How to Spin a Story 101
Apparently, the NAACP seems to be having some trouble with their voting drive in North Carolina. In some counties, people have been complaining that they have been getting the calls as described below:
Complaints about unauthorized and sometimes threatening telephone calls to registered voters have poured into the Moore County Board of Elections office in recent days. The calls are being made throughout the state and prompted the North Carolina Board of Elections to issue a news release advising registrants not to divulge personal information. “It’s voter intimidation,†said county Elections Director Glenda Clendenin. “It’s scare tactics.†Callers have been telling people that their names are not on the registration books and they will not be permitted to vote in the Nov. 2 general election unless they are placed on a registration list being prepared by the callers.Clendenin said the complaints to her office have come from people who are properly registered and vote on a regular basis.
…Osborne said the caller told her that she was not registered to vote and would not be allowed to vote unless she received a permit for her name to be placed on a list. The caller asked for confirmation of her name and address but did not ask for her Social Security number. However, the caller may have been stopped before asking for a Social Security number, because Osborne raised too many questions. “I thought I had misunderstood,†she said. “I vote in every election and always have voted. I did’nt’t understand what she meant by saying ‘you can’t vote without a permit,’†Osborne said. Osborne said was also turned off by the woman’s attitude. “She sounded real ugly,†she said, adding that when she responded, “she just shouted right back at me.†(full article)
What is somewhat confusing to me is that in some of the reports that I have read, the NAACP denies that they are using phones as part of their voting drive. In other reports they say that they are (Do a search in Google under News for this story. Compare the stories and you will see what I mean).
One can easily take this story and make the following statement: “See, they (NAACP) are trying to scare and confuse people in the Black community regarding the voting process, and here is the proof…”
The NAACP leaves themselves open for that type of criticism when you have one side saying that the NAACP only goes door to door in their campaigns and the others saying that they do use phones. Are we to just assume that this was in fact a big mistake just because this is a black organization?
If we are to interject the word assume in this discussion, then can I draw the following conclusions?:
*Kerry is not leading in the polls in North Carolina, so he is using dirty tricks to confuse rural African-American voters
*The NAACP has been pressuring black voters to provide Social Security numbers over the phone and telling them that unless they provide that information, they will not be allowed to vote.
*NAACP worker gets nasty with elderly black woman over the phone because she would not provide her social security number.
It could very well be that there has been some glitch in their voting drive process. I DO NOT HAVE ALL THE FACTS TO MAKE ANY KIND OF CONCLUSION ON THIS MATTER The NAACP should take note instead of using partial truths to push African-Americans into their scampaign of voter suppression.
