Defending the Truth

OhDear · 04-24-2007, 07:47 AM

This is from a blog that had posted a portion of an editorial found in the LA Times. I do realize the indulgence of grief that those who are not personally experiencing the suffering. But I would also contend that all of us, as a society lose something, suffer something of disillusion and fear when violence pervasively strikes, even those we only know by reading about. Perhaps too, a kind of unqualified and unexplained "survivor's guilt"...

OD

Quote:

Grief as Self-Indulgence

Rosa Brooks:

Convincing ourselves that we've been vicariously traumatized by the pain of strangers has become a cherished national pastime. Thus, the Washington Post this week accompanied online stories about the shooting with a clickable sidebar, "Where to Find Support" -- apparently on the assumption that the mere experience of glancing at articles about the tragedy would be so emotionally devastating that readers would require trained therapists.

....Count me out. There's something fraudulent about this eagerness to latch onto the grief of others and embrace the idea that we, too, have been victimized. This trivializes the pain felt by those who have actually lost something and pathologizes normal reactions to tragedy. Empathy is good, but feeling shocked and saddened by the shootings doesn't make us traumatized or special -- these feelings make us normal.

via Kevin Drum, who lashes out at the media, the so-called "Tragedy Industry." A more evocative title comes from the Economist's Democracy in America blog, "Trauma Porn"

I get tired when people whine about "the media" as though it is some big, menacing monster that shovels crap we are duty-bound to consume. Anyone who complains about the insipid salaciousness of television news spends too much time watching it. But when it comes to the unbridled broadcast of Cho's public-relations package, it would be wise to think about just what kind of people would be glued to their sets, taking it all in.

In other words, we have no one to blame for the media beast but ourselves (or at least the people with Nielsen boxes). Considering that the Virginia Tech student government have asked the media to leave, we've not been 'vicariously traumatized' -- we've been vicariously shamed.

Posted by Zach Wendling at April 23, 2007 09:31 PM

Mark.B · 04-24-2007, 02:42 PM

Here in the UK this all started with the death of Princess Diana, sickening outpourings of grief over someone that most people had not met.

It's ok to to regret the passing of a famous person you don't know, but you cannot "mourne" or "grieve" for them.

jaaaman · 04-24-2007, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scrotnig

It's ok to to regret the passing of a famous person you don't know, but you cannot "mourn" or "grieve" for them.

I believe you are correct.

garysher · 04-24-2007, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scrotnig

Here in the UK this all started with the death of Princess Diana, sickening outpourings of grief over someone that most people had not met.

It's ok to to regret the passing of a famous person you don't know, but you cannot "mourne" or "grieve" for them.

That reminds me, this Aug 30th will be 10 years since the Princess of Wales was tragically taken from us.

I must make a note to send some flowers to Prince Charles.