2:00 am
I don't think I've seen this hour in months! For some reason (*cough* new meds *cough*) I can't sleep tonight. I keep having nightmares and I'm absolutely exhausted, but I can't sleep. I decided to get up because I felt bad for waking up my fiancé every time I moved.
The nightmare I kept having was about something I saw on television today. I was flipping channels around 3 pm; I'd just finished listening to/watching an episode of America's Next Top Model and I needed something to bring my IQ back up. I went through the news channels and stopped on CNN. They were talking about the possibility of a cease-fire in the Middle East. I am all for peace, so I decided to watch the story.
As the top of the hour rolled by, they showed the most recent development in the escalation of violence: a group of Hamas men on motorcycles dragging the body of an alleged Israeli spy through the streets of Gaza while crying out, "God is great!" I was horrified! I am an extremely sensitive person when it comes to seeing violence and this crossed the line. I was absolutely blown away that they would show this at three o'clock in the afternoon. They did not preface it with, "This shows graphic images" or anything like that. How many kids had yesterday off from school and could have been flipping channels like I was?!
Around 8 pm or so, my fiancé and I were watching Anderson Cooper 360 and for some reason he or his producers thought it would be important to show a bunch of "graphic images" while Anderson talked about what had been going on lately. Anderson prefaced it with, "We are about to show some very graphic images..." While I appreciate the warning (I hid my eyes, but I wasn't quite quick enough), AC360 is a primetime show. How many families are flipping through channels on their first night of Thanksgiving vacation and accidentally see a baby wrapped in a Palestinian flag being lifted in front of a crowd for all to see?! At 10 pm when AC360 came back on after Piers Morgan's show, he did the same thing. I, again, didn't watch; but I wasn't as bothered by CNN showing those images at 10 pm than in the middle of the afternoon and during primetime.
While I understand that this is news and it needs to be shared, I really feel like the brazen reporting needs to stop. I am extraordinarily sensitive to this kind of thing, yes, but as a future parent, I take exception to this. I wouldn't want my children watching the news for a school project or something and all of the sudden see someone being dragged behind a motorcycle. What kind of message does that send to my kids? That the networks care more about the ratings they can get with shock value images than they care about the fact that the person being dragged has a family who might not even know he's dead?
What if it had been an American soldier being dragged behind the motorcycle? The networks would never have shown it! It would have been news, sure; but they would not have repeatedly shown the clip of it actually happening. They would have mentioned it and said something about how it is just immoral and horrifying that those heathens would do that to one of our soldiers. But someone who isn't an American? Sure, let's show that to the world. Some ally we are, showing our ally spy's body being desecrated.
I have immense respect for reporters and their crews. The job they have is incredibly difficult and sometimes dangerous. I don't want Anderson Cooper to take this personally (not that he'll read it; but maybe he will) because I think he's a brilliant reporter. I just want to bring awareness to the fact that just because something happens doesn't mean we need to see it in real time. Wait until after 9 or 10 pm and then show it if you really think it has merit.
Parents, please consider what your kids are exposed to. Even if you're "doing the right thing" and limiting TV time and making sure they're not watching R-rated movies, or whatever you think is the "right thing," pay attention to what they're watching. Remember that if you're watching it with them in the room, they're watching it, too. If the news gets too violent, turn the TV off, have a family game night or something, and watch the news online after your kids go to bed. Violence breeds violence. We need to breed a generation of peace.
Enough. Time for some sleep.
11:30 am
I just proofed what I wrote last night and think it's ready to share. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi
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