Happy 2005 All

Karen Chuplis wrote

I think this Tsuanmi event is worthy of
the coverage it has gotten and of the support it is receiving.

Some of the coverage no doubt is. But when someone tells me that they
cannot stop watching dead bodies it seems macabre, to put it politely.

Support? Yes, that's different. Of course I have no problem with
giving support. But remember what the media are going to say over the
coming months:

It was the fault of ........ that more people died than needed to.
.... gave more support than ... did so ... is better.
Here is a picture of someone grieving for their loss - enjoy.
This proves that .../.../.../... is the only correct religion.

If this world ever wants to become civilised I think that they need to
make the media civilised first.

--
David Stevenson Storypage: http://blakjak.com/sty_menu.htm
Liverpool, England, UK Emails welcome
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"David Stevenson" wrote in message
...

If this world ever wants to become civilised I think that they need to
make the media civilised first.

Truer words were never written!

Hugs,

CatNipped


--
David Stevenson Storypage: http://blakjak.com/sty_menu.htm
Liverpool, England, UK Emails welcome
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in article , CatNipped at
wrote on 1/2/05 11:28AM:

"David Stevenson" wrote in message
...

If this world ever wants to become civilised I think that they need to
make the media civilised first.

Truer words were never written!

Hugs,

CatNipped

Well, I do have to agree that the media needs a reboot.

Christina Websell wrote:
"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
Got to start writing 05 on checks, now. I'll forget for most of a
month. Well, we survived another year.

--

150,000+ didn't.

Tweed

Which is also roughly the number of children that have died in Africa in
the last week. :-(
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy & Bagheera)
A house is not a home, without a cat.

"Cheryl Perkins" wrote in message
...
David Stevenson wrote:
snip
If this world ever wants to become civilised I think that they need
to
make the media civilised first.

Not really. The media only does what sells. It's humans, or at least an
awful lot of us, who want to watch terrible accidents and listen to silly
superficial explanations and accusations afterwards.

It's the humans who need civilization. We're the ones who create and work
in media, and who buy products from the companies who support it with
advertising revenue.

I don't know Cheryl. Everyone I talk to abhors the media and the current
way news is covered. Yes, we watch it, but what other choice is there
available? I want to hear about the bad things, yes, there might be
something I could do to help. But I would also *dearly* love to hear about
the teenagers who got together to raise money for a charitable organization,
or the community who poured out donations and volunteers to help out their
neighbors (even when their neighbors are in another country).

I don't think I'm the only one who feels this way - in fact I think I'm in
the majority - and I think the media has a serious case of "smarter than
thou" and think that the public is far more stupid, greedy, voyeuristic, and
base than we actually are - and then they try to pander to that
misconception when in reality they are pandering to their own warped values.

Hugs,

CatNipped

--
Cheryl

"Karen Chuplis" wrote in message
...
in article , David Stevenson at
wrote on 1/2/05 7:16AM:

Seanette Blaylock wrote
"Christina Websell" had some very
interesting things to say about Happy 2005 All:

You are quite right. People I know have died this year, through old
age or
disease. This happens all over the world, all the time. No-one
remarks
about it. It has to happen.
However... I cannot be alone, surely, in mourning the dead from the
tsumani.
So many people in the prime of their lives. So many children. All in
one
go.
Christopher's post struck a raw note in me about surviving another
year.
Sorry if I offended you, it's just what I thought at the time, while
watching the awful images on the TV.

What bothered me was that it sounded like you were rebuking him for
being grateful for surviving a tough year, and that only some dead are
worthy of mourning while others just get dismissed. Makes it sound
like some people are more valuable than others, which bugs me.

Since the majority of the world - ie, anyone who thinks the media
portray news - think that people who die spectacularly matter more it is
not surprising to hear that view.

