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| From | "Durben, Steven" <Steven.Durben@cignabehavioral.com> |
| Subject | Re: Nelly, Whoa Nelly, please....., |
| Date | Wed, 26 Feb 2003 14:14:02 -0600 |
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Michael said,
I am struck by the tremendous dichotomy that at one level, it seems that
contemporary society is more callous than ever, whether it's violent video
games or reality TV, et al. Yet when some signifying tragedy occurs, it's
round the clock media coverage, microphones thrust in crying faces and
hairshirts electronically distributed across the country, so we can sit
paralyzed for a while. I wonder if people reacted so drastically to similar
events even 40 or 50 years ago. What was it like during World War II when
so many were dying each day?
Mike, well, now I completely agree with you and may have missed the essence
of your point. I think this is particularly true in America. I went to a
conference a while back on violent children and the impact of the media.
For example, he stated in America we cover the school shootings in great
detail but also have in depth coverage on the killers and their personal
histories. Then we have subsequent isolated kid's, in part, copying these
acts, killing their classmates and getting their faces in the news and so
on. However, reportedly in Canada when they had such an killing occur they
didn't give ANY background on the adolescent killer, not even his name.
Thus, the focus is on the tragedy and not on the "make up" of the killer and
so on. Thus, while it appears we have such heightened concern this focus is
also part of the problem and honestly, they (TV executives) must know it.
The focus is often to much and all wrong here (IMO). I do agree with you
that the constant coverage often only serves to increase people's anxiety.
best, Steve
NP: Everly Brothers (I'm not sure why I never bothered with them until
recently....glad I now have)
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