Adam007 Posted April 19, 2007 Share Posted April 19, 2007 I don't know if anyone said this yet, but the simple answer to your question is that news channels air what gets them the most viewers. This was a highly emotional story that is extremely relatable to most Americans, because they've gone through school and the idea of this is very scary. On the other hand, the war gets less interest because it's the same stuff day after day. People lose interest in who was killed on day x. TV channels put on the air what gets them the most interested viewers, not what is the most important globally. That's why we have local news, national news, and international news. If you want global news, really you have to use the internet or BBC or something, because most American channels are primarily national or local and report on what Americans care about, not the importance of the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allu Posted April 19, 2007 Share Posted April 19, 2007 Well, you're kind of right if it would of happened in some other country it propably be so big thing and hell yea if something happens at U.S .. If in Iraq there would die 20 Iraq soldiers it would be nothing but if there would die 20 U.S soldiers it would be a big thing, so I think what happens in to Americans it's a bigger thing... No offence.. If 2 Finnish soldiers and 10 Americans died, you would probably be concerned more about your own nation's losses. It's a global phenomenon. If 2 Finnish soldiers would die, it wouldn't be in news in U.S or some where else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barihawk Posted April 19, 2007 Share Posted April 19, 2007 Well, you're kind of right if it would of happened in some other country it propably be so big thing and hell yea if something happens at U.S .. If in Iraq there would die 20 Iraq soldiers it would be nothing but if there would die 20 U.S soldiers it would be a big thing, so I think what happens in to Americans it's a bigger thing... No offence.. If 2 Finnish soldiers and 10 Americans died, you would probably be concerned more about your own nation's losses. It's a global phenomenon. If 2 Finnish soldiers would die, it wouldn't be in news in U.S or some where else? It might be in a news ticker. Most people would not notice. They rarely even talk about American casualties in the main news programs. My heart is broken by the terrible loss I have sustained in my old friends and companions and my poor soldiers. Believe me, nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won. -Sir Arthur Wellesley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingb1ast Posted April 19, 2007 Author Share Posted April 19, 2007 its not the people itself. its the media. honestly, the people of america either devote their whole sympathy to the event, or ignore it and occasionally discuss it. its the MEDIA that causes all these stereotypes. When the pope died, he had maybe 2 weeks in the news. now this anna nicole smith died about a month ago and is STILL in the media. why? sure, there is a lot of stuff about the inheritance. but what about the new pope? doesnt the news care about what hes gonna say to the world? no, ONLY when there's a speech involved and millions want to watch it. The associated press and other news places think they're reporting "news" when people die in iraq. yet they don't give a damn if a new school is built or other progresses. now we have these mass killings. virginia tech? very close to home. people all over the country have kids who go there. rwanda? not as likely. plus, in virginia tech people are still looking for someone to blame. there's a new story almost every day. today's story was that the english professor who had the speech "we are virginia tech" had kicked the gunman out of class 2 years earlier. why 2 years? why is it important now? they're looking for a scapegoat to toss all their troubles at. "she kicked him out 2 years ago! she might have stopped the massacre! KILL HER!!!!" yea, as if sending him out of english class would stop him or cause him to kill over 30 people. I agree with a lot of what u said, I'm vurrently reading all posts. i'll reply to more later. An april fools jokeclick for my mining blog 97% of teens eat cereal for breakfast. Stick this in your siggy if you eat waffles instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingb1ast Posted April 19, 2007 Author Share Posted April 19, 2007 34 people are murdered in an university. President Bush repeats: "I'm horrified". "I'm horrified". Six times. No comments about the two explosions that same day in Iraq that killed 170 people, just about all civilians, children, women, near a police station and a market? People who act like they care about the Virginia murders are hypocrites. A murder isn't any more grave if it happens near to where you live, or if people you know die in it. See, to you, the dead were "Americans". But to the great majority of the world they are 'foreigners'. Just like if my whole family died, or yours, they were not "dead" family members but just a fixed number of victims in a terrorist attack. Another great post. An april fools jokeclick for my mining blog 97% of teens eat cereal for breakfast. Stick this in your siggy if you eat waffles instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingb1ast Posted April 19, 2007 Author Share Posted April 19, 2007 Like you said, Bluelancer, nobody else in