Just Listening

Continued to find myself watching quite a bit on the old goggle-box today, mainly related to the various news channels. Struck by the inability of certain hosts, if that's what they call them, to actually listen to what their guests are saying. One lady, who hosts a sort of crime-themed programme, with a disturbingly relentless intensity, actually ordered one of her functionaries behind the scenes to cut the microphone of another lady who refused to allow herself to be interrupted. It was strange as the interrupted lady had obviously not come to the end of what she was saying - which happened to diverge quite considerably from the host's view of things - and it was very difficult to figure out why she'd invited on as, in effect, she was not being allowed to speak. She was attempting to mount some kind of defence of a well-known American comedian/performer who's facing a series of allegations relating to abusing women sexually, though none of this has gone to court yet. For what it's worth, I can see why a majority might assume the man to be guilty at this point, given the information that is out there, but I was very interested in hearing what a defender might have to say at this point, and I certainly know that I'm nowhere close to a position to come to some sort of final verdict on the matter. It seemed to me that the lady hosting the programme simply could not stand to hear any opinion that differed from her own.

That seems to me to be both strange and disturbing given she's a reasonably intelligent human being, and is involved in what might loosely be regarded as an industry related to communication, and deals with subject matter related directly to issues of justice. And it leads me to what I think is a useful test for any of us: can you allow someone to speak uninterruptedly in order to state their case coherently when you deeply disagree with their point of view?

By the way, there's a particular news channel, which shall remain nameless, that seems to hire its hosts based on their ability to rudely interrupt others. And to turn almost every statement they make into a stridently angry declaration. It seems to me a useful rule of thumb to treat whatever you hear on the goggle-box with reasonable caution, and to treble the degree of caution if people are shouting at you.