Homicide Beats Homelessness
What will get the most attention in American media: a few people shot, or millions of Americans being evicted from their homes? If you've been following the news lately, you know the answer. Words like "murder" and "rape" sell more newspapers, draw more TV viewers, and garner more web page hits than words like "homeless" and "foreclosures."
Saul Landau examines this and the black-and-white nature of America in a column linked below.
I've been saying for years that Americans tend to see things in "black and white." It's Republican or Democrat, Liberal or Conservative, American or Other. And I'm disgusted with how the mass media has moved away from even a reasonable semblance of objectivity and fairness. I feel nauseous trying to swallow Fox News' claim of being "fair and balanced." Do people really believe that?
America is a strange mix. PETA gains support from top celebrities to fight things like "animal cruelty" to eliminate four-legged performers from circuses, while other groups gain support to reinstate the draft forcing two-legged people to go to their deaths. It's a nation where Utah is considering declaring the M1911 as the state gun while other states are pulling guns off college campuses.
But whichever side of the black-and-white fence they sit on, Americans love hearing stories about murder, rape, child abuse. Stories about foreclosures get some notice, but not nearly as much. It's much easier for the media to tap into a knee jerk reaction. And it's easier to get people to listen to a gun shot than a whimper.
- - - - -
See Saul Landau's column "Media loves massacres, not foreclosure stories" at http://www.progreso-weekly.com/2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2257:media-loves-massacres-not-foreclosure-stories&catid=38:in-the-united-states&Itemid=55
The photo of the M1911 A1 pistol in .45 ACP by Remington is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:M1911_A1_pistol.jpg. It is by M62 and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license and the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.
An opinion by an individual member of The Loveshade Family does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the entire family.
Comments
This is very sad but it's true. But people do want to help others. We just need to let those in charge undestand that.
Posted by: TawTew the Naturally Perfumed | January 29, 2011 04:51 AM
What if the American people woke up and understood that the official reasons for going to war are almost always based on lies and promoted by war propaganda in order to serve special interests?
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2k7xXxdUJ0
Posted by: Arletta Gatson | January 29, 2011 07:37 PM
PETA is a bunch of animal-loving freaks not America.
Of course people are more interested in murder and rape. Sex and violence, people. How many CGI episodes focus on foreclosures?
Posted by: Tom T. Trucker | January 29, 2011 08:05 PM
It is a problem. The world is too focused on sin.
Posted by: Christian Andy | February 1, 2011 07:39 AM
Why do people want to coddle to the poor? If people are poor it's because they choose to be poor. Anyone can find a job and work for a living. Instead people would rather goof off and collect welfare and do nothing but drink and smoke and take drugs and pop out babies.
They used to put the poor in prisons which is what they should do. They are a drain on society.
Posted by: Edmund William | February 2, 2011 07:17 AM
Way to go Alden! You are so right. People are going homeless at an astounding rate. I wonder what Jesus would say.
Posted by: Vernon Avaritt | February 2, 2011 03:44 PM
Edmund! Are you for real? This is a joke isn't it? Most people aren't poor because they wan't to sleep in a box and root out dumpsters. Many of them are mentally ill. Others can't find a decent paying job and can't afford a nice mansion. Most religon's believe in helping out the poor and helpless. Some of these religions are most forms of Christianity, Islam, Judiasim, Hinduism, Buddhism, and others. Even the Socialists are better at helping the poor than some of these Americans. God help you.
Posted by: Vernon Avaritt | February 2, 2011 09:48 PM
The murders and shootings were very sad. But so are people losing their homes. Jesus wanted us to love one another, right?
Posted by: Marie Gilbert | February 4, 2011 01:52 AM
Jesus and other religious leaders said we should love each other. All religions have the Golden Rule.
Posted by: Dharma | February 7, 2011 05:12 PM
News is not what happens it's what's on TV.
Posted by: Abby | February 12, 2011 01:49 AM
Whatever. There's always homeless people. I don't want to read about it.
Posted by: Yes Eyes | March 25, 2011 08:49 PM