Boston Marathon Bombing

[Rageaholic]

I see both sides of this.

On one hand, the media sensationalizes everything to the point of parody. You eventually wish they'd report on something other than random missing white girl. And even if you say it in the most gentle way, you're a heartless bastard, even though there are countless other missing people who are a blip on the radar.

With that said, can you really blame someone for being more concerned with what happens in our own backyard? We can't be concerned with everything happening. It's tragic that it happens all around the world, it hits a lot closer to home when it's happening in your own country. Selfish? Maybe, but it's human.

In the end, I just get sick of being told how to feel. I'm either a heartless bastard for trying not to let this get me down or a hypocrite for being more concerned with my own soil. I'm not a sociopath just because I don't feel a certain way, I'm a human who deals with things in my own way. Especially things that I can't do anything about. Can we stop shaming people for feeling a certain way and put the blame where it belongs (that being the nutcase who detonated the bomb)?

[Aethian]

I have to say - I'm unsure of where this "24 hour" rule comes from.

There is no 24-hour rule. I had just posted that we had a lot of highly agitated, worried, concerned, lost, ect... people on the forums. It would have been nice to let them get put back together a bit before it's shoved into their faces that worse things have happened elsewhere and this isn't as serious. Basically I was just asking for some respect for them.

[Gravekeeper]

There is no 24-hour rule. I had just posted that we had a lot of highly agitated, worried, concerned, lost, ect... people on the forums. It would have been nice to let them get put back together a bit before it's shoved into their faces that worse things have happened elsewhere and this isn't as serious. Basically I was just asking for some respect for them.

This is kind of impossible though. We're a forum that discusses news stories for the most part. We have no way of knowing who lives where or is affected by what nor is it reasonable to expect everyone to keep track of that information. Also, if someone is bothered by a topic, they have full rights to simply not read that topic until they feel up to it.

Also, to be bluntly honest, this thread has kind of been the reverse respect wise with hyperbolic shoving of words into other people's throats. Being upset by a tragedy is perfectly understandable, yelling at other people who are discussing the tragedy is not.

[Duelist925]

*snip*
Except there ARE examples of massive world wide tragedies that Americans become very in tune with: like the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the Indonesian tsunami, the earthquake in Haiti, and so on. When it comes to natural disasters, Americans are usually all there donating money and time to help out people in need.

And while the reporting is sparse, there are a lot of American civilians in Middle Eastern war zones building schools and hospitals, trying to help the folks there rebuild. Some of them have been taken hostage or murdered.

I think we need to be very careful about painting with broad brushes.

I didn't mean to paint with broad strokes--thats simply the formula I had read, and it seemed relevant to the discussion.

And please remember--as you said, those were massive events, with a lot of loss of life and other casualties. Further, the distance for many was lessened by how close we could get via the net.

[Gravekeeper]

Something like a a major tsunami or earthquake or 9/11 on that kind of level is a global tragedy so to speak and we all pay attention. Because the level of devastation involved requires outside assistance. Yes, there are always people who help regardless. But typically speaking if a disaster can be handled by the immediate country we feel detached from it. Likewise, if its a tragedy that keeps repeating we grow tired of it and tune it out. We only have so much emotional endurance.

That's why no one seems to care about the daily toll in Iraq anymore. Its not a tragedy anymore, its a statistic. As for the Iraqi's themselves, the US media did its best to essentially make them faceless numbers. The toll they endured, even if it was by US hands, is just a number in the public consciousness.

I worked for the Red Cross during the 2004 tsunami, during Katrina, during Haiti and during the Japan tsunami. You can't process that level of tragedy at all. You will get overwhelmed. You will break and then you will just tune it out as a self defense mechanism. The 2004 tsunami was the worst of all of them, and all I was doing was manning the lines to help relief efforts.

So yeah, when you tell me a death toll of 3 is a "global tragedy" I'm going to have to respectfully disagree.

[Peppergirl]

Mod note:

Regardless of our personal feelings on the matter, this is a debate forum and there will be opinions that you don't agree or that you consider inflammatory.

While we're personally sympathetic to people who are effected, we strongly suggest that if your feelings on the matter are too raw, please consider avoiding the thread until you can read and reply without feeling attacked.

