Well, Fred over at One Bark at a Time has had about enough of it. Lori at Wag the Dog is really annoyed too.
I started to lose it when the smarmy news-readers at CTV, shortly after Bryant was charged, were breathlessly analyzing grainy video footage on the six o'clock news. The point was that witnesses had reported seeing the Saab driving on the wrong side of Bloor Street on Monday night. It sounds bad, alright, but guess what, folks? There was a construction truck parked on the right side of the road, see? So Bryant had no choice but to go around it - he had to drive on the left! Phew, that was a close one!
And so the bullshit flows.
Lately, there have been stories in the print media about Bryant's family, about what a swell guy he is, about how many loyal friends he has and so on and so forth. As if any of that matters.
It's so obvious that the slick PR firm hired by Bryant, Navigator, is behind all this sickly sweet nonsense. The question is whether the media minions are doing it because orders have come down from on high or because they, too are being cleverly manipulated by Navigator.
They are practically arguing the case on the suppertime news and are painting Bryant as a sterling fellow who was victimized by that nasty cyclist.
The day after the tragic incident, the insufferable snake-oil salesmen at CTV were yammering about all the collisions between cyclists and vehicles - thousands of them, see? It's a very common thing. They also ran the leaked resignation letter Bryant sent where he claims to be innocent. The next day, they were analyzing evidence - the videotape - to show why the wrong side of the road was the right side of the road. The next day it was all about how Darcy Sheppard, the person who was killed Monday night when he was knocked from Bryant's car, hit a mailbox and then smashed his head on a fire hydrant, had been cautioned by police over a disturbance that afternoon. The police sent him on his way, yet an unidentified person was commenting about how he was drunk, which doesn't make much sense.
Spin, spin, buzz, buzz.
I've been trying to pretend that Bryant is just a normal person, someone I don't despise, to see if the propaganda is as bad as it seems to be. I've even pretended that I like the little knob, that he's one of my friends, to see how the whitewash looks.
No matter how I try to spin it in my own head, the relentless coverage and clear bias are so obviously over-the-top that it's an insult to anyone of even average intelligence. I'm even wondering if they've crossed a line since this is a criminal matter that will be before the courts in October.
Everybody is saying Bryant will get off because of who he is (if anything, he should fry because of who he is as far as I'm concerned). I don't expect him to get life in prison, only hard-core deviants ever get that. I do expect him to be tried, convicted and punished, though, and I'm not talking about community service or house arrest.
Through all the fluff pieces and sugar syrup, let's keep something in mind: A person is dead.
Spin that, Navigator.
*
The Toronto Star is seeing things my way this morning. They have a good article entitled, Spinning the First Week of Michael Bryant's New LIfe.