the world cares. That's why the gross majority of Americans do not care about other countries. Jeff Foxworthy makes a good point: "The news is getting so depressing lately that I only seem to care if it happens to Americans, anymore. Last week I heard a story on the news about a bus in Pakistan that drove off a cliff and killed 300 people. My first though was 'how do you fit 300 people on to a bus?' Once it becomes a math problem, some of the emotional sting seems to be removed." While I will agree that the sensationalist media that seems to have cropped up in the past 10 years is indeed making a BIG deal out of it, that's what they always do. These are the same freaks who made Scott Peterson into a 'celebrity' and spend more time broadcasting Anna Nicole's funeral instead of the President's speeches. And don't make fun of Bush's speech. The nation was horrified. As a college student myself, I have noticed myself and others looking a little more cautiously at each-other. I've seen people on campus that honestly worried me that they were carrying an assault rifle under that black coat and dark expression. The nation is horrified, is horrified, is horrified, is horrified, is horrified, is horrified. At the very least, those of us most affected by Monday's events. Look at the Press, Bluelancer. They have made a big deal that 3000 Americans have died in Iraq. No mention is made of prayers for the families of the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, unless it's for a political stab. It's called the liberal media (and I am not talking partisan here). All they care about is making money by their audience. wow, another great post. I've talked about this at school at they dont know [cabbage]. I'm really glad some tip.iters think a bit like me An april fools jokeclick for my mining blog 97% of teens eat cereal for breakfast. Stick this in your siggy if you eat waffles instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingb1ast Posted April 19, 2007 Author Share Posted April 19, 2007 its shocking because 33 people were killed by a friend and a classmate. not because it actually happened in america. soldiers enlist with the military and other services knowing that it is dangerous but when they get out, they may have an education for cheap or free to set them up for the rest of their lives, among other things like american pride and poverty situations. also, it is a warground in iraq and it is kinda expected because of the people who disagree with the american democracy. also...Bush put it in very good words (surprisingly) : Schools should be places of sanctuary and safety and learning. When that sanctuary is violated, the impact is felt in every American classroom and every American community. Today, our nation grieves with those who have lost loved ones at Virginia Tech. and i'd like to correct Mr. Bush. Not just America...but the entire world I can agree with that as wel mostly. And to the earlier post, yes it isn't a shock that so many people die in Irq but maybe if the media in this country actually did some close up reporting to see how it happened, or look more closely people would think about iraq more. maybe your right , maybe im wrong adam and assasain I agree with you. Also, I kinda wrote this topic as a reminder to people, it just seems some people are becoming to attached just to the VT shooting. An april fools jokeclick for my mining blog 97% of teens eat cereal for breakfast. Stick this in your siggy if you eat waffles instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam007 Posted April 19, 2007 Share Posted April 19, 2007 It doesn't matter how people die. They are dead. Does it really matter to you? Pain is pain. Suffering is suffering. We are all people and the United States seems to think that the world doesnt have feelings because we cry and mourn for 33 deaths in one instance when thousands of people are being killed (Chinese Genocide?) and we do not even recognize it. This is why i make a strict rule of being emotionally detached with all deaths. It makes life easier. Yes, a death is a death and all death is equal in that sense, but that's not we're discussing. We know all deaths have equal weight, but why is it a ridiculous notion that Americans would care more about stories they can relate to? There's no such thing as being emotionally detached from all deaths. You would be an emotional wreck if someone close to you died (I assume?). You'd feel bad if a distant cousin was murdered. But you wouldn't feel bad if an Iraqi insurgent was killed. This isn't to say that one death has any more weight than another. Just that it is ok to personally place your own emotional value on a death. This is what news caters to. How much we can relate to the death and the emotional value involved. Again, the news we hear is the news we want to hear, not the news of most importance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ixfd64 Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderso ... ality.html ARENAscape: Baratus [AS] max hit: 166 with Moon Battle Hammer ixfd64 [AS] max hit: 116 with (untitled spell #2) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingb1ast Posted April 20, 2007 Author Share Posted April 20, 2007 w00t for CNN, There probably the best of large stream media. Good find ixf http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderson.cooper.360/blog/2007/04/tragedy-brings-home-war-zone-reality.html