same same but different
I'm wondering...
Wondering why these unfortunate people are more special and deserving of our sympathy than the 190+ people killed in car bombs in Iraq overnight.
Wondering why their photos need to be on the front page of a paper in Sydney, Australia...
I mean, it's a tragedy. It really is. Thirty-odd lives snuffed out in a hail of bullets and bewilderment...
But no more than any other needless loss of life.
I know that it's all over the blogosphere today - Chesty's posted as well. But I was really quite disturbed when I unrolled the SMH this morning, disturbed by the need to dissect this event, to dwell on it. I mean, why weren't photos posted of each of the victims of the flash flooding in Thailand the other day? They too were in the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time...
Yesterday the Telegraph had a massive picture of Cho Seung-Hui on the frontpage with the headline: The Face of Evil.
Evil? Alienated and angry and mentally unstable, maybe... but Evil? That's a big call.
Personally I think the real face of Evil here is represented by the NRA - by their insistence that such weaponry be available to all and sundry, regardless of their dubious mental state... yes I know, guns don't kill people: people's sense of isolation, infallibility and ignorance kill people.
The only constant here is that people end up dead.
It's wrong. But it's always wrong. Whether the dead people are carefree college students, Iraqi housewives, or Thai tourists. They all demand the same respect.
Labels: Cranky (again)
posted by actonb at 2:46 pm
10 Comments:
You've got to remember that newspapers are in the business of selling newspapers. If Iraq was on the front page everyday for the last 4 years that paper would go broke pretty quickly. It's the public's desire for "fresh meat" that determines who gets page one. Sadly news is just another form of entertainment these days.
And be accused of bias for focusing on the 'neagtive aspects' of the war. Like dead people.You're sadly right Mr Man. I may join you at the pub if I may? And try to drown my despair...
My initial reaction this morning, and that of MrB also, was to stop our subscription. It offended me that much...
Ooo a pub trip - I like it can I come. We will talk about politics and be all insightful.
It's that pyramid of worth, remember: 1 dead aussie = 2 kiwis = 4 americans... = 50,0000 bangladeshis.
You oughta see the American morning TV shows. Talk about overkill.
Oops.
KR - you're always welcome on a virtual pub trip. In fact, it wouldn't be the same without you!
Donnie - Sometimes the juxtaposition becomes too great to ignore.
I was going to blog about this but I didn;t know where to start.
And now I don;t need to. Great post!
Thanks INC!
i apologise for my ongoing lukiness... i'm going to de-lurck now with one point, said with the provisio that i completely agree with you, however, its front page news because while one might expect 140 casualties in a war zone in a day, one does not expect 32 people to be shot whilst attending morning lectures at a university in a "civilised" western country. While we can make points about the value of an american life vs that of an iraqi, from a reporting sense yes the shooting at VTech is more newsworthy simply because it doesn't happen every day.
I like virtual beer almost as much as I like real beer. Sorry for crashing your private beer party. I back off to waste my morning on TEH INTERWEBS.
Sorry, carry on.
you are correct, AB.
QZ - you make so much sense, my sense of outrage had kinda blinded me to that point - thank you for de-lurking, and please de-lurk again! Virtual beer is so much better than real beer I find - unless it's Matilda Bay Bohemian Pilsner. It's the only beer I drink. And this ain't a private party - I'm always happy for people to waste their interwebby time here at C&C!
mars - Of Course I am. I'm a mum remember - I'm always right.
Post a Comment
<< Home