refuses
blaze kills
no talks
push
strain
hit
floods
dies
dead
fire
fewer
cheating
plummets
hangs
spurs attack
attempted murder
warns
decline
declares war
Suicide bombs
kill
explosions
fighters
snap
exhume
(Got that NSA? I didn't write it it was just what's on the headline news)
Okay I think you get the picture. A steady diet of death and destruction has made us numb to anything tragic. So have we become like the pod people of the "Body Snatchers"? (reference to the 1950s movie whereby aliens take over earth using pods to create clones... oh look it up)
I forget the exact figures but the average kid sees several thousand murders on TV between ages 2 and 18. The bulk of us knew that that was all make believe but now we have the internet. With kids just old enough to manipulate a mouse or keyboard (yeah they can figure it out by watching big brother or sister) they too are now exposed to the world like never before only much of what they see now is not make believe.
Have we become more civilized since the days of the gladiators or have we become more efficient in our mayhem? It appears that we move farther and farther from human interaction the more we try just the opposite. Once a tip of the hat and a how do you do slowly turned into "sup" on a text message. No warmth of personal interaction there. No nuances of facial expression anymore and be very careful on your use of satire. That could get you killed these days. It's all cloaked in the anonymity based on the fear that someone will steal our identity or find out where we live and yet people will think nothing of revealing their most inner secrets to perfect strangers. There is on the one hand a great thirst for human interaction while on the other that fear that on the other end is some sleazy pervert just waiting for the opportunity to pounce. And it seems there is no time for correction or explanation in this fast paced digital age. One wrong move will get you booted without so much as a "hold on a sec". There seems to be no etiquette, no standard decorum and even acknowledgments are generally vulgar...wtf!
Slowly permeating into the main stream are greetings never heard on the planet. FU is now seen as a standard greeting for which the respondent might reply FU too! The momentary tirade that would follow would be similar to two dogs fighting for territory. We can forgo the male female interactions here as they too are far from gentile.
It's understandable that things tend to move to their natural progression but one has to wonder are we moving forward or backwards? And it seems that this manner of thinking and communication has seeped into all levels. A snarky text from a CEO or higher up politician is sure to make headline news. So I guess the lesson is to be careful what you write or share there are people watching. You sure wouldn't think of running out of your house naked. Then by what rationale would you post naked photos of yourself on the web? Are you that starved for attention or have we just regressed that far?
Decaying minds want to know.
7 comments:
The lead story on the NBC News Friday was Black Friday violence. Oy.
Happens ever year that's why I avoid the stores on that day.
So true. Yet they constantly argue that violence is free speech and that none of this has any effect on humans. Doh.
Oh, I saw a licence plate that read "4Q2" If I had a ranch, I would register that as my brand. I love it.
Humans have always been assholes. Only the technology has changed.
It's always been like that, it's just that we see it more now with fast news.
Just look at it as a form of population control and stay out of the way if you can.
Fodder anymore you could put something nice on a plate and people would take it the wrong way.
Randal speak for yourself.
Billy it's getting too hard to get out of the way. Idiots are everywhere. There was a time when you'd just get robbed. Now they'll kill you too just for the thrill of it.
"A steady diet of death and destruction has made us numb to anything tragic."
That seems logical, and I don't think a steady diet of that kind of news is healthy. And yet, look at the outpouring of help there was after Haiti got walloped a couple of years ago. And now, the response to hurricane Sandy.
I think overall humans have become more civilized than in the days of the gladiators. That isn't to say some horrible exceptions don't continue to come to light. But remember, unlike in earlier times, we're exposed to news from all over the planet. The impression of violence and other wrongdoing is that it's pervasive. Mass killings in Mexican cartel wars blend in our minds with some crazy who kills his family in the Midwest and another who shoots up a theater somewhere else.
What invariably gets through any numbness is when something tragic happens to someone we know, or knew, and care about, or someone we relate to.
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