COM/510
The article titled “Armed Group Vows to Continue Occupation at Oregon Refuge” is a recent article that appeared in the New York Times dated Jan 3rd, 2016 by Johnson Kirk and Healy Jack. The article covers protests that have began peacefully at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon near Burns. The protests were against the sentence that was imposed to an old rancher Dwilight and his son, Steven Hammond, who had settled fires on federal land (Johnson & Healy, 2016).
The United States government has developed a set of laws and conditions, which are to be followed, when dealing with the wild lands. The federal lands have had a tendency to be abused in various ways, ranging from personal gain to simple destruction, therefore, the laws have been implemented, in order to protect the lands. (Blumm & Erickson, n.d.)
Ammon Bundy, who is the son of a renowned rancher in Nevada, led the protests. The protesters vowed to continue with the demonstrations against the federal government actions with different protesters reinforcing that they would continue with their actions until the issue was resolved. The sentenced ranchers, Dwight Hammond, Jr., 73, and his child Steve, 43, were indicted on government illegal conflagration charges, originating from a couple or fires on elected area close to their ranch. The main was allegedly set in 2001 to conceal their illicit poaching of a deer on government property. It smoldered 139 sections of land. The second was purportedly set in 2006 as a cautious measure, to shield the farm from a drawing nearer lightning-started a fierce blaze. That fire related crime purportedly imperiled volunteer firefighters who stayed outdoors at the refugee camp (Johnson & Healy, 2016).
The article highlights the protests that took place in a federal building located in Oregon. The protests were against the federal government actions of sentencing an elderly rancher together with his son on their alleged illegal burning of federally owned land. The activities encamped at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon to protest at what they said was an unfair treatment of the ranchers. The struggle persisted between the local owners of the land and the federal government officials. The protesters vowed to continue their actions and occupied the refuge camp despite the extreme cold weather. The general population coercively possessed a government refuge in Oregon was culprits, not companions of freedom. Despite their protestations, they were not loyalists remaining with regard to the constitution as evidenced by the slow reaction from the authorities. Indeed, this is an essential refinement for those who may have been befuddled about how to settle contrasts in a country controlled by laws. The protesters used their leader to further their occupation agenda at the refuge
The article is available online on <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/04/us/armed-group-vows-to-hold-federal-wildlife-office-in-oregon-for-years.html?_r=1>. The article involves some explanations of the Oregon protests directed to the federal government due to its sentencing of two ranchers accused of burning federally owned land. The story was created by Kirk Johnson, who reported from Burns which was the location of the protesters and Jack Healy from Denver in conjunction with others ((Johnson & Healy, 2016).
The article is intended to inform the public, the government, and the protesters about the activities and reactions of all the parties affected by the protest. The article is highly influential to the public and seeks to reflect the government actions of injustices to the Hammond are the audience especially the public. The article is therefore intended for a wider audience
The story provides much information pertaining the armed protesters expressing their different concerns and remarks. However, there is little information provided about the federal government actions, not the ugly protests. The authors argue that the protesters were not confronted by the law enforcers despite their occupation of the wildlife refuge. However, some police urged the protesters to stay off the refuge and the federal government purported to monitor the increasingly angered residents. Roads were blocked at the refugee’s entrance despite the extremely cold temperatures below freezing point ((Johnson & Healy, 2016).
The Los Angeles Times also reported on the same story in an article titled “Oregon Refuge Occupation: It’s Getting Dark, and it is Freezing”. The story in this newspaper starts by introducing the state at the wildlife refuge and the high spirited protesters despite the unfriendly weather. As the temperature went below freezing point, the protesters morale decreased. The Los Angeles Newspaper also reported through the protesters leader Ammon Bundy that they had not communicated with the Federal government and their plan was to camp there until they gained control of Malheur National land.
The story is seemingly based on intent to create awareness and provide a voice for the residents to the authorities, particularly the federal government following the unfair judgment accorded to the Hammond’s ranchers. Some media reports have alluded to the occupiers as sovereign nations as opposed to state army. Indeed, the center on extremism had acquired the capacity to record one and only an occupier who obviously subscribed to the convictions of the sovereign national development. At the end of the day, it was not his essential belief system. Calling the occupiers a "civilian army" was to some degree more precise, in that most members had the philosophy of the local army development. In fact, numerous of the armed group had never been included with a genuine civilian army bunch and the Citizens for Constitutional Freedom is not itself a civilian army branch that they sought to establish.
