Amusing Ourselves to Death

ponyboy · Post by **ponyboy** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 2:30 pm

Question: With about 300 gun injuries per day in the U.S., and about 80 deaths per day resulting from those injuries, why do we dwell on incidents such as the terrible tragedy in Virginia?

Answer: Because we find entertainment in it. Read Neal Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death, a book which was required reading a few years back for incoming SMU freshmen.

jtstang · Post by **jtstang** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 3:00 pm

Not having read the book, I suspect there is some merit to the notion. But the other 80 deaths are all in isolation an likely involve many shooters and many unintentional acts, while the sheer magnitude of the Columbine-like bloodbaths make them stand out.

You could probably write a chapter to that book for every type of bad news that makes headlines in society today.

BUS · Post by **BUS** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 3:51 pm

If you are amused, I can not understand that emotion and how it fits.

Sad, hurt, upset at the reason .. maybe WHY.

Thankful that this did not touch my family or friends. Yes

jtstang · Post by **jtstang** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 3:57 pm

In fairness to my friend ponyboy, I don't think he was implying that anybody is really amused, just making a statement about a book about the irony of the way bad news is presented in the media.

ponyboy · Post by **ponyboy** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 4:35 pm

Thanks jt. Yes, no one but really sick people are even slightly amused by this. The point is that modern media has created a voyeuristic culture in which we get deeply involved in the intricate details of tragedy for no reason other than its entertainment value.

Let me ask you this. What action -- other than paranoia next time you step on a college campus -- do you plan to take now that this tragedy occurred? How many victims' families will you personally aid? Will you sweep broken glass, mop up blood, stitch survivors' wounds? Not likely. What Postman calls the "information/action ratio" is nearly zero. So it becomes macabre entertainment. You either turn it off, cry a lot, become very hardened (and therefore more likely to do such an act yourself -- see the sick people comment above), or you act. But the opportunity for true action in such times is very rare -- there's only so much a person can do when the tragedy occurs in Virginia and you're in, say, Texas. Heck, there's only so much a person can do who lives in Blacksburg, Virginia.

hunters · Post by **hunters** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 8:31 pm

I am sure I am missing the point, but this incident had the most people gunned down by one person in the US.

couch 'em · Post by **couch 'em** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 9:15 pm

The saddest part of this whole mess is how politicians will use this to further their career/blather on about gun control, instead of addressing the real issue - how can someone this nuts go unnoticed until he snaps?

jtstang · Post by **jtstang** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 10:11 pm

couch 'em wrote:The saddest part of this whole mess is how politicians will use this to further their career/blather on about gun control, instead of addressing the real issue - how can someone this nuts go unnoticed until he snaps?

Thank goodness you can manage to keep the politics out.

PK · Post by PK » Tue Apr 17, 2007 10:50 pm

couch 'em wrote:The saddest part of this whole mess is how politicians will use this to further their career/blather on about gun control, instead of addressing the real issue - how can someone this nuts go unnoticed until he snaps?

And who will be the great arbitrator who decides who is nuts enough and who is not nuts enough to snap...prior to the actual snaping? Were only life and it's dilemmas so simple and easy to deal with.

BUS · Post by **BUS** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 7:41 am

Going back to a point I made in the above post... This person was taking medication for depression. I can not spell it but... Psychotrophic drugs have been a common ,11 out of 12, thread in the shootings for the past 10 years.

Druging kids to show signs of controlled behavior is not the way to go.

abezontar · Post by **abezontar** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 8:21 am

BUS wrote: Druging kids to show signs of controlled behavior is not the way to go.

Yes and no. If the person administering the drugs has properly diagnosed the condition and is using appropriate medication then anti-depressants should not be a problem. Problem is, it costs money to see a psychiatrist enough to make sure that the proper medication has been prescribed and that it is having the intended effect. It also takes a patient who is honest with the psychiatrist, otherwise it can do more harm than good.

BUS · Post by **BUS** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 9:05 am

I guess that these drugs can be useful but that is the common thread in most of these cases. From Elementary school on, these drugs are over prescribed.
I see them as dangerous.

expony18 · Post by **expony18** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 9:22 am

by far the easiest "controlled substance" to get a hold of on SMU campus

BUS · Post by **BUS** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 10:07 am

What is the easiest. Pot I would think.

Stallion · Post by **Stallion** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 10:29 am

you might also find among those 11 cases that in fact many of those kids actually refused to take their prescribed drugs which in fact triggered the violence. That is the concern of many in the psychiatric field as many patients on these drugs refuse or decide that they don't want to take them any more. That is often the danger point.