
<p>Anyone following my commentaries knows that I am a dependable and frequent critic of MSNBC and its weekend host Ali Velshi. ; For the most part, that has not changed. ; But … I have found their coverage of the Ukraine War to be more to my liking. ; So … credit where credit is due.</p>



<p>As a matter of general coverage, they have not played scaredy cat over the very remote possibility of Putin starting a nuclear war. ; MSNBC’s programs have generally focused on the horrors of the war – and the need for Putin to be defeated. ; Most of the network’s panelists and pundits have called for President Biden and NATO to accelerate the military support for the Zelenskyy government – including weaponry that can take out ships and those fighter planes sitting on the ground in Europe.</p>



<p>There is a tradition in news media to not show the real human horrors Russian-style warfare. ; You mostly get images of damaged buildings and destroyed military equipment. ; If human beings are shown on the screen, it is virtually always the fleeing victims. ; An occasional dead person is blurred as if anyone would actually recognize the person.</p>



<p>Anything more upsetting is usually left to generalized comments, such as “lots of people were killed” or there are “dead women and children.” ; It is one thing to be told that, and quite another to see the carnage.</p>



<p>In its Sunday morning broadcast, MSNBC departed from the sanitized approach. ; In opening the show, Velshi warned viewers that there would be graphic images of Bucha &#8212; the Kyiv suburb that was mercilessly bombarded and temporarily controlled by the Russians. ; Usually, that would mean a quick fuzzy image of a body or a crying child.</p>



<p>Apparently, MSNBC decided that the American people needed to see the real horror of the war – and the war crimes. ; The streets were strewn with the bodies of innocent Ukrainians. ; Some were shot as they were riding their bicycles or just walking. ; There were unarmed men, women and children. ; Most were summarily executed with a bullet to the back of their heads. ; Some had their hands tied at the moment of execution. ; These folks were not collateral damage. ; They were the victims of mass murder – a massacre &#8212; genocide. ; These are people whose blood is dripping from Putin’s hands.</p>



<p>In departing Bucha, the Russians left behind mines to kill even more innocent people <em>in absentia</em>. ; Even the bodies of the dead were bobby-trapped to kill the aid workers and private citizens reclaiming or removing the bodies.</p>



<p>There were grisly images of Ukrainian soldiers cautiously tying ropes around a hand or an arm of a corpse – and then first dragging it from a safe distance to ensure it was not bobby-trapped. ; Many of the bodies were already stiff from rigor mortis. ; ;</p>



<p>This was not sensationalism for the sake of ratings. ; It was honest and complete reporting. ; The general media coverage amounts to censorship – cancellation of reality. ; Too often the horror of the war is treated like a board game by politicians, diplomats, and the media. ; It is a communication devoid of empathy – in fact, to avoid empathy.</p>



<p>To censor the most disturbing and grisly images may seem like a public service, but it is a disservice. ; Without fully comprehending the scope of the violence and the human toll in very real terms, we cannot be a fully informed public. ; Consequently, our opinions and our influence on our leaders are less valid. ; We the people cannot petition our leaders to the correct course of action is we the people do not know all the facts.</p>



<p>If Putin wins – and it appears he may – it is because the rest of us made our decisions on limited information. ; We will not do enough to defeat Putin because we have not seen the full horror of his madness … his cruelty … and his danger to the world.</p>



<p>What I saw on MSNBC was extremely upsetting. ; It was not the usual news videos that are the visual equivalent of euphemisms. ; I applaud Velshi and the network for upsetting me with reality – and everyone else who might have seen that broadcast. ; That is the only way we can calculate a proper response.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

Kudos to MSNBC and Velshi for Russian Invasion Coverage
