SHITE!!! - Virginia Tech 33 Dead (Vs 18,000 Dead)?

Kodama · Post by **Kodama** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 9:23 pm

I just read the news on Virginia Tech and was in shock.

Then on CNN.com, down the page a little bit is an article on starvation.

18,000 Dead EVERY DAY

It's weird the way people are drawn to emotional stories that are closer to them and can relate more to individual death Vs thousands ( I heard someone talking about that on NPR over the weekend).

Or maybe starvation, auto accidents, natural disaster, mal-nutrition (the # USA killer), disease are not as sexy as a gun story?

Discuss (or not - there's no Paris Hilton or DJ in this story)....

Johnisfaster · Post by **Johnisfaster** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 9:32 pm

mal nutrition being the number killer in the usa? I could have swore it was heart disease or something.

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 9:42 pm

That's the sensationalist Western media for you.

Thousands die every day worldwide in situations more tragic, but because they're not on our doorstep, or because they only affect the poor, or they're not as sensational, we don't hear about them.

But a real-life NRA shoot-'em-up will get the headlines every time...

Johnisfaster · Post by **Johnisfaster** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 9:46 pm

part of it is medias fault yes, but most of us americans just plain don't give a crap about "them" and we want to hear about all the sad stuff that happened locally. it's stupid but it's true and I think media just feeds everybody the stuff they care about. I mean, they are after ratings and they give us what we are interested in most, who do you blame?

corygilbert · Post by **corygilbert** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 10:02 pm

well, if we can't ignore the suffering of others while sucking all of the worlds resources dry for our own gain, then why even have the bomb?

sorry, I just thought I'd play the idiotic american for a moment, I absolutely agree with the posters point.

hoffman2k · Post by **hoffman2k** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 10:05 pm

I can relate as much to school shootings as to car bombings..
Iraq, Usa,...
Whats the difference?
2 warzones in 2 different cultures.
Both cultures teaching their children how great guns are..
Religious extremists... Jihad or Jesus camp?
Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf or Tony Snow?

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 10:14 pm

Hollywood will be lining up scriptwriters, actors, etc for the movie rights already.

What a great country! Damn glad I don't live there and more.

ethios4 · Post by **ethios4** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 10:29 pm

I'm in Detroit working for the week, and picked up an Iraq Sun newspaper...half english, half arabic(?)....in with the articles on the devestation of the war, Lebanese politics, Sadr's rallies....articles on Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie giving enemas....wtf? I didn't know people from outside America gave a shit about American bullshit so much...pