Boy is it a good time for “Boys in the Boat”

Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22, 2021 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception: How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation." In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information. They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).

How to Debunk:

1. Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.

2. Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs. Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.

3. Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp. Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.

4. When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.

5. Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.

"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.

"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."

"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."

Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge

Source: Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021

Update: September 22, 2023: This is more important now than ever. Be vigilant and speak in your own way. Love Wins.

During the throes of the great Depression of the 1930’s with the world economy in a shambles emerges a story as unlikely as it is inspirational and encouraging for the future of democracy.

It was an Olympic year and, as fate would have it, Germany was hosting the 1936 Summer Olympics. Adolf Hitler’s white supremacy and anti-Semitism were ramping up in Germany against the backdrop of a world mired in a great economic downturn. Back in the United States a story was unfolding that involved the sport of Rowing, a sport with a limited following and a reputation of being for elite kids.

In preparation for the Games, Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi chief propagandist for Hitler, carefully white-washed any outward signs of the blatant anti-Semitic Nazi regime and programmed the German people on how they should behave while the world was focused on Berlin and Germany. The world would not see Germany for what it was truly becoming. The world would see the perfectly normal, well adjusted and prosperous society that Hitler wanted to portray to the world.

The real story of “Boys in the Boat” is about nine boys from the state of Washington who came together to crew an eight person boat (the ninth person being the guy who called out the strokes per minute, known as the Coxswain). These young Americans were the sons of fishermen, loggers, shipyard workers and farmers. They were all students at the University of Washington in Seattle struggling to make their way through school. All of them were far from being considered elite.

On the other side of the world, Hitler was billing his German athletes as the best in the world. Superior to the athletes from other countries because they were pure blood Aryans. Hitler was using the 1936 Olympics to make his case for White Supremacy. He wanted to make a strong statement about the superiority of the Germanic race. Hitler wanted to demonstrate the eliteness of the German people.

The German boat was good, but the British were seen as the boat to beat. The Brits eight man boat was made up of students from Oxford and Cambridge, two of the most elite universities in Great Britain.

So, the stage was set for the athletic proxy battle between Fascist Germany and Democratic United States. I won’t give away the results, but suffice it to say that this is a feel good story and one that Americans should be reading and or seeing right now. I have read the book. The movie is good, see it when you can. The book is better and is worth the read.

Hang in there and be well.