Personally, the protests indicate that the reasons made about the occupiers were from a fanatic point of view. It was actually a general absence of experience and lack of initiative in expressing their anger in a country governed by laws. Before the occupation, none of the occupiers would have been known to the overall population, and numerous would not have been perceived as important or authority figures even by the great right. Despite the fact that the occupiers originated from an extensive variety of ages, huge numbers of them had been included in radical foundations for just a couple of years. They were generally recently radicalized and opted to challenge the government and other authorities, particularly the federal government. Few had any administration involvement with radical gatherings or other related causes. This might have represented the general hesitation and instability that appeared to have portrayed the occupiers in the days since the introductory seizure of the refuge central station. This, might additionally clarify why they left upon the seizure in that was a kind of activity that was entirely uncommon among right‐wing radical (Anti-Defamation League. (2015).
The story on the Oregon Refuge occupations of people referred by different names by various articles such as militia, armed extremists, and an armed group has different perspectives. The arrest and sentencing of two ranchers was the main cause of protests where a group of other ranchers and people engage the federal government terming the arrest as an unfair treatment. The protests persisted with some of the protesters expressing their determination to fight for their land and threatening the federal authorities. However, the authorities reacted slowly and their camping at the refuge headquarters.
A so called state army in eastern Oregon got national coverage on Saturday when individuals broke into the central station of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. There, the armed gathering remains Sunday, possessing the elected building in the challenge of what it saw as government exceed on rangelands all through the western United States. They group help protests and vowed to encamp until they were heard by federal governments and gained control of the refuge centre and their land.
The article is an influential piece and serves to influence the attitudes of its target audience. The facts presented in the article serve as a voice of the protesters and one is likely to feel the ranchers were wrongly sentenced by the federal government. It is therefore a basis for making judgments about the protests and the actions of the federal government. The protesters leader Bundy and his group were committing a federal crime as argue by some quotas and were arguably becoming violent threatening peace. The protests against the Hammons mistreatment as argued by the protesters attracted different interpretations from different people, authors, and the government, but the law was clear despite being followed by the protesters to vent their anger.
Media, for as long as it exists has had more roles than simply reporting the news. Every source, no matter how credible puts a twist to any story, after all, almost any story or a written piece is just someone’s opinion. That being said, it is worth empathizing that every newspaper or internet resource tends to promote and impose a certain point of view, a certain perspective to a situation. According to Brendan Nyhan, in his article “Does the US Media Have a Liberal Bias?”, media nowadays tends to have liberal inclinations and the stories naturally have a corresponding tinge. (Nyhan, 2012)
Internet resources become more and more popular, partially because they are so simple to come up with. However, in order to stand our in the vast pool of mass media, resources tend to publish info, which is not entirely true, exaggerated, plagiarized, etc. Naturally, publishers and journalists at published journals and newspapers tend to have trust issues when it comes to internet resources. (Cassidy, 2007)
References
Anti-Defamation League. (2015). Anatomy of a Standoff: The Occupiers of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Retrieved from http://www.adl.org/assets/pdf/combating-hate/Anatomy-of-a-Standoff-MalheurOccupiers.pdf
Blumm, M. C. & Erickson, A. B. (2014). federal wild lands policy in the twenty-
first century: what a long, strange trip it’s been. Colo. Nat. Resources, Energy & Envtl. L. Rev., 25(1), 1-59.
Cassidy, W. (2007). Online News Credibility: An Examination of the Perceptions of Newspaper Journalists. Journal Of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(2), 478-498. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00334.x
Duara, N. (2016). Oregon Refuge Occupation: ‘It’s Getting Dark, and it is Freezing’. The Los Angeles Newspaper. Retrieved from http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-85475078/
Johnson, K., & Healy, J. (2016). Armed Group Vows to Continue Occupation at Oregon Refuge. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/04/us/armed-group-vows-to-hold-federal-wildlife-office-in-oregon-for-years.html?_r=2
Nyhan, B. (2012). Does the US Media Have a Liberal Bias?. Persp On Pol, 10(03), 767-771. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1537592712001405
