MISTRUST OF GOVERNMENT AND MEDIA TURNS BLACKS AGAINST WAR -- Recent surveys showing that the majority of African Americans don't support the war in Iraq should come as no surprise, says Temple African-American studies professor Ella Forbes. "From our own experience of oppression we've developed a much greater skepticism of the government," says Forbes. Accompanying the mistrust of the government is an equally strong suspicion of the mainstream news media, says Forbes, who teaches a course on mass media and the African-American community. "The major media outlets are seen as just further extensions of the government and a puppet of white public opinion." However, Forbes says the Internet has become an invaluable tool for many African Americans. "We can go online and use international resources and get news that isn't filtered through the American media."
PLAY BALL! CITIZENS, TROOPS TURN TO SPORTS FOR RELIEF -- With many Americans resigned to the reality of a protracted war in Iraq, they are now embracing sports as a diversion to the conflict, says Temple sports psychologist Michael Sachs. "There are times when games are not appropriate, but with the war proceeding as it is, it seems appropriate," Sachs says. "I think everyone's ready to say, 'Play ball.'" Watching a baseball game or the Final Four offers a comforting distraction from the brutal images of war, says Sachs. But with networks interrupting sports coverage for war updates and the ubiquity of all-news channels, the war is rarely out of mind. "In an ongoing conflict, you try to maintain an element of normalcy in society," says Sachs. "People do that with sports, but with an eye on their favorite baseball team and an eye on CNN and Iraq." Sachs says that sports provide a similar release to the troops, many of whom track their Final Four pools or keep tabs on the baseball standings. "It's part of their thinking about things at home," Sachs says. "They have a rooting interest and when there's a break in the fighting, it's a means of stress relief. It's another connection to back home other than just family." According to Sachs, Americans can expect sporting events to continue as planned, barring a major catastrophe or attack on the homeland.
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