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Old 05-13-2013, 07:08 AM
 
9,895 posts, read 9,538,790 times
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yes and what drives me nuts is weather reporting. Oftentimes they predict horrible weather, so you have to cancel your nice long-awaited vacation because they tell you its gonna be horrific weather.. Turns out - you could have gone because the weather turned out nice after all!

Weather reporting oftentimes makes things worse than they are. What I cannot figure out is - when the reporters are out in the hurricanes, RIGHT IN THE MIDST OF IT - they say its so dangerous. so if its dangerous, why are the reporters out there?

One time during the most recent hurricane news, a reporter was out there saying how horrible it was, and in the background, about 10 teenagers were seen frollicking behind the guy as if nothing was the matter, it was ironic watching this - the people in the background seemed to portray the hurricane as a fun event - lots of wind and rain blowing, but not dangerous.

What drives me nuts is the regular news - I watch Fox News, long story short, I wish other news outlets would give more facts about certain stories, but i believe some of them have a strong bias and if you watch Fox News vs MSNBC you will get a totaly different picture of various things.
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Old 05-15-2013, 05:10 AM
 
Location: In my skin
9,230 posts, read 16,517,749 times
Reputation: 9174
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coldjensens View Post
With various sensational tragedies popping up recently (Boston, and the mass killings in Conneticut and Texas), I am puzzled by how our society gets very worked up over these events, expresses a great deal of compassion and empathy for the victims and make these evens the topic of discussion for years. However There is no discussion, compassion, sympathy for less sensational tragic events that happen every single day, month or year.

For example, the Connecticut slaying of children was horrific and deserves our attention and compassion, however in the same month, dozens, possibly hundreds, of young children were killed in instances of abuse, neglect, torture, rape, etc. Yet that is not the subject of compassion, discussion outreach. In fact, it seems that people generally do not care about those children. It seems that we care more when all f the events are located in one place than if the same number or more children perish at the same time, but in scattered events. The same is true of the Boston bomber attacks. We feel great compassion for those who were injured or who lost love ones, yet we do not discuss, express concern for, or otherwise exhibit caring about the larger number of people who lost limbs, life or other severe injury that same day as a result of traffic accidents, crime, or other causes.

So for a hypothetical example, while Connecticut and Boston get, deserve and need our attention and sympathy, the children killed in arson fires in Detroit, Cleveland, Los Angeles and Miami during the same time frame do not even make the national news and their families do not get any compassion or even a thought nationally.

I do not think it is just because the media frenzy over the sensatioanlized events. People still know these other events are happening every day, week or month, they just to not give them attention.

I am certainly not saying we should not feel and express compassion for the people injured or killed in the recent various sensationalized tragedies, but I am wondering why do people care so much about those events but seemingly do not care at all about larger numbers of persons suffering the same losses during the same time period?
If we aren't aware of them all, how can we feel anything about them?
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Old 05-15-2013, 05:21 AM
 
Location: Mayberry
36,380 posts, read 15,981,220 times
Reputation: 72748
If it's something we see or hear about, it is easy to conjure up images, feelings about the events, it's right in our face. I don't think most of us walk around feeling sympathy for the dozens, hundreds of daily murders, rapes, kidnappings, if we don't know about it. The media chooses what we see, so many things go unnoticed, except by those personally involved. It's sad. If, God forbid, something happened to a family member today, not many would feel compassion about it, because they wouldn't know about it. It would be a local story and not sensationalized.
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Old 05-15-2013, 03:14 PM
 
Location: Hopewell Va.
249 posts, read 311,933 times
Reputation: 151
It is quite tragic that we human beings should find tragedy a sensation that's enjoyable to watch! Smh...
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Old 05-16-2013, 01:51 AM
 
Location: A little corner of paradise
687 posts, read 1,490,758 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DiscombobulateYa View Post
It is quite tragic that we human beings should find tragedy a sensation that's enjoyable to watch! Smh...
I find it the exact opposite. For Columbine and 9/11 I was glued to the television and read every news report I could get my hands on. I was truly devastated by these events. Both times I had to make myself turn everything off and return to my life. In every tragedy since, I can't stand to hear the information trickle in one painful detail at a time. I generally wait a week or so, find the most comprehensive version of events that I can, and read it just once - avoiding images as much as possible. Its not at all that I don't care. I just find it so heartbreaking, and somehow disrespectful and intrusive, to witness people experiencing the most devastating events of their lives.
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Old 05-17-2013, 12:14 AM
 
