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| Thread: Human life evaluation | |
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Zenofex
Responsible
Legendary Hero
Kreegan-atheist
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posted October 09, 2018 06:53 PM |
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Human life evaluation
A few days ago a journalist was found dead in one of our Danube port towns. Until that point she was completely unknown... or maybe not completely but certainly unknown outside of the said town. She was young, good-looking and a mother. It's an almost certain murder but apart from that nothing else was clear about it at that stage. However, almost immediately after this hit the news, the remainder of the journalist collegia jumped as one to express their outrage with the act, some even went as far as to proclaim that we are nation of inhumane beasts that has degraded beyond recovery and all that blues. Nothing unexpected so far. A bit later however the police comes up with the preliminary conclusion that the murder has nothing to do the woman's profession but it possibly has sexual or personal drives and currently they are checking some Ukrainian with Romanian passport as a prime suspect. The case is still in development, nothing's really final.
This is still hot news but suddenly the moralization behind it has cooled down, mostly because women are getting murdered by jealous boyfriends, husbands, relatives or just random offenders all the time, everywhere. Some questions do pup up though, as unoriginal as they might be. Why someone's life or death is considered more attention-worthy (or important) than another's based on his/her profession, age or gender? Why a good-looking female journalist getting murdered is on top of the news and Internet articles of all sorts for days and weeks while another good-looking woman who's not a journalist's murder can probably make it briefly to the evening news for a day or two and an average aged woman with completely uninteresting background's murder be skipped altogether?
Going further - what if the victim is a man or a child? Given that you know next to nothing about someone apart from what's made publicly available, would you consider his life or sudden demise more important or deserving of social attention based on his age, sex, gender, profession, interests, political views, etc.? Why? Putting aside stereotypical answers like "all lives matter", everyone has some personal ranking system for human beings which triggers whenever he/she learns about some stranger's death (not talking about relatives here, their case is different) - so what's yours?
Note: It's pretty clear why the journalists are so itchy to scream when some of their numbers meets untimely end, no need for clarifications on that topic. They do, however, willingly or unwillingly create or influence some "social ranking" when it comes to the said human life evaluation and that affects all the people who are exposed to the various media - that deserves further discussion.
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fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted October 09, 2018 08:09 PM |
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It bothers me when children, or people who otherwise cannot(or aren't allowed to, regarding firearms) protect themselves, are killed. Everyone else has no excuse. Vehicle collision deaths can be prevented; what people call "accidents" are almost always mistakes on someone's part. Death through misadventure can also be prevented. Murder can be prevented by capable-minded(and prepared) people.
Of course, this is regarding what i hear in the news. Journalists have a ranking system based on what gets them a wider audience; my ranking system is based on personal reponsibility, or the lack thereof.
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JollyJoker
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
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posted October 09, 2018 08:19 PM |
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Has simply to do with how "usual" or "special" something is.
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Zenofex
Responsible
Legendary Hero
Kreegan-atheist
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posted October 10, 2018 12:44 PM |
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What makes someone more "special" than another though?
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artu
Promising
Undefeatable Hero
My BS sensor is tingling again
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posted October 10, 2018 01:56 PM |
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If you are asking about the journalistic aspect, the news value. This is determined by a lot of parameters, is the victim famous, does he/she live in a neighborhood where crime rates are high and such things are common, or is it uptown, is the victim considered significantly vulnerable like a child or the elderly, is there live footage, even something like physical beauty is a factor and a very beautiful woman getting murdered is more likely to make the front page.
If you are asking about personal effect, first of all, I dont think any death news that is impersonal end in actual moaning. You go “how sad” or “what a pity” of course but few minutes later you keep on doing what you had been doing. To me, the murders that bring out the most pity are the ones where victims suffer knowing they are going to die soon and the ones where the motive is something idiotic like some 100 dolar gold bracelet or senseless jealousy. Of course, it also depends on how the victim’s story is presented, to what degree the victim is humanized in detail and to what degree just a name on a paper.
____________
Are you pretty? This is my occasion. - Ghost
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Trogdor
Legendary Hero
Words in a custom title
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posted October 10, 2018 02:45 PM |
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artu said:
If you are asking about the journalistic aspect, the news value. This is determined by a lot of parameters, is the victim famous, does he/she live in a neighborhood where crime rates are high and such things are common, or is it uptown, is the victim considered significantly vulnerable like a child or the elderly, is there live footage, even something like physical beauty is a factor and a very beautiful woman getting murdered is more likely to make the front page.
The old "murder makes media money" routine never seems to go away, whether it be for objective journalism or the outright sensationalism that tabloids of all sociopolitical leanings spew out on a almost frequent basis, from the mainstream to the fringes. A lot of what is said in regards to gathering information for their story can vary from individual to individual. Whether or not this slain reporter had known about what she was researching being "dangerous in the wrong hands" remains to be seen.
