Dear editor,
I'm writing this letter in regard to an op-ed piece, "Media focused on blaming coronavirus on Trump," which was written by Michael Shannon and published in the March 21-22 edition.
I want to thank The Korea Times for offering such a direct insight into the worldview and language of Trump's core-followers that I wouldn't otherwise get. The vocabulary, including the remarkable capital letters, is obviously shaped by his presidential tweets: "Opposition Media," "Speech Police," "rabidly anti-Trump leftists"...
The author is seriously saying that, after the "negligible" Russian interference in American elections, "exaggerated" by the OpMedia, we have now a "very tangible" "Chinese interference" that "may do damage to President Trump's re-election."
But the author cannot say that "U.S. deaths and economic upheaval" are "the fault of some bat-eating folks in China" because the Speech Police would call this "racist"!
He cannot even use "the Chinese Flu" as "the natural, catchy term for this interference" ― even though The Korea Times and other media print all of this.
I am neither blaming Trump for the coronavirus nor The Korea Times for racism. I was actually about to praise my favorite newspaper for printing "Listening to pandemic" by Federica Mogherini, the best opinion piece on the issue I've read, right next to it.
Michael Bergmann
Teacher in Seoul
I'm writing this letter in regard to an op-ed piece, "Media focused on blaming coronavirus on Trump," which was written by Michael Shannon and published in the March 21-22 edition.
I want to thank The Korea Times for offering such a direct insight into the worldview and language of Trump's core-followers that I wouldn't otherwise get. The vocabulary, including the remarkable capital letters, is obviously shaped by his presidential tweets: "Opposition Media," "Speech Police," "rabidly anti-Trump leftists"...
The author is seriously saying that, after the "negligible" Russian interference in American elections, "exaggerated" by the OpMedia, we have now a "very tangible" "Chinese interference" that "may do damage to President Trump's re-election."
But the author cannot say that "U.S. deaths and economic upheaval" are "the fault of some bat-eating folks in China" because the Speech Police would call this "racist"!
He cannot even use "the Chinese Flu" as "the natural, catchy term for this interference" ― even though The Korea Times and other media print all of this.
I am neither blaming Trump for the coronavirus nor The Korea Times for racism. I was actually about to praise my favorite newspaper for printing "Listening to pandemic" by Federica Mogherini, the best opinion piece on the issue I've read, right next to it.
Michael Bergmann
Teacher in Seoul
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