57/75 BNS. LF IN THE MEDIA
Because of the highly polarized political climate we currently live within, and the high prevalence of weak minds in the Moscow/Pullman area who have been propagandized against the very word "Militia," the 57/75 Bns. Lightfoot always attempts to maintains a low profile in our community.
However, in February of 2012, after declining multiple attempts by the Moscow/Pullman Daily News for an article, we were informed in no uncertain terms that an article would be written with our without our consent, and with or without our assistance or interviews. Put simply, we had little choice but to acquiesce.
After researching the author (Brandon Macz) and discovering that he was apparently a writer with far more integrity than the average "professional" at the Daily News, we agreed to participate with the interview so long as two specific preconditions were involved: (1) our members would be interviewed on a first name basis only, and our general occupations would be provided.
The story was originally to have run on the weekend of February 4 - 5, 2012, but at the last moment, after having cooperated fully and in good faith with Mr. Macz for over a week, the editor of the paper demanded information outside of the scope of our original agreement, and when we refused, the story was killed at the last moment. Brandon Macz then apparently began a several day long process of political infighting to see that the story was published. His editor continued to press for additional information and photos, and we continued to refuse. Ultimately, the story was published the weekend of February 11 - 12, 2012 on the front page of the newspaper. Overall, we felt the story was well written, unbiased, and the most honest piece of journalism regarding a militia unit that we have ever seen. In this regard, we are deeply appreciative of Brandon Macz, and his unbiased, accurate portrayal of our organization.
That being said, the editor couldn't resist the urge to weave his own personal biases into the article, utilizing the silhouette of an ominous looking, shadowy soldier, and writing the purposefully misleading subhead "Armed men hide their names and faces in fear of backlash from the community." And the Daily News wonders why we don't trust them...
As an interesting side note, this story also ran on the front page of the Idaho Statesman (Boise) that same weekend, THEIR subheadline was "Members say they aim to help their neighbors, but a troubled history for such groups in the 1990s makes them leery of publicity." Still not entirely accurate, but far less biased against our group. It almost makes you think that the Statesman doesn't have an axe to grind, where the Daily News apparently does...
But we digress.
Why did we choose to remain anonymous? The answer is a relatively simple one: we do not trust the Moscow/Pullman Daily News to be truthful in their characterization of our organization. While we have found Brandon Macz to be exceedingly competent and truthful, we also believe that the actions of the editor in this matter, and subsequent printed editorials completely justify this mistrust.
We also fully expect that individuals within our community would attemt to do everything possible to smear our members' reputations for participating in something they personally do not approve of. We find this to be sadly typical in our "liberal" (leftist) community, where individuals purport to support foundational American values such as freedom of speech - so long as they agree with what is being said, and freedom of assembly - so long as they agree with what is being done. Truth be known, the very individuals who CLAIM to be afraid of the 57/75 Bns. Lightfoot (despite all of our best efforts to put them at ease and allay their fears) are nothing but totalitarian fascists, who really would prefer to control the lives of others around them, even though those around them are doing no harm, nor infringing on the rights, of ANYONE.
This section of our website has been designed to bring you the good, the bad and the downright ugly... and in some instances provide us with a forum for us to respond to these articles and editorials. If the Daily News or any other organization wishes to reprint any of our responses, that permission is granted, provided those responses are not modified or edited in any way. Modified responses will be considered a violation of copyright and the DCMA, and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law possible. |