Location: The New England part of Ohio
23,966 posts, read 32,289,435 times
Reputation: 68020
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coldjensens View Post
With various sensational tragedies popping up recently (Boston, and the mass killings in Conneticut and Texas), I am puzzled by how our society gets very worked up over these events, expresses a great deal of compassion and empathy for the victims and make these evens the topic of discussion for years. However There is no discussion, compassion, sympathy for less sensational tragic events that happen every single day, month or year.

For example, the Connecticut slaying of children was horrific and deserves our attention and compassion, however in the same month, dozens, possibly hundreds, of young children were killed in instances of abuse, neglect, torture, rape, etc. Yet that is not the subject of compassion, discussion outreach. In fact, it seems that people generally do not care about those children. It seems that we care more when all f the events are located in one place than if the same number or more children perish at the same time, but in scattered events. The same is true of the Boston bomber attacks. We feel great compassion for those who were injured or who lost love ones, yet we do not discuss, express concern for, or otherwise exhibit caring about the larger number of people who lost limbs, life or other severe injury that same day as a result of traffic accidents, crime, or other causes.

So for a hypothetical example, while Connecticut and Boston get, deserve and need our attention and sympathy, the children killed in arson fires in Detroit, Cleveland, Los Angeles and Miami during the same time frame do not even make the national news and their families do not get any compassion or even a thought nationally.

I do not think it is just because the media frenzy over the sensatioanlized events. People still know these other events are happening every day, week or month, they just to not give them attention.

I am certainly not saying we should not feel and express compassion for the people injured or killed in the recent various sensationalized tragedies, but I am wondering why do people care so much about those events but seemingly do not care at all about larger numbers of persons suffering the same losses during the same time period?

I have a theory. Actually, I'll be honest. I read this somewhere, but it does seen to apply to several people in my family who do this.

The theory is, that people who can not deal with the intense emotions and the incumbent responsibilities that are an inextricable part of raising and loving ones own families, adopt popularized tragedies as their own. And grieve for them more than they would for people who they actually know.

Examples - A 45 year old SAHM who has a daughter who is undecided about college and her major.
That same year, Natalee Holloway disappears while vacationing in Aruba. Strangely, her own daughter looks quite a bit like Natalee. her daughter needs her help, yet the woman is overcome with sadness over the missing Holloway.

Another woman who took to bed when Princess Diana died, and wants to talk about it as though this was her twin.

A person who can not forget 9/11, and actually looks forward to it's remembrance each year.

All of there apply to my sister. She is a malignant narcissist. She lives in a 2 bed room condow with her youngest.

She is my sister. And she has no compassion for anyone - except strangers.

This is malignant narcissism.

The woman is my sister.
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Old 05-17-2013, 08:18 AM
 
28,896 posts, read 54,045,943 times
Reputation: 46669
That's easy. If we got worked up over every single tragedy that made it on the six o'clock news, we would be in a constant state of distress. We would not be able to pick ourselves up off the floor and go to work.

That's why people who leave it on the news channel every day all day long need to turn it of. The steady diet of scandal, crime, and mayhem will affect how one sees the world.
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Old 05-17-2013, 11:04 AM
 
Location: A little corner of paradise
687 posts, read 1,490,758 times
Reputation: 1242
Quote:
Originally Posted by sheena12 View Post
I have a theory. Actually, I'll be honest. I read this somewhere, but it does seen to apply to several people in my family who do this.

