The News and Subjective Narratives

I've been a little remiss on this blog lately when it comes to commenting on the ongoing news stories.  Since I'm going to weigh in with my own opinion about each of them (but not today), most likely some of my readers will have a different point of view.  Some of the differences will be due to either my own ignorance regarding the objective facts or to that of the reader, but I imagine that most of the disagreement in analysis will come down to the differences in subjective narratives between us. So what exactly is a subjective narrative, anyway?

Before I get into subjective narratives, let's look at some of the ongoing news stories before us;

The police killing unarmed black people in Ferguson, Missouri and New York...and then getting exonerated by grand juries.

Sony hacked ostensibly for the current comedy film The Interview, apparently because it offended the North Korean leader.

The Democratic-controlled US Senate releases revealing documents about "enhanced" interrogation methods used on suspected terrorists.

The now-discredited story about rape at a University of Virginia fraternity.

Another fallen celebrity, this time Bill Cosby, and public reaction.

In each of the above examples, it is possible to take the "facts" revealed by the news outlets and selectively insert them into one's own narratives about an "umbrella" principle.

I have my own opinions and "narratives" about the above topics, and plan to lay them out in future blog entries.  The important thing to remember, though, is that as members of the public at-large, we are limited by the amount of accurate knowledge available to us concerning the above stories.  Instead, it is a much easier burden on our thinking to latch on to a narrative that we hear on TV or radio, or from a friend, co-worker, or family member.  As humans with a social nature built within us, it can be quite exhilarating to be united in a cause revolving around a narrative that tends to be passionate in its appeal and expression.  Sometimes, such narratives are justified when the underlying pertinent facts eventually come out.  But often, the opposite happens as well and there is something of a letdown, with many left with a "rush-to-judgment" feeling.  I'm not a news junkie who is glued to news sources and opinion pages.  Still, it's not difficult to come away with definite opinions about the stories before us.  And maybe, just maybe, some of these opinions of mine won't square with your own narratives.  A subjective narrative incorporates within it any "possible", even dubious, information that supports it while ignoring or dismissing any facts that would diminish or contradict it.  Let's see how this works regarding the current news. Stay tuned...