Don Cheadle Spoke Out About Selective Editing in Media

It was just a simple Twitter post that spoke volumes made by actor and activist Don Cheadle about NBC's handling of the Zimmerman 911 call. In case you forgot, this was the story about a young black teen, Trayvon Martin, fatally shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer, George Zimmerman.  In support of the fallen victim, many put their hoods up while the case was being investigated.

Cheadle accused NBC of misleading the public in the way that they edited the Zimmerman 911 call. One detail edited was Zimmerman's assumption the teen was black without any prompting from the 911 call operator.  The actor writes on Twitter and comments to a follower which was picked up by Twitchy, an entertainment social blog,  

 

"Dear NBC News, Huh???

It was "an error made in the production process that we deeply regret." Really? "Error?" Anybody out there know anything about editing?

Unless the AVID malfunctioned, SOMEBODY was faking the funk. Why?, is the question. What was furthered beyond NBC news ratings?

Dangerous subject matter to be f*cking with. Irresponsible, incendiary and completely counter to the furtherance of justice for either side

Edited, produced, AND greenlit to air. The greatest responsibility lies with those listed but in the inverse order.

Truth doesn't need "help." If Zimmerman is proven guilty of a crime he should be charged accordingly and prosecuted to the full extent."

 

"One more outburst like that and we will..." that's what I was thinking.  What are the chances that someone who isn't quite sold on the story of poor black boy shot for doing nothing more than walking down the street was murdered is going to think?  I will tell you what I thought, "Choose wisely what battle you want to use your platform to promote change."  These entertainers know that you don't bite the hand that feeds you.  Many of these media power players are one big family, so to speak.  If one doesn't like this entertainer and that one for speaking out about a certain subject matter, it means nothing to silence them.   I recall a verse in the Bible that talks about not getting involved in another man's quarrel.  Was any of us there to know what really happened?  Imagine this for a moment, a guy comes up to a teen in the dark and asks him a question like, "What are you doing here?"  The boy gets an attitude and starts cursing.  Let's say the guy attempts to man-handle him.  The boy goes off, "What the...!?  So he starts giving that man a beating of his life.  In a rage, ashamed, confused, and shocked, the man, reaches for his weapon and kills him.  End of story.  No hoods up, no celebrities commenting, and no parents saying too much because they know how their smart mouth kids can be.  But then the media shows up and the whole thing gets blown out of proportion to the point that people are watching their calendars to find out when the suspect is going to be brought to justice.

Don Cheadle has been active in our world on a variety of issues such as the Lazarus Effect, red pills that some media reports claim to help those who are suffering from AIDs in Africa live longer.  Notice in the following video, Cheadle, as well as other celebrities around the web, talk about the "Red" campaign.  I am always overly cautious about any heavy promotion of anything with star-power behind it.  Cheadle has also been outspoken in the past:  about issues in Darfur, voting, and the government's handling of certain political issues.  In the last video, as seen below, at a conference he shares his opinion somewhat, but carefully.  He isn't so straightforward like he was in his Tweet about the Trayvon Martin case.

It seems that because this actor has played in movies in the past that exposed issues in foreign countries and has a large international following, he is used as a mouthpiece to "make this world better for the people."  Nothing wrong with that; however, take your eyes off the star for a moment and what you will be left with is a question, "Who or what stands behind this man?"  Consider redirecting your focus from Cheadle to the rich and powerful groups of this world who decide what is important and what is not--at least for a time--follow the money trail.  Ask yourself, "What do these stars really want with me?"  I'll take the liberty to answer that, your money, time and mind to help them spread their affiliations' propaganda.  Will you be getting paid?  No.  Will you make a guest appearance on someone's show?  Most likely not.  Will they help you with your existing business?  It all depends.  What are your connections? 

When the latest tragedy, event, issue, campaign etc. fades to black, on to the next hot topic for the celebrity.  Every star knows he or she has to stay relevant and useful even if these things aren't the first things on his or her mind, they are important, because bills have to get paid and guilty feelings have to be put at ease if he or she has done some strange things in the entertainment idustry in the past that this person may not want to get out.  This isn't to say Cheadle has done any of these things, but there are many, many entertainers who have.  The witnesses from servers to maintenance men at celebrity functions, homes and elsewhere have anonmously reported many things in mainstream media.  But I digress...

Compare Cheadle's rogue tweets with the videos below.  Do you see the difference? Cheadle does what many stars do, he uses his platform to share a message.  When the celebrity is on camera, in a controlled atmosphere, he is less likely to come off wrong, say things he later regrets, and most likely someone watching he or she during an interview can flag him or her not to say that, wrap it up, hold your hand this way, look that way, etc. 

When the star is off camera, with no managers, public relations people, and others, they aren't always prepped or told what to do and say and this is where they can get themselves into trouble.  If a star stops loving money and goods so much, undo his or her brainwashing of needing a lavish lifestyle that is far more than enough, he or she wouldn't have to worry over whether saying or doing the wrong thing might lead to a career suicide. 

Sooner or later, one will reach a crossroads in the pursuit of truth that will look something like this in one's conscience mind, "Do this and say that to free the people knowing full well what the consequences will be? Or say that and do that just enough to win friends on both sides while still getting a paycheck?" Hmm.

Notice how much power a person, who plays other characters, receives from the public.  Did you see how he can use his platform "to apply pressure" on certain political figures to bring attention to a matter that truly has nothing to do with the masses?  But because many love his movies and has listened to him in the past, they will respond, "Okay Don Cheadle, I will do what you say."  What is scary about this and other videos on this site is that, you have gullible people you probably know in your own circles that you have tried repeatedly to get them to do certain things like pay attention to your family, teach your children,  exercise, eat healthy, etc. but if a celebrity, who doesn't know anything about them, came into their homes and told them, "You need to...You should...Why don't you...?" you know they would listen at least for a time.  Money and power go hand and hand and it can be used to get the so-called elect of our society to do things they wouldn't ordinarily do.  Use your own money, power and platform wisely, you never know who is watching and listening.