response to post (which has now been deleted as off topic) in ADIML
I wanted to post this (publicly) in my own journal just in case any of these people would think to check and see what my response was.
My comment:
Not to try to diminish what has happened in Virginia, but I find it interesting that everyone is so shell-shocked over this when things like the genocide in Darfur have been happening for the last few years and no one is putting pressure on our respective governments to do something about it.
I personally think we all have to get our heads out of our asses. Not just about things that are happening on our continent, but everywhere. Not just these mass killing sprees that shock with their extremity, but the smaller scale murders where people get off with just a few years in jail. It's time to start making a difference. It's time to start being kind to one another, preventing bullies (it seems like the "bullied" tend to be the perpetrators in these school shootings) from terrorizing other children, and generally get to work on re-establishing a moral code. I'm not necessarily talking religion here - simply more respect for right and wrong.
So if these things upset you, write your political representatives. Really consider what you think will make things better and fight for it. Just be nice and smile at people as you go about your daily lives. As for me, I'm going to bed and hopefully I'll wake in the morning with a brighter aspect.
eternie's comment
Oh wow, you are a breath of fresh air.
rushifaa's comment
Love youuu.
alertthemasses's comment
You have to realize two things:
One the amount of media attention ratioed with the amount of time has a lot to do with it. Not a lot of people know what Darfur is. In fact, I didn't know till my campus held a week in honor of Darfur victims. As you said, it's been happening for years and yet I've seen it mentioned on the TV maybe once. What happened in Virginia happened in less than 24 hours and every place that has some semblance of national news is talking about it.
Two: I've found that most humans - or at least most American's - are keen on what happens in their country and have a "whatever, it's their problem" attitude with what happens in other countries.
However, I'm not sure it's your place to be condecending right now. This was a post for the VT students, not a political soap box for you.
lizzeroni's comment
thank you. and for the record, i don't think you are being condescending at all. i think you're being realistic.
starski's comment
My university, which is about three hours away from VT, is actually having a Darfur Awareness Week right now (http://www.marshall.edu/www/announce.asp?ID=460). My friend's boyfriend was killed in the attack. She goes to school further north in Morgantown, WV.
I think the proximity of this is what makes it such a hard hitting news story. And you must say, this is more significant than...ooh, Anna Nicole Smith's death which pollutes the news most days.
******************************************************************************************
First off, thanks for the positive comments. It makes me happy that there are people out there who get what I was saying - not that what happened in Virginia was not significant (because it is huge, horrifying, and such a tragedy for the people who experienced it), but that this is a global epidemic, and if we truly want things like this to stop happening, we need to deal with these issues on a global, as well as local, scale. That encompasses both being kind to those in our immediate vicinity (you never know what affect your careless words or attitude has on those around you) and letting our political representatives know that we will not stand for their lack of action in Darfur (look to what happened in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia with no intervention).
This is not a political soapbox. This is a humanitarian soapbox. The only place any of this comes from is a deep, overwhelming pain at the things that are happening in our world and our complete and total apathy. You know what? People will care about this for a while, and then they will forget. What's to be done? The shooter committed suicide, right? Well, this will become a page in the history books and no one will do anything more than mourn. A person on my lj friends list posted about her trip to New Orleans and how she was disgusted over the conditions there. It hasn't been cleaned up. Insurance companies are squabbling over who is responsible for repairing what. These people are living in filth and devastation and nothing is done about it. Is that on the news? No.
I do agree fully that the way the media deals with these issues is completely remiss. No, the whole Anna Nicole Smith thing should not be more important than the massacre in Virginia, and more than genocide in Darfur. My question is: what are you going to do about it? I suggest writing letters to major media outlets and letting them know that you are displeased. YOU, personally.
That's what I'm getting at. We need to act on an individual level, because if we wait around for groups as a whole to get their shit together, our world is going to disintegrate around us while we've still got our heads buried in the sand.
I appreciate hugely that we are not blatantly exposed to international news in this continent, but there are choices to be made. One can watch serious newscasts rather than programs that have 3 hour panel discussions on the paternity of Anna Nicole's baby.
It gives me hope that some Universities are trying to raise awareness. Huge kudos to them, and I hope they keep it up. We need more people like these.
As for the comment that most Americans care about what is happening in their own country - wrong. Americans (and Canadians by proximity) do not care about what's happening in their own country. I don't see news pieces about the poor and starving in the States. I don't see pieces on Angelina adopting American children. I see pieces about tragedies that affect white middle-to-upper-class people. I see pieces about the war in the middle east. That is not in the United States the last time I checked. This is the propaganda machine. The American public must continue to support the war overseas. They must not be shown what day to day life for the poor is like (hence no coverage on the ongoing struggle in New Orleans) because heaven forbid we actually realize that there is suffering in North America. When it comes down to it, it's about nothing more than misdirection via sensationalism. Huge, exciting events are covered. The aftermath is of no concern.
And now for the word of the day:
Condescending: Displaying a patronizingly superior attitude.