In some countries, however, being a reporter is equivalent to signing a death warrant. Not just for nations in the middle of a war, but also for obtaining information that could implicate a government in corruption of the highest order.
Quote:
If you are asking about personal effect, first of all, I dont think any death news that is impersonal end in actual moaning. You go “how sad” or “what a pity” of course but few minutes later you keep on doing what you had been doing. To me, the murders that bring out the most pity are the ones where victims suffer knowing they are going to die soon and the ones where the motive is something idiotic like some 100 dolar gold bracelet or senseless jealousy. Of course, it also depends on how the victim’s story is presented, to what degree the victim is humanized in detail and to what degree just a name on a paper.
For some, the crimes a forgotten in at least a few months until new evidence is examined. For others, for having knowing them as friends and family, what trespasses can haunt for a lifetime, regardless of the outcome and the severity punishment given to the perpetrator. If anyone I ever knew personally had been killed, I'd most definitely get emotional about it, on the proviso that whoever I knew was still in my good books.
Unfortunately, not all victims can be classified as productive members of society. Gangland rivalries are a testament to this.
____________
"Through the power of the dollar you can communicate with the dead." - Artu
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JollyJoker
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
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posted October 10, 2018 04:58 PM |
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Zenofex said:
What makes someone more "special" than another though?
I meant "the story". How original the story of an event is.
I mean, millions die from starvation - not worth a news headline; same thing as River Thames still flowing through London. But if no one had ever died from starvation and someone would - headline news.
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Zenofex
Responsible
Legendary Hero
Kreegan-atheist
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posted October 10, 2018 08:13 PM |
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How "interesting" and "sellable" the event is doesn't matter in cases where you have very few details, the thing is that in such cases some people are presented as more important than other based on presumptions. Case in hand - journalists murdered -> journalists sometimes get murdered because they found something dirty about someone with power -> the said journalists is likely to have been murdered because she knew something. That presumption went as far as UN officials condemning that murder before any serious police investigation could conclude anything - no joke. At the same time the said investigation currently maintains as its primary version a sexual assault gone lethal (as mentioned, she had the looks). There are probably dozens, if not hundreds of such murder-rapes daily all around the "civilized world" alone but this one is in the spotlight because the woman was a journalist - nothing more and nothing less. The text between the lines is fairly easy to read - the life/death of journalist is more worthy of social attention than other people's lives. Why is that though?
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AlHazin
Promising
Supreme Hero
النور
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posted October 10, 2018 09:37 PM |
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Because the west still has that image of a violent, imprisoned and corrupted culture, ethny, civilisation when it’s about a foreign one. It works for the East Block, the Arab world, Asia, Africa, Latin America... etc.
If a journalist died in these conditions somewhere in the west, it would not be judicious to believe it’s a freedom issue or some sordid affair. Add to the fact that she’s a woman, it launches the romantic conspiracies scenarios.
I can make the parallel with the Iraqi girl that was killed some while ago. Before police investigations and reports, the western media decided it was the Islamists who killed her. I say when you are filthy rich, 22 or so, and have bad frequentations, you can get killed by a lot of different categories of people, especially by your acquaintances. Maybe it is extremists who killed her yes, she was far from being loved by them. Yet, without proofs, one shouldn’t start shouting what “he feels like the truth is” especially when a great “western” principle is the presumption of innocence. The principle should work with states and political movements as well.
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Nothing of value disappears from this world, it will reappear in some shape or form ^^ - Elvin
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JollyJoker
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
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posted October 10, 2018 11:12 PM |
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Zenofex said:
How "interesting" and "sellable" the event is doesn't matter in cases where you have very few details, the thing is that in such cases some people are presented as more important than other based on presumptions. Case in hand - journalists murdered -> journalists sometimes get murdered because they found something dirty about someone with power -> the said journalists is likely to have been murdered because she knew something. That presumption went as far as UN officials condemning that murder before any serious police investigation could conclude anything - no joke. At the same time the said investigation currently maintains as its primary version a sexual assault gone lethal (as mentioned, she had the looks). There are probably dozens, if not hundreds of such murder-rapes daily all around the "civilized world" alone but this one is in the spotlight because the woman was a journalist - nothing more and nothing less. The text between the lines is fairly easy to read - the life/death of journalist is more worthy of social attention than other people's lives. Why is that though?
It's just business, because her job offers a chance her death was connected (which means it's possible there is some top story hidden somewhere). Potentially, which is important.
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Blizzardboy
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Nerf Herder
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posted November 30, 2018 12:45 AM |
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Sounds like it went viral on social media.
News is primarily consumed as entertainment, which means anything about the story that piques people's emotions will promote the story. Even when people watch a news story that supposedly makes them upset or worked up, it gives a dopamine hit, which ultimately makes them feel good.
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