Tuesday 24 April 2001 Corporate spin evident in reports Letter to the Editor I am nothing less than appalled at some of the coverage of protesters at the Summit of the Americas.

In a column titled "Protester helps with cease fire" (Gazette, April 23), I was briefly impressed that the typical point of view in The Gazette was momentarily put aside to show that not all protesters are radical, violent and anarchists. This impression was short-lived.

I continued to read the items in the column and became very angry at the following comment: "Police shot (a protester) first in the offending shoulder, then up and down his legs with a spray of plastic bullets. Let me see you dance, protester." Those were bullets, regardless of what they are composed of - bullets are symbols of death, fear, and oppression.

Assumptions are very dangerous to make, and I believe a huge one was made by the police. Had he thrown the brick, it would have been different. But I believe police could have controlled the situation without using bullets - even if he had thrown the brick. And was it really necessary to shoot him several times? I am outraged. I wonder how the writer would like to be shot at and have me say "dance, Gazette writer"?

The mainstream, or corporate media, constantly put their spin on information. To counteract this blatant brain-washing, I monitor independent media.

For example, The Gazette barely covered what really happened to Jaggi Singh, so I went to an independent source on the Net and read how police ruthlessly beat innocent bystanders when they tried to pull the police off Mr. Singh, who was being beaten for no apparent reason - other than being an "anarchist."

Much of the populace remains apathetic. This is due in part to the filtered information they are force-fed through the corporate media.

Until apathy is morphed into empathy, and the mainstream media become less corporate, we will continue to see comments like the "dance" one, police will undoubtedly continue to violently oppress, and I will be horrified every time I pick up a newspaper.

Joanna Bougie Beaconsfield