I wasn't then, but I sure am now, and I believe it's justified.
My comment:
Not to try to diminish what has happened in Virginia, but I find it interesting that everyone is so shell-shocked over this when things like the genocide in Darfur have been happening for the last few years and no one is putting pressure on our respective governments to do something about it.
I personally think we all have to get our heads out of our asses. Not just about things that are happening on our continent, but everywhere. Not just these mass killing sprees that shock with their extremity, but the smaller scale murders where people get off with just a few years in jail. It's time to start making a difference. It's time to start being kind to one another, preventing bullies (it seems like the "bullied" tend to be the perpetrators in these school shootings) from terrorizing other children, and generally get to work on re-establishing a moral code. I'm not necessarily talking religion here - simply more respect for right and wrong.
So if these things upset you, write your political representatives. Really consider what you think will make things better and fight for it. Just be nice and smile at people as you go about your daily lives. As for me, I'm going to bed and hopefully I'll wake in the morning with a brighter aspect.
eternie's comment
Oh wow, you are a breath of fresh air.
rushifaa's comment
Love youuu.
alertthemasses's comment
You have to realize two things:
One the amount of media attention ratioed with the amount of time has a lot to do with it. Not a lot of people know what Darfur is. In fact, I didn't know till my campus held a week in honor of Darfur victims. As you said, it's been happening for years and yet I've seen it mentioned on the TV maybe once. What happened in Virginia happened in less than 24 hours and every place that has some semblance of national news is talking about it.
Two: I've found that most humans - or at least most American's - are keen on what happens in their country and have a "whatever, it's their problem" attitude with what happens in other countries.
However, I'm not sure it's your place to be condecending right now. This was a post for the VT students, not a political soap box for you.
lizzeroni's comment
thank you. and for the record, i don't think you are being condescending at all. i think you're being realistic.
starski's comment
My university, which is about three hours away from VT, is actually having a Darfur Awareness Week right now (http://www.marshall.edu/www/announce.asp?ID=460). My friend's boyfriend was killed in the attack. She goes to school further north in Morgantown, WV.
I think the proximity of this is what makes it such a hard hitting news story. And you must say, this is more significant than...ooh, Anna Nicole Smith's death which pollutes the news most days.
******************************************************************************************
First off, thanks for the positive comments. It makes me happy that there are people out there who get what I was saying - not that what happened in Virginia was not significant (because it is huge, horrifying, and such a tragedy for the people who experienced it), but that this is a global epidemic, and if we truly want things like this to stop happening, we need to deal with these issues on a global, as well as local, scale. That encompasses both being kind to those in our immediate vicinity (you never know what affect your careless words or attitude has on those around you) and letting our political representatives know that we will not stand for their lack of action in Darfur (look to what happened in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia with no intervention).
This is not a political soapbox. This is a humanitarian soapbox. The only place any of this comes from is a deep, overwhelming pain at the things that are happening in our world and our complete and total apathy. You know what? People will care about this for a while, and then they will forget. What's to be done? The shooter committed suicide, right? Well, this will become a page in the history books and no one will do anything more than mourn. A person on my lj friends list posted about her trip to New Orleans and how she was disgusted over the conditions there. It hasn't been cleaned up. Insurance companies are squabbling over who is responsible for repairing what. These people are living in filth and devastation and nothing is done about it. Is that on the news? No.
I do agree fully that the way the media deals with these issues is completely remiss. No, the whole Anna Nicole Smith thing should not be more important than the massacre in Virginia, and more than genocide in Darfur. My question is: what are you going to do about it? I suggest writing letters to major media outlets and letting them know that you are displeased. YOU, personally.
That's what I'm getting at. We need to act on an individual level, because if we wait around for groups as a whole to get their shit together, our world is going to disintegrate around us while we've still got our heads buried in the sand.
I appreciate hugely that we are not blatantly exposed to international news in this continent, but there are choices to be made. One can watch serious newscasts rather than programs that have 3 hour panel discussions on the paternity of Anna Nicole's baby.
It gives me hope that some Universities are trying to raise awareness. Huge kudos to them, and I hope they keep it up. We need more people like these.
As for the comment that most Americans care about what is happening in their own country - wrong. Americans (and Canadians by proximity) do not care about what's happening in their own country. I don't see news pieces about the poor and starving in the States. I don't see pieces on Angelina adopting American children. I see pieces about tragedies that affect white middle-to-upper-class people. I see pieces about the war in the middle east. That is not in the United States the last time I checked. This is the propaganda machine. The American public must continue to support the war overseas. They must not be shown what day to day life for the poor is like (hence no coverage on the ongoing struggle in New Orleans) because heaven forbid we actually realize that there is suffering in North America. When it comes down to it, it's about nothing more than misdirection via sensationalism. Huge, exciting events are covered. The aftermath is of no concern.
And now for the word of the day:
Condescending: Displaying a patronizingly superior attitude.
I wasn't then, but I sure am now, and I believe it's justified.