An april fools jokeclick for my mining blog 97% of teens eat cereal for breakfast. Stick this in your siggy if you eat waffles instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalcyte Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 this is so tragic because it was in a school, and the guy who did it was so angry and disturbed...thats what makes it so bad. I think that you're absolutely right to a certain degree...hundreds of unknown people die everyday, without virtually anyone hearing about it. But this was a massacure. Iraq would be different because A) it's a war, and people die in wars B) it is mentioned on the radio all the time. Darfur, well simply put: There is absolutely not one excuse for the lack of media attention to darfur, this is just bad. Hurricane victims, again, it has gone into the media light and in a way its expected. The VT shooting was random, sporatic and scary. Someone went around within 2 hours and 33 people died, all at once in the same 1/2 area by one guy with his own motives. Darfur is worse than this though, and there has to be more attention to this. But there's a genecide going on there also...so death's in a way are expected there, no one expects 33 people to die in a shooting massacure in 2 hours. Click for mah Blog!- I'm not sure why you would though because i never update it Achieved 99 Thieving 3/10/07-992nd to it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scn64 Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 I agree with most of the posts here. I think another reason this even got a lot of attention was it happened to young people in a school environment. This was a college so you can't really call the students kids anymore, but they are still young compared to much of the population. People generally seem to place more importance on a young life because that young person hasn't had the chance to experience as many things, and shape the world as much as an older person has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flametrooper Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 Kingb1ast, you quadruple posted. :shame: EDIT button is your friend. Not like it's a big deal or anything, but... Anyways, the main reason I care about it is...it won't be that long before I'm in college myself. If the trends continue, I could well end up getting shot. I think that's the same everywhere. People don't care, unless it affects "ME, or US, then since it's US or even ME we're talking about rather than THEM, then it matters." Also, this is more unusual than things like bombs in Iraq. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tripsis Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 The reason for this is somewhat simple. You see deaths and car bommings are a common occourance in iraq. We've all read about countless car bombings and, while they all are tragic, are so common that its just not a 'shock' more than an 'oh thats so sad'. The shooting in VT was the largest in history and it is also a rare occourance to get this large of a shooting in an american school. The reason its covered so much is the shock of hearing about it. Thing is all the deaths are 'equal', you are right. Death is generaly a tragic thing. However the car bombings just are not a shocking suprise such as this was. Exactly what I was going to say :P There have been killings/bombings/other crimes taking place in Iraq for a while now... we've been hearing about it for a long time. As sad as it is, by now it's classified as 'old news.' We know that it's happening, we know that it's continuing to happen, we even expect it to happen, so people no longer want to hear about it. That's just the way the news works (typically). But when there's a shooting in an educational environment right here in the US, it's shocking. Why? Because people don't expect it, this same story hasn't yet been retold again and again. In a few weeks, I wouldn't even be surprised if this terrible incident faded from the minds of people as something new 'explodes' into the news, catching the attention of readers. The news is all about new, unexpected events. Yes what's happening in Iraq and Darfur is beyond terrible. But people already know what's going on, so it doesn't have as large of an impact right now. - 99 fletching | 99 thieving | 99 construction | 99 herblore | 99 smithing | 99 woodcutting - - 99 runecrafting - 99 prayer - 125 combat - 95 farming - - Blog - DeviantART - Book Reviews & Blog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingb1ast Posted April 20, 2007 Author Share Posted April 20, 2007 Kingb1ast, you quadruple posted. :shame: EDIT button is your friend. Not like it's a big deal or anything, but... Ooops :oops: :oops: :anxious: :-X Sorry tip.it I usually never do that , just felt to lazy to copy and paste :oops: An april fools jokeclick for my mining blog 97% of teens eat cereal for breakfast. Stick this in your siggy if you eat waffles instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fgfuyfyuiuy0 Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 You know what's wierd. The public is looking for something new. Everyone is paying attention to VA Tech, but what about the bombings in Iraq that happen everyday? I admit, I don't care anymore or even pay attention anymore. I was talking about that to my parents the other night and they said the same thing. When something is repetative, everyone seems to lose interest, unless something new happens. I <3 Gears of War 2. Add me on Xbox Live and mention you are from Tif :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ixfd64 Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 http://www.freemarketnews.com/Feedback.asp?nid=15984 http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... 