Human interest. It was a delicate and somewhat controversial (at least in certain circles) concept from the start. Since then, it has been hollowed out and stuffed with all things artificial and superficial and the prophecy of the non-believers has been fulfilled exponentially.
Last year, a kid got stabbed to death in a busy Brussels train station during rush hour. Apparently two other kids thought his MP3-player looked good and wanted it for themselves. When the music aficionado didn't respond right away to their, most likely unfriendly, request, one kid grabbed the player, the other stabbed the guy.
After the incident, the media reported that the police was looking for the two 'foreign' (read: non-white) perpetrators. They turned out to be two Polish minors.
Mass hysteria once again overtook the country and the media devoted front page after headline item on it for days on end. One would get the impression it was the first and most horrendous crime ever committed in an otherwise idyllic peaceful little country.
Yesterday, the juvenal court decided that it would not turn over the kid who snatched the MP3-player so he can be tried as an adult but to instead handle the case itself because experts believe that there is a chance the kid can be rehabilitated. The same experts had concluded earlier that the kid who did the stabbing is a lost cause and therefore he will be tried as an adult.
When the news broke about the second kid not having to face charges as an adult, the media were quick to rush to the parents of the murdered kid. Understandably, the mother was upset. She lost her son and now one of the guilty parties will likely not get the severest possible punishment for his actions. A reaction that is perfectly understandable and more predictable than the end of a James Bond movie (he gets both the bad guy and the girl).
It is only natural for the parents of the victim to want some sort of vengeance, even to want to see the murderers dead for what they did to their son (which I am not saying they want). That is exactly why we have a legal system - otherwise it would be the Wild West out there. An eye for an eye and that sort of primitive behaviour. Even the bible has a new testament after the old one.
I even understand how some people have a gut reaction similar to that of the parents. What I do not understand is the eagerness with which the media are willing to feed kindling to that reaction. What else would the mother have said? Why not leave the parents to deal with their grief instead of parading them in front of the camera once again?
Feature item on the radio news this morning: the victim's dad does not understand the court's decision After that, they did manage to mention that the Public Prosecutor will appeal the decision.
The media is not fooling me.
- ani d.
Last year, a kid got stabbed to death in a busy Brussels train station during rush hour. Apparently two other kids thought his MP3-player looked good and wanted it for themselves. When the music aficionado didn't respond right away to their, most likely unfriendly, request, one kid grabbed the player, the other stabbed the guy.
After the incident, the media reported that the police was looking for the two 'foreign' (read: non-white) perpetrators. They turned out to be two Polish minors.
Mass hysteria once again overtook the country and the media devoted front page after headline item on it for days on end. One would get the impression it was the first and most horrendous crime ever committed in an otherwise idyllic peaceful little country.
Yesterday, the juvenal court decided that it would not turn over the kid who snatched the MP3-player so he can be tried as an adult but to instead handle the case itself because experts believe that there is a chance the kid can be rehabilitated. The same experts had concluded earlier that the kid who did the stabbing is a lost cause and therefore he will be tried as an adult.
When the news broke about the second kid not having to face charges as an adult, the media were quick to rush to the parents of the murdered kid. Understandably, the mother was upset. She lost her son and now one of the guilty parties will likely not get the severest possible punishment for his actions. A reaction that is perfectly understandable and more predictable than the end of a James Bond movie (he gets both the bad guy and the girl).
It is only natural for the parents of the victim to want some sort of vengeance, even to want to see the murderers dead for what they did to their son (which I am not saying they want). That is exactly why we have a legal system - otherwise it would be the Wild West out there. An eye for an eye and that sort of primitive behaviour. Even the bible has a new testament after the old one.
I even understand how some people have a gut reaction similar to that of the parents. What I do not understand is the eagerness with which the media are willing to feed kindling to that reaction. What else would the mother have said? Why not leave the parents to deal with their grief instead of parading them in front of the camera once again?
Feature item on the radio news this morning: the victim's dad does not understand the court's decision After that, they did manage to mention that the Public Prosecutor will appeal the decision.
The media is not fooling me.
- ani d.
VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
nirbhao:
I do think this coworker of mine is trying to get me to strangle her, but I'm getting through.
nirbhao:
