Corporations And The Asshole Billionaires That Run Them. But who's really responsible? When a borrower obtains a loan, the process is entirely voluntary. The terms are up front and the payment requirements are crystal clear. No coercion is involved. No threats are made. When the borrower defaults on that loan it is because he cannot fulfill the terms of the contract which he originally negotiated. Call me old fashioned, but that seems to me a strong shot of mea culpa. (with a nod to this guy) Of course, in this environment we've created of selective blame, our soon-to-be-ex homeowner need not take responsibility for his poor financial decision. I mean the poor guy will lose his house, causing instability in the rest of his life, wrecking his credit, his co-habitant will probably leave him. Why blame him? Hasn't he been through enough? And so we shall lay the accountability for this tragedy at the feet of that oh so easy target, our mindless, heartless big big finance corporation who exists solely to shit on the little guy.

Personal responsibility is not a mantle to grab when righteous, and shed when frail. All morality stems from an individual's responsibility for his or her actions and their consequences. When you allow this truth to be distorted, as in the above article, by shifting blame as it is convenient, you create a world of moral relativity, where truth no longer exists, only perspectives, and power lies in the hands of those with the loudest, most ubiquitous voices. Perhaps journalism was destined to this fate because of its inherent influence - the power of information is a subtle and seductive mistress. However, it is a power that requires your unquestioning belief to persist. When you exercise your right to actively seek truth, and form your own opinions, then do you keep journalism honest and then do you shift its rising tide back to the righteous informative.

Keep the power, and exercise your right to independent thought every minute of every day.