Fear Mongering And A Rabid Public Appetite For Gore And Tragedy
Posted: Friday, August 05, 2011
by Jennifer Stewart
Stepping out of History
It’s ironic. Given all the fear-mongering that’s been done around Muslim fundamentalists, a man who’s been influenced by it all and hates non-whites and Muslims has chosen to use Muslim fundamentalist means to get his message across.
And it continues to be a relief to see how Norway is dealing with their tragedy, refusing to let the psychopath have a public platform. What a disappointment it must be to him to be denied celebrity status.
The general sanity of the Norwegians in charge of the investigation and trying him has been like a balm on what's become an open, festering global wound. The pleasure so much of the general public takes in the worst kind of disasters.
I wish the news channels would take their brief from the Norwegians. But every time I switched on the news after the tragedy, there was the murderer's damn photograph. Everybody milking it for maximum ratings, newspapers splashing it over the front page with hugely dramatic headlines for maximum readership.
Did the the majority of people around the world enjoy this in some kind of sick way, was it just food for a rabid public appetite engorging itself on horror, needing ever increasing gore and tragedy?
Are our lives so boring? Why doesn't everybody just go to the movies?
Questions, questions.
Imagine if readers and viewers had said en masse we don't want to see his picture any more, or see any more intrusion into the survivors' suffering. We want only to see the deepest respect shown to them, and to know that the legal system will take care of putting this man where he can't hurt anybody again.
And imagine if the news channels and newspapers had said even if you want to see his photo and you bay for bloodlust headlines we won't give them to you. We won't pander to your addiction and we won't let this man and what he's done reach celebrity status.
And pigs might fly.
Still, I thank heaven for small mercies and the sanity of the Norwegians.
And it continues to be a relief to see how Norway is dealing with their tragedy, refusing to let the psychopath have a public platform. What a disappointment it must be to him to be denied celebrity status.
I wish the news channels would take their brief from the Norwegians. But every time I switched on the news after the tragedy, there was the murderer's damn photograph. Everybody milking it for maximum ratings, newspapers splashing it over the front page with hugely dramatic headlines for maximum readership.
Did the the majority of people around the world enjoy this in some kind of sick way, was it just food for a rabid public appetite engorging itself on horror, needing ever increasing gore and tragedy?
Are our lives so boring? Why doesn't everybody just go to the movies?
Questions, questions.
Imagine if readers and viewers had said en masse we don't want to see his picture any more, or see any more intrusion into the survivors' suffering. We want only to see the deepest respect shown to them, and to know that the legal system will take care of putting this man where he can't hurt anybody again.
And imagine if the news channels and newspapers had said even if you want to see his photo and you bay for bloodlust headlines we won't give them to you. We won't pander to your addiction and we won't let this man and what he's done reach celebrity status.
And pigs might fly.
Still, I thank heaven for small mercies and the sanity of the Norwegians.
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)I'm not sure how to contact you anymore. I am resistant to change and have not joined spaces. No time to read right now- will comment on essay later.Hi Jack, I think you can still contact me through SearchWarp. Am I wrong about that?
Excellent points, Jennifer. It's unfortunate that bad news sells. I guess it is just human nature to want to see a tragedy and drama. Does it make us feel better about our own lives? Maybe. But there is something that makes us have to use self control to walk away. Good thought provoking article!
P.S. I'm sorry the changes are hard for you. Unfortunately, we literally had no choice. It was change or have SearchWarp die... We'll do whatever we can to help make it smoother!Thanks, Jean! As for my comment about Spaces, sorry if it landed as a criticism, I didn't mean that at all. I think it's amazing that you and Bruce have found a way to adapt so you save this fabulous site and you do have my support in it.
Afterwards (you know, at three in the morning!) I realized that of course I'm still a part of SearchWarp, my articles still show up on the front page and everybody can still read me, and I can still read everybody else. so the important things are unchanged.No worries, Jennifer! No criticism taken. We have to know how people are perceiving things from their end and we want to do whatever we can to ease the transition. Your insights are always so appreciated and crucial! It's great to have you back around. So glad you are feeling better.
I agree with you but it's human nature isn't it? Like passing a car accident on the side of the road, no one wants to see it, but everyone tries to get a look. It is a shame that bad news dominates the headlines most of the time. Great article. Hope you're feeling better these days Jennifer. - Brianna-
I'm trying to understand your use of fear-mongering in the first sentence. Does it mean you do not believe there is anything to fear from muslim fundmentalist? Next you 'say' that violence is their "means."
I actually didn't 'hear' much about the Norway thing. I suppose I could have. It was on a lot of the news stations and in the paper, but I wasn't interested and made a personal choice to not watch or read. I guess a lot of otherd made the opposite free choice.
I imagined readers or viewers doing what you suggest. They didn't seem like norma people. The morbid interest is a human nature, supreessing it causes psycological problem the would lead to more bad behavior. Let them get it out of their system.
I imagined the new medid doing what you ask. I would be angry with them for not doing their job, which is telling me the news. They already too often decide for what I should see. If they chose to not stimulate interest of the perverse masses they soon would be out of business.
Yes, of course I "Imagine all the people, living life in peace", but, get serious, that's all it is, imagination, not truth.
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