Interesting. I keep seeing things like this on Usenet, and I completely
disagree. It is not that they matter more, but I really don't think it's
inappropriate to address the enormity of this situation. It is unequaled
in
modern times, even with the Bangledesh flooding back in the 70's, this is
much larger in scope. In my mind, it ranks right under a small asteroid
hitting the earth. So then, is it so wrong to boggle at the scope? To ask
for people to be generous? Not that I don't think the media likes a good
story that they can drag out, but this is different at least in my mind in
that I think it is important people DO see how enormous this is. This
summer, a small town of 300 people near me was destroyed by a tornado. The
scene there looked very much like this one except for one thing. There
were
not bodies strewn everywhere and the towns next to it while damaged, did
not
similarly lay in rubble and were very much there for immediate help. A
very
sad even yes. But, our city sent buses and the refugees were here within
an
hour. They had homes to go to, hotels, shelters, many relatives, few lives
were lost (I believe two people died and, yes, that was tragic and I
actually cried for these people) and the town began rebuilding almost
immediately. In this instance of Asia, there would be no nearby city that
was not similarly obliterated, no where to go, no where to get much help,
particularly in Indonesia and Summatra, for days. 1 in four people
involved
in the event are dead. Not only that but there is no equipment to help you
with all the carnage and rubble. Instead of trucks rolling in the next
morning with National Guard and hundreds of volunteers as here in the
cases
of a tornado event or hurricane event, it takes days to get into many of
these places. They have lost family, homes and livlihoods on a HUGE scale
in
a few minutes. And unlike a country like the US that had an existing
strong
infrastructure, it's going to be a long time to get a semblence of
normalacy
to return in these places that had existing difficulties in health and,
indeed, simply access. That is what I see portrayed in the media. Yes,
death
is a part of life and happens all the time, but we at least have family,
or
jobs to turn to for help, for an outlet for grief. If your whole reason
for
living is suddenly swept away and not just for one person but for tens of
thousands in the matter of minutes, yes, it bears talking about and is a
remarkable event. When entire families, in the thousands, are wiped off
the
earth and not just one family member, it bears international attention. It
is an historic event. It is tragedy magnified thousands of times. It does
not negate personal tragedy that people suffer everyday, but it is
certainly
something that provokes thought, concern and hopefully compassion from
those
more fortunate. I can guarantee you that people here who lost their town
here, and people in Florida who went through the hurricanes probably think
that the coverage is warranted and that they were the lucky ones in the
scope of their tragedy. I ask all of you, in your lifetime, have tens of
thousands of people perished in one instant? People who came from all
corners of the earth? I can think of only one that comes close and it was
9/11, which still did not come close in numbers. And even in that instant,
there was help to go to immediately. I think this Tsuanmi event is worthy
of
the coverage it has gotten and of the support it is receiving.

In keeping with the original thought of Happy 2005, it easy for me to say,
I
think I will certainly have a happy 2005 because I have a home and a job
and
family and cats. And I have a new ruler by which to measure my "bad days".


Thank you, Karen. You have understood what I was trying to say, and I
didn't make a very good job of it myself.

Tweed

CatNipped wrote

I don't know Cheryl. Everyone I talk to abhors the media and the current
way news is covered. Yes, we watch it, but what other choice is there
available? I want to hear about the bad things, yes, there might be
something I could do to help. But I would also *dearly* love to hear about
the teenagers who got together to raise money for a charitable organization,
or the community who poured out donations and volunteers to help out their
neighbors (even when their neighbors are in another country).

I don't think I'm the only one who feels this way - in fact I think I'm in
the majority - and I think the media has a serious case of "smarter than
thou" and think that the public is far more stupid, greedy, voyeuristic, and
base than we actually are - and then they try to pander to that
misconception when in reality they are pandering to their own warped values.

Interestingly enough, the one type of media which seemed not to pander
to nasty things was the state-controlled media of the mid years of the
USSR. Their 'news' was all about achievement.

I think sports reporting is also interesting. While they are happy to
report bad things you are much more likely to get mentioned for
achievement in sports than in anything else: the balance is different.

--
David Stevenson Storypage: http://blakjak.com/sty_menu.htm
Liverpool, England, UK Emails welcome
Nanki Poo: SI O+W B 11 Y L+ W++ C+ I T+ A- E H++ V- F Q P+ B+ PA+ PL SC
Minke: SI W+Cp B 2 Y L W+ C++ I T A- E H++ V++ F- Q- P B PA+ PL+ SC-