House Arab
7 hours ago
- #media
- #conflict
- #identity
- The narrator worked as a fact-checker at a prestigious magazine, which improved their parents' perception of them.
- They enjoyed perks like watching movies and reading novels for work, and correcting minor details in articles.
- The magazine's culture was filled with eccentric, wealthy colleagues who had deep knowledge in niche topics.
- The narrator's job allowed them to indulge in their neuroses and interests without judgment.
- The magazine had center-left politics, aligning with Obama's 2008 electoral map, and its readers carried its tote bags as status symbols.
- The narrator felt alienated by their colleagues' surprise at Trump's election and their belief in individual over systemic historical actors.
- They avoided news to escape the magazine's political stance but anticipated covering violent events involving Muslims.
- The narrator harbored anti-Western sentiments, criticizing Westerners for their historical and current actions.
- After a violent attack, the narrator struggled with the media's portrayal of the event as senseless barbarism rather than an expression of rage.
- They wrote a piece expressing their views, which was published by a smaller, left-leaning magazine, fearing it might end their career.
- At work, the narrator felt isolated as colleagues avoided them, and they focused on fact-checking pieces about the conflict in Palestine.
- The editor-in-chief, seen as a paternal figure, expressed sadness over the violence but was shocked by the narrator's blunt response.
- The narrator was assigned to fact-check pieces about the conflict, often having to verify grim details and call grieving families.
- They tried to influence the magazine's language to reflect the severity of the situation but faced resistance.
- The narrator attended political meetings in support of Palestine, finding solace in like-minded individuals.
- They fact-checked a piece about killings in the West Bank, struggling with the biased portrayal of Israelis and Palestinians.
- The narrator had to call a soldier's lawyer, who justified the killing of a Palestinian man despite video evidence to the contrary.
- After weeks of traumatic fact-checking, the narrator was almost hit by a bus, leading them to consider quitting their job.
- They realized that continuing to work at the magazine would make facts meaningless to them, and they fantasized about leaving.