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Okay, so the Virginia Tech shootings.
I agree that they are completely horrible, that it is very sad that people are dead and dying, and it's very tragic. I really really hope that none of you know anyone at that school, because I can't imagine not knowing if a loved one is okay or not in a situation like this.
BUT. Listening to my coworker's radio and poking at the videos on cnn and such, I'm kind of bothered by a few things.
1) Yes, this is the largest shoot shooting ever, in terms of the number of dead. But do all the news people need to keep pointing that out? Do they have to use words like "massacre" and "bloodbath" and "mayhem"? Does this situation really need anymore drama? Is it not terrible enough on its own?
2) Interviewing a student still on the campus immediately after everything happened, a reporter asked how the student felt about the possibility that he might know one of the victims. Um, duh? What kind of ridiculously insensitive question is that? Did she expect him to answer "Man, I feel GREAT about everything, life is ROSES!" Did she really need to remind him of the possibility that one of his friends might be dead, just to get more drama?
3) So the president wanted to make a statement, of course. Okay, sympathy is good. So he scheduled it for 4pm, 7 hours after the fact. Now, call me cynical, but I bet he used that 7 hours to have someone script the perfectly sympathetic speech, instead of, I dunno, actually being sympathetic. This point is probably one that only bothers me, though, because fake sympathy is worse than none in my book.
Moral of the story: news people are full of stupid. I would say stupid AND drama, but we all know that they are the same thing.
I agree that they are completely horrible, that it is very sad that people are dead and dying, and it's very tragic. I really really hope that none of you know anyone at that school, because I can't imagine not knowing if a loved one is okay or not in a situation like this.
BUT. Listening to my coworker's radio and poking at the videos on cnn and such, I'm kind of bothered by a few things.
1) Yes, this is the largest shoot shooting ever, in terms of the number of dead. But do all the news people need to keep pointing that out? Do they have to use words like "massacre" and "bloodbath" and "mayhem"? Does this situation really need anymore drama? Is it not terrible enough on its own?
2) Interviewing a student still on the campus immediately after everything happened, a reporter asked how the student felt about the possibility that he might know one of the victims. Um, duh? What kind of ridiculously insensitive question is that? Did she expect him to answer "Man, I feel GREAT about everything, life is ROSES!" Did she really need to remind him of the possibility that one of his friends might be dead, just to get more drama?
3) So the president wanted to make a statement, of course. Okay, sympathy is good. So he scheduled it for 4pm, 7 hours after the fact. Now, call me cynical, but I bet he used that 7 hours to have someone script the perfectly sympathetic speech, instead of, I dunno, actually being sympathetic. This point is probably one that only bothers me, though, because fake sympathy is worse than none in my book.
Moral of the story: news people are full of stupid. I would say stupid AND drama, but we all know that they are the same thing.
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Date: 2007-04-18 06:51 am (UTC)From: