Tuesday, October 03, 2006

The Question of Censorship and a Stark Reality



I took these pictures a month ago here in Ohio. If the story of child slaughter in Colorado had not received non-stop media coverage, would the Pennsylvania Amish children be alive today? Is it possible to create some legislation that limits the media blitz that could trigger another sick brain? Can you imagine the horror of those last moments in that school ? I'm sick to death of the " if it bleeds it leads" mandate driving the mass-media. If this practice leads to the death of more innocents, perhaps we need guidelines that restrict access to lurid details, photos, and profiles of the perpetrator and his victims. Is it as hopeless as it seems?

6 comments:

Bonita said...

I share your sensitivities, Cathy. Our media is driven to sell sensationalist stories, and to lure us in. (Who really wants to know the sordid text message that congressman gave to the young man...)I've turned off the news for awhile.

Cathy said...

Yes, Bonita, I've given up on TV and radio as my news sources. Print media only. With the printed or digitized page you can scan and squint and filter and absorb at a rate your heart and brain can manage.

Rurality said...

I've wondered that too.

We drove through that area of Ohio a few years ago - or a similar one. Can't tell you how exciting it was to stop in at Lehman's!

Cathy said...

Ah, yes we'll be dropping in at Lehman's in the next week or so. Harvest time is beautiful in this part Ohio.

Casey said...

This Thoreau seems to the point:

...I am sure that I never read any memorable news in a newspaper. If we read of one man robbed, or murdered, or killed by accident, or one house burned, or one vessel wrecked, or one steamboat blown up, or one cow run over on the Western Railroad, or one mad dog killed, or one lot of grasshoppers in the winter- we never need read of another. One is enough. If you are acquainted with the principle, what do you care for a myriad instances and applications?

Cathy said...

Yes, Casey, very much to the point. I've meant to drop in on Mr. Thoreau, again. His blog is the best. Yours is a very close second:0) In fact, that's where I discovered your voyaging thither. I'm glad you stopped by. I'd written a little something to coax you back onboard and it's with relief that I may let it rest in drafty obsurity and needn't disturb the universe by tapping the 'send' button.