Why do things like the marathon bombing affect us so much?
blackredyellow
Posts: 5,889
This is not to downplay in any way the horrible things that happened on Monday, and the people who were directly affected by it. Like most people, I've spent hours watching the news, or reading about the heroic accounts of some of the people who helped, and the tragic stories of those who were killed or severely injured. As a father of two young boys, the story of 8 year old Martin Richard, and what his family is going through, actually brought me to tears.
But in the grand scheme of everyday life, more people die and are injured in car accidents every hour of every day in the US, than were at the marathon on Monday. Likewise, (according to the CDC) as many people die from "unintentional falls" or "unintentional poisoning" every hour as died at the Boston Marathon.
It seems like every week we hear about a bus that crashes and people are killed, but that is gone from the news the next day. When tornadoes or a big storm hit another part of the country, we always see headlines like "Eight Killed in 'Blizzard of the Decade'", or "Several Tornadoes touchdown in Kansas, Killing Three." We never even hear their names most of the time, and just move on with our day.
Honest question, why do some tragedies affect us so much more than others? Is there a psychological reason behind it (hence the term "terrorism" I guess), or is it more media driven?
But in the grand scheme of everyday life, more people die and are injured in car accidents every hour of every day in the US, than were at the marathon on Monday. Likewise, (according to the CDC) as many people die from "unintentional falls" or "unintentional poisoning" every hour as died at the Boston Marathon.
It seems like every week we hear about a bus that crashes and people are killed, but that is gone from the news the next day. When tornadoes or a big storm hit another part of the country, we always see headlines like "Eight Killed in 'Blizzard of the Decade'", or "Several Tornadoes touchdown in Kansas, Killing Three." We never even hear their names most of the time, and just move on with our day.
Honest question, why do some tragedies affect us so much more than others? Is there a psychological reason behind it (hence the term "terrorism" I guess), or is it more media driven?
My whole life
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
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Not deliberately planned out by some sick fuck (or several sick fucks).
So at least for me...yeah. Someone - or someones - taking the time to cause death and injury? Tends to affect me.
Storms don't make me wonder what the fuck is wrong with people. Shit like what happened in Boston does.
In general though, these events affect us because news travels fast and the world seems small. People worry that it might happen in there town.
And to be honest, there are people who enjoy this sort of tragedy- the same kind of people who attend car races hoping to see a fiery, deadly crash..
exactly
took the words right out of my hands
"what a long, strange trip it's been"
We know there are risks to driving cars (especially in south flroida
But when you're just peacefully waiting for your friend/Dad/girlfriend to cross the finish line at a marathon, and there's a sudden explosion, that is baffling. We are intrigued by the mysterious.
We don't want to feel fear, so we want to understand it better.
I get that... but even with injures or death that are deliberately caused, there are almost 5,000 visits to the ER every day for assault, and 45 homicides per day.
Do we view them as "it can't happen to me", more than a random attack at a sporting event?
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
Any tragic event sucks and is terrible, but bombing in the land of the free? That is news worthy and something we need to worry about for years to come.
Yeah, maybe it is just that we are desensitized to accidents, shootings, muggings, etc., that something like this attracts so much attention because it's so different from what we normally see around us.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
Anything can happen to any of us, whether orchestrated or not.
But as you mention ER visits and murders, it's not like I don't care - I do, as much as I'm able - but it's the ones who amass a cache of weapons in order to take down dozens, or booby-trap their homes, or, well...take your pick from many others - again, those hit me deeply because of the forethought.
I blame the media insofar as putting out uncomfirmed information, and sensationalizing shit. That's separate from the actual acts that they're "reporting".
I'm not a religious person, but that phrase is one of my favorite quotes.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
My point is if any of our lives depended on ensuring that 500 kids in Africa had food, shelter, an education and access to clean water, then for sure we'd find a way to make that happened, but it doesn't, so most of us don't.
Which gets me to answering the original post - I truly think the reason that acts of terrorism close to home have such an effect on us is because of the realization "that could have happened to me, or someone I love just as easily". Deep down, when push comes to shove, all that most of us truly care about is ourselves and the people we love, and if something ever happened to us or our loved ones we wouldn't like it one bit.
It is terrible what happened to all those people, but what I've noticed in myself is that when a child dies now it gets to me way more than before I had a kid. In the same light when folks in their 60's pass away unexpectedly it get's to me more now than it used to because my parents are in their 60's too.
I'm sure people in Kansas get more shaken up over a tornado catastrophe then people in Alaska where a tornados rarely if ever happen, just the same as someone living in California will be more shaken up over an earthquake disaster then that same person in Kansas, all because of the "It could have been me or someone I love" thing.
This is my two cents - I may come off as a bad person, but I think deep down a lot of people know there's some truth to it.
"..That's One Happy Fuckin Ghost.."
“..That came up on the Pillow Case...This is for the Greek, With Our Apologies.....”
Exactly.
"...I changed by not changing at all..."
and for some.."that could have me or a loved one" (anger)
Godfather.
Although I think that, yeah, a huge amount is media driven, why should we assume that we are glued to our tvs? I know I'm not watching anymore now than before. Fear drives the average conformist to listen to everything the media tells us to.
I think it affects us because it's a huge event that happens on a day that's considered a holiday, with participants from around the world and instead of celebrating, we have to deal with someone attempting to kill people with bombs. Any event involving a timed bomb and people getting injured is going to affect us more than anything else. It's like enacting war on a group of people.
There was a girl here in Hong Kong (she is from New York) who was upset it happened overnight and couldn't follow it "real time". wtf