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I have a slightly different take on "If we do X, then the terrorists will have won." It was my impression that the various terror attacks have one goal- to stick a finger in the Western eye by hurting/killing as many people as possible. Period. Therefore, whether or not we return to shopping, or put up a memorial or not, or are cheerful or not, it's already over. They accomplished what they wanted- to cause harm.
I agree with you. Showing courage or returning to shopping or whatever will unfortunately not stop some future terrorist acts but it will show the world that we can survive the ones that took place.
I saw an expert on TV that said that the jihadists in the Middle East look at Americans as soft and believe since we have never had to deal with this kind of thing before we would crumble under such attacks. The expert went on to say that we should show them that we can show courage when attacked to prove them wrong and that we can catch the criminals who do this kind of thing.
So no, it won't stop the crazies, but it might slow down the more "professional" terrorists who think they can get away with this kind of thing and that Americans will band together to do this.
I agree with you. Showing courage or returning to shopping or whatever will unfortunately not stop some future terrorist acts but it will show the world that we can survive the ones that took place.
I saw an expert on TV that said that the jihadists in the Middle East look at Americans as soft and believe since we have never had to deal with this kind of thing before we would crumble under such attacks. The expert went on to say that we should show them that we can show courage when attacked to prove them wrong and that we can catch the criminals who do this kind of thing.
So no, it won't stop the crazies, but it might slow down the more "professional" terrorists who think they can get away with this kind of thing and that Americans will band together to do this.
Terrorists, professional or otherwise could care less how brave you appear, how much resolve you have or what the consequences of getting caught are. That is why they are terrorists. The terrorist accepted the possibility of getting caught and the consequences long before people decided to smile on TV and show how strong they are.
So a bunch of terrorists band together to show how strong and bonded they are. Does that stop us from going after them? No. So why would anyone think the reverse would be true?
In this and age with technology, I don't think terrorist actually think they won't be caught/killed. Ofcourse we are drawing a distinct line between the planners and perpetrators right? Bin Laden didn't hijack any planes or program bombs that's why he lived for so long. And if he hadn't made videos constantly gloating, he'd probably still be alive
I am not sure what the issue here is? what do you want the photos of the victims to look like? Do you want to see pictures of their injuries? What is to gain from seeing pictures of someone in pain and agony. there are photos out like that for sure after any tragedy.
I am sure victims of events like these go through a range of emotion, terrified, angry, happy to be alive.
I am trying to put this in perspective, but I am not sure what specific instances you are talking about.
On donation sites, what should they show? the most pathetic picture of the victim they can find?
I agree with the OP. I saw a photo of a victim in her hospital bed with a big bandage over where her lower leg and foot used to be. She was all smiles and vowed to run next year in the marathon? Ah you just lost your lower leg in a senseless act of terrorism and you will never be the same again.
I would be pretty upset if someone had done that to me.
In retrospect Maybe she was smiling because she was alive or not injured worse than she was. Happy to be alive.
I agree with the OP. I saw a photo of a victim in her hospital bed with a big bandage over where her lower leg and foot used to be. She was all smiles and vowed to run next year in the marathon? Ah you just lost your lower leg in a senseless act of terrorism and you will never be the same again.
I would be pretty upset if someone had done that to me.
In retrospect Maybe she was smiling because she was alive or not injured worse than she was. Happy to be alive.
That and people rush to get on TV, granting interviews before they realize the true nature and scope of what happened.
True, she might have been happy to be alive but surely not happy, those would be two different things. Anyone granting interviews after mere hours of such an event isn't wrapped right yet so consider that when you see the smiles.
Hey, it can't be all that bad, look at her, legs blown of and she's going running soon. Just like a video game.
Just once it would be good to see someone look straight into the cameras with a straight face and say in the calmest tone possible something like "I hope they find you, grind you up like old hamburger and feed you to pigs".
After the tragic events in Boston, I can't help but feel uneasy to see most of the victims on TV project an image of: "it's all good-I'm all smiles here-thumbs up!" attitude. It can't be real. In my opinion it projects a bad image of Americans. Sure these are all sad stories, but mostly, the media is so quick to show pictures of victims smiling, makes me feel uncomfortable to see it over and over again. Almost every photo on the donation website for the victims is one of a smiling one. Why??? Why is everyone smiling???
Why can't we show the world that we have real feelings, tone it down a bit with the positive attitude, there is nothing wrong with that! I understand the victims need to think positive to overcome the pain, poor them, I cried for them so much. But think about how the world will see us. No matter what the terrorists do to us, we just keep on smiling like robots. Smiling, smiling, smiling!!! Where are the REAL expressions of sorrow, depression, sadness, shock. Those expressions do not show weakness, but REALNESS. Our society is so unreal, and others in the world see that, it makes me sad.
I'm so glad you started this thread. I often wonder the same thing which is why i try not to watch the news. None of the news channels or shows capture REAL LIFE. Just once, I would like to see someone who's angry, sad, upset about what has happened to them. Whether it's an attack, loss of their home, illness. I'm not a sick puppy who would feel some sort of gratification seeing that. I just need to know that there are real people out there, who experience emotions other than happiness and gratitude when something terrible happens. Don't get me wrong, i understand gratitude, but it just seems that when something terrible happens, gratitude is an emotion that comes after fear, sadness or just being plain angry. It's would be ok to show someone who is depressed because they have cancer, or mad because they wanna know "why me?". That's real. Yet we always see people smiling, and happily "fighting" whatever sickness they have. It's hard to connect to people, when they don't act like humans. We are not always happy, and resilient, and faithful. We don't always like our kids. Some of us, believe it or not, are AFRAID of dying, and are heartbroken when someone we love dies. I honestly believe that we do not see this on the news because it furthers the disconnection that we have with each other. Oh sure, you'll see it on drama's, but that's fake. Even if you're sad for a minute for that person, you can pull yourself back and say "wait a minute, this is a TV show." ResearchMom, you are definitely onto something.
On Brian William's show "One Rockefeller Center," I think it's called they showed a mother and daughter who were victims of the bombing lying side by side in hospital beds and they were smiling.
But in another story, they showed a mother who had lost her three young daughters in a car crash when her drunk sister-in-law drove at high speed the wrong way down a highway nearly two years ago. This mother showed tears, and pain. They talked about how her friends held vigils at her bedside for months so she wouldn't kill herself. They talked about how she would wander from room to room looking for her children even though she knew they were dead. She would call friends asking if her kids were at their homes and sometimes would be found on the streets aimlessly searching for them. It was heart wrenching.
I have never seen such raw grief shown on TV as she and her friends and family talked about it. The father too, of course, cried as he spoke about what happened and how he he felt. It was his sister who was driving the car. She was killed too. He talked about how she had never been drunk before but he blood alcohol had exceeded twice the normal allowable level. She also had pain pills in her system. He didn't understand. He and his wife nearly broke up several times because of this.
The one bright light in this was the woman who thought she couldn't conceive did get pregnant and had another child. It brought new joy into their lives.
So tell me that the cameras don't show real grief and suffering. Sometimes they do. On the same program in the same hour. I imagine this family might be criticized for bring their sadness to the public eye just as the victims of the bombing are being criticized for smiling. People handle tragedy in all different ways. And someone is always going to be critical of them no matter how they do it.
I suspect a lot of those critics never had to deal with anything horrific themselves though.
Keep in mind that about 180 people were injured in Boston. 20 or so are still in the hospital, two weeks later. I've only seen interviews with fewer than 10 victims. There could be many victims who ARE angry and bitter, but maybe they don't want to speak to the media. Maybe they value their privacy. Who knows?
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