[The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind] A Follow Up.

Christmas Day -- Will Smith responds.

"It is an awful and disgusting lie," Smith said in a statement. "It speaks to the dangerous power of an ignorant person with a pen. I am incensed and infuriated to have to respond to such ludicrous misinterpretation."

Well, now... That's kind of what I was trying to say, but it took me, umm, a few more words to do so.

I honestly feel sorry for the guy, and I'm amazed this story even got the traction that it did. And, after reading some of the comments tacked on to a few of the articles I've read about this, it's amazing how quickly people were jumping on the proverbial bandwagon to scuttle this guy's career when, to see the truth, all anyone need do is simply engage his or her under-used brain for a few seconds to clearly see that Will Smith most certainly didn't say the words that some idiot reporter is putting into his mouth.

This is one of the things that I find most troubling about living in this day and age where the media are not only able, but openly encouraged to lie in order to further whatever agenda they may have. Turn on just about any cable news outlet (Fox News in particular), and you'll see this sort of unethical tactic employed time and time again. All it takes is a little "tweaking" of the truth, and we are suddenly tumbling ass over tea kettle down that slippery slope into a world where the news no longer is satisfied with objectively reporting the simple facts of the day's events, but they have also taken on the task of shaping public opinion.

Anyway, one of the things I find myself thinking about is how long this reporter's blatant lie will dog Will Smith. There are already fans of his out there who have written him off as a result of whatever misguided heartbreak they feel. People are whimpering and sad and angry and disgusted at this "revelation," yet their emotions are built upon a lie scribbled by an idiot.

-DP

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 12/25/2007 10:37:00 AM