The theory is, that people who can not deal with the intense emotions and the incumbent responsibilities that are an inextricable part of raising and loving ones own families, adopt popularized tragedies as their own. And grieve for them more than they would for people who they actually know.
This makes sense. When my daughter was in 9th grade, there were three suicides at her school, over the course of the school year. She knew who the first one was, the second was a teammate, and the third had been a good friend of hers since elementary school. She was having a hard time with the deaths, but she was dealing with it. What she ultimately couldn't handle was the drama caused by people who didn't really know these kids, showing up to school "in mourning", acting as if these were their lifelong friends (the lifelong friends actually dealt with it better). It was a very sad way for kids to make themselves feel like they were on the "inside."
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Old 05-17-2013, 10:48 PM
 
Location: The New England part of Ohio
23,966 posts, read 32,289,435 times
Reputation: 68020
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coldjensens View Post
With various sensational tragedies popping up recently (Boston, and the mass killings in Conneticut and Texas), I am puzzled by how our society gets very worked up over these events, expresses a great deal of compassion and empathy for the victims and make these evens the topic of discussion for years. However There is no discussion, compassion, sympathy for less sensational tragic events that happen every single day, month or year.

For example, the Connecticut slaying of children was horrific and deserves our attention and compassion, however in the same month, dozens, possibly hundreds, of young children were killed in instances of abuse, neglect, torture, rape, etc. Yet that is not the subject of compassion, discussion outreach. In fact, it seems that people generally do not care about those children. It seems that we care more when all f the events are located in one place than if the same number or more children perish at the same time, but in scattered events. The same is true of the Boston bomber attacks. We feel great compassion for those who were injured or who lost love ones, yet we do not discuss, express concern for, or otherwise exhibit caring about the larger number of people who lost limbs, life or other severe injury that same day as a result of traffic accidents, crime, or other causes.

So for a hypothetical example, while Connecticut and Boston get, deserve and need our attention and sympathy, the children killed in arson fires in Detroit, Cleveland, Los Angeles and Miami during the same time frame do not even make the national news and their families do not get any compassion or even a thought nationally.

I do not think it is just because the media frenzy over the sensatioanlized events. People still know these other events are happening every day, week or month, they just to not give them attention.

I am certainly not saying we should not feel and express compassion for the people injured or killed in the recent various sensationalized tragedies, but I am wondering why do people care so much about those events but seemingly do not care at all about larger numbers of persons suffering the same losses during the same time period?

I know what you mean, and I don't think that it's due to media frenzy or sensationalism or any other external events.

I am also sure that you are not being unfeeling or hard with reference to Media Tragedies, and the psychology subforum is exactly the place to discuss this phenomenon.

There are two reasons why people typically become overly involved in media reported tragic events.
The first is rather simple.

Some people have difficulty expressing sadness or loss on a personal level. They have difficulty grieving a death in the family, but any thing like Columbine, the death of Princess Diana, the Oklahoma City Bombings are easier to grieve over.

Sadness and it's expression to those that they know is just way too intense and emotional. But a death or tragedy that is felt by thousands is easier.

The second group of people is way more frightening and potentially dangerous. They are also a growing group of people with severe personality disorders.
These individuals are malignant narcissists.
Narcissists can not feel normal human emotion. They are devoid of empathy. They have no compassion for anyone others.

These famous and terrible events connect them to others in a dispassionate way. They can be insanely interested in everything from the Connecticut school shootings, to 9/11, or the disappearance of Natalee Holloway.

For one of my sisters, a malignant narcissist, the disappearance of Natalee Holloway consumed almost a year of her life.

Strangely, that year, she ignored her daughter, my niece, who really was in need of guidance. One of the oddest things was that Natalee and my niece could have been identical twins.

I think that the second group, malignant narcissists, are a growing group in our society.
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Old 05-20-2013, 09:05 AM
 
Location: Elsewhere
88,292 posts, read 84,292,537 times
Reputation: 114638
Quote:
Originally Posted by MamaRed View Post
This makes sense. When my daughter was in 9th grade, there were three suicides at her school, over the course of the school year. She knew who the first one was, the second was a teammate, and the third had been a good friend of hers since elementary school. She was having a hard time with the deaths, but she was dealing with it. What she ultimately couldn't handle was the drama caused by people who didn't really know these kids, showing up to school "in mourning", acting as if these were their lifelong friends (the lifelong friends actually dealt with it better). It was a very sad way for kids to make themselves feel like they were on the "inside."
I have always noticed this phenomenon. When a teenager dies, whether through suicide or a tragic accident, hundreds of kids who probably barely knew the deceased show up at the funeral. It is an EVENT and they all want to be a part of it.
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