8b07d.html ARENAscape: Baratus [AS] max hit: 166 with Moon Battle Hammer ixfd64 [AS] max hit: 116 with (untitled spell #2) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NynjaMuffin Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 American's think of themselves as better than everyone else. Because why? We're the youngest country, the richest, sure we got to the top but look how quickly we're declining. In Saddam's long reign over Iraq, he's only killed a fraction of the number of innocent people the United States has killed in their few years there. We stop him from killing them, but nobody cares that we are killing even more. It seems to be justified by the fact that we are American. I forgot who it was, but somebody wrote an article about what everyone here has been talking about after the shooting on Monday, he felt bad, yes, but he said that far worse things happen everyday all over the world. He was named the second worse person in the nation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magekillr Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 American's think of themselves as better than everyone else. Because why? We're the youngest country, the richest, sure we got to the top but look how quickly we're declining. In Saddam's long reign over Iraq, he's only killed a fraction of the number of innocent people the United States has killed in their few years there. We stop him from killing them, but nobody cares that we are killing even more. It seems to be justified by the fact that we are American. I forgot who it was, but somebody wrote an article about what everyone here has been talking about after the shooting on Monday, he felt bad, yes, but he said that far worse things happen everyday all over the world. He was named the second worse person in the nation. what are you talking about love? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktmcf121 Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 American's think of themselves as better than everyone else. Because why? We're the youngest country, the richest, sure we got to the top but look how quickly we're declining. In Saddam's long reign over Iraq, he's only killed a fraction of the number of innocent people the United States has killed in their few years there. We stop him from killing them, but nobody cares that we are killing even more. It seems to be justified by the fact that we are American. I forgot who it was, but somebody wrote an article about what everyone here has been talking about after the shooting on Monday, he felt bad, yes, but he said that far worse things happen everyday all over the world. He was named the second worse person in the nation. wow. do you ever read the news or refresh facts before you post? i don't even know where to begin with this..... how about the ridiculous statement that american troops have killed more people than saddam. hello? he was a dictator. do you know what a dictator does? well, let me refresh you. they KILL everyone who opposes them, otherwise it's not a dictatorship. in addition to having every political opponent executed, he systematically slaughtered thousands of Kurds by testing chemical weapons on them. not to mention the wars that he's waged, resulting in the deaths of MILLIONS of innocents. try thinking before you post at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1_man_army Posted April 21, 2007 Share Posted April 21, 2007 You can't blame people for not being aware of incidents, if you need to blame anyone blame the news agencies for not putting enough emphasis on incidents that happen abroad. The problem isn't people being apathetic on a huge scale, it's just that they're not aware. He who learns must suffer, and, even in our sleep, pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart,and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God. - Aeschylus (525 BC - 456 BC) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viktorkrum77 Posted April 21, 2007 Share Posted April 21, 2007 Sierra Leone never got this kind of coverage, if I told you there's civil war about to break out in Guinea, and Liberia just got out of a civil war, how many people would've already known that, yet along where Guinea and Liberia are!? Me doing staff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magekillr Posted April 21, 2007 Share Posted April 21, 2007 Sierra Leone never got this kind of coverage, if I told you there's civil war about to break out in Guinea, and Liberia just got out of a civil war, how many people would've already known that, yet along where Guinea and Liberia are!? again...i don't want to say the world has become "numb" to those places...but it's expected Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ixfd64 Posted May 2, 2007 Share Posted May 2, 2007 Sorry for the bump, but here's another interesting article: http://www.hfxnews.ca/index.cfm?sid=24806&sc=93 ARENAscape: Baratus [AS] max hit: 166 with Moon Battle Hammer ixfd64 [AS] max hit: 116 with (untitled spell #2) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now