I personally have fallen victim to this myself on this very same site...so I understand its easier said than done. I've had to avoid many a thread over the years.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

Thanks.

[Andara Bledin]

So yeah, when you tell me a death toll of 3 is a "global tragedy" I'm going to have to respectfully disagree.

Considering that the people who used the phrase initially pulled it before the day had even ended, I suspect they agree.

In fact, other than something only peripherally related, the only place you can find the phrase in relation to the marathon are on blogs and forums.

[Panacea]

Great post, Ree. Thanks!

I think that statement is a guilt trip and wholly unfair. How is anyone on this board supposed to know that there will be other members here who know people affected? How long might those people be without contact with the person they're looking for?

I doubt a guilt trip was meant; I think it was just an observation. Of course, we can't know when one of us is involved in an event that makes the national news.

I remember when ice caused a passenger liner to strike the 14th St Bridge in DC way back when. My dad used to cross that bridge every day about that time of day on his way home from work. We sat on pins until Dad got home (no cellphones then). He'd crossed moments before the plane hit.

So I can understand the anxiety of our members who live there. It's raw to hear speculation about this that or the other. That doesn't mean those of us less invested can't or shouldn't speculate away. This is a discussion board. Those who are feeling a bit raw about it may or may not be overreacting to what is said, and might do better to avoid this thread . . . but I'm not suggesting that because in spite of those feelings I think it does bring an important perspective to what we're discussing.

One of the things I like about Fratching is that because we all know each other on CS we manage to keep a much more civil tone discussing touchy subjects than other forum's I've participated in. I think that everyone has had a valid point of view on this issue, a pov that's worth reading. Agreement or disagreement isn't the point for me at this stage.

So, for our members in the Boston area, I hope none of you are grappling with a loss or potential loss right now.

[Hyena Dandy]

I guess it's the same line of reasoning which makes any kind of contest in the US an "international contest" or a "world championship", if there's at least a canadian involved.

People from 50 countries were competing, I think it's fair to call it an international contest, yes. Calling it a global tragedy is a bit much, but calling something with people from 50 countries international doesn't seem like Americans just being provincial egotists.

[Ginger Tea]

One of my facebook feeds was an image of a child running by herself (could have been anywhere, all you could see was road) with a number sheet stating she was one of the victims and was also raising money for Sandybrooke, I have no idea if this is true or if snopes is going to find out and prove that the child's photo was from a fun run 3 years ago and this is just a heart string jerking troll post.

If it is true, then who posted the image?
Could a grieving parent actually announce to the world their loss so soon?

[Aethian]

The girl was running in a DC marathon and is fine and at home with her parents. It's unknown who really started that one, from what I've seen. The child that died in the bombings was a 8 year old boy who was fighting till they got to the trucks and was lost.

[Gravekeeper]

CNN's not really helping the argument now. We practically have the life story / family photo albums of the 2 American victims. But the third turned out to be Chinese going to university in the US annnd that's it. She got 5 seconds of air time. Not even a name.

I see they dragged people off of flights in Boston just for being able to speak Arabic too.

[bara]

Gravekeeper does have a point about the US Media. Today's paper had the word 'terrorist' in huge letters for the front page headline, when in truth nothing of the sort has been remotely proven. It might very well be, or it just could be some nut case who has a lot of hate.

[Andara Bledin]

CNN's not really helping the argument now. We practically have the life story / family photo albums of the 2 American victims. But the third turned out to be Chinese going to university in the US annnd that's it. She got 5 seconds of air time. Not even a name.

See, that's what you'd think when you don't have all of the information.

Article at JPost.com

The third fatality was a Chinese citizen whose identity was not being made public at the request of the victim's family, the Chinese Consulate in New York said in a statement late on Tuesday.

So, yeah, totally not a decision that CNN even gets to make.

[Andara Bledin]

Gravekeeper does have a point about the US Media. Today's paper had the word 'terrorist' in huge letters for the front page headline, when in truth nothing of the sort has been remotely proven. It might very well be, or it just could be some nut case who has a lot of hate.

Technically, no matter the origin of the fucktard that perpetrated the act, it was an act of terror. It was specifically designed to be flashy and dangerous and make people afraid. If that's not a terrorist act, I'm not sure what is.