Angry in the Great White North

We all know the details: the nightly violence, the spread out of the suburbs into Paris and beyond, the thousands of cars burned, the police powerless to stop it.

So we'll skip the details, and I'll reproduce the entire CBC report for November 2 through a filter to make my point:

Paragraph 1: <...>

Paragraph 2: <...>

Paragraph 3: <...>

Paragraph 4: <...>

Paragraph 5: <...>

Paragraph 6: <...>

Paragraph 7: <...>

Paragraph 8: <...>

Paragraph 9: <...>

Paragraph 10: <...>

Paragraph 11: <...>

Paragraph 12: <...>

Paragraph 13: <...>

Paragraph 14: <...police fired tear gas into a mosque, which angered many immigrants.>

The very last sentence of the very last paragraph before the CBC reader learns that this story has any link whatsoever to Islamic anger. Assuming the CBC reader even gets that far.

Funny thing is, the CBC doesn't actually say the immigrants are Muslim. Just that the they were angered that tear gas was fired into a mosque. The reader has to actually make the final link. The reader has to say the words "Muslims are running riot in France".

The CBC will do anything to avoid saying it. Apparently it's not newsworthy.

The CBC is obligated to "reflect the multicultural and multiracial nature of Canada". I suppose part of that nature is to be blind to the obvious and to be embarrassed by labels.

For what it's worth, it's not just the CBC. Just about all the media reports I've seen seem to be dancing around this subject. If you want a report that actual uses the word "Muslim" in the first sentence, here's one from Reuters.

[Captain's Quarters notes the media filter, as well as a major link to an Algerian Islamist group's recent announcement for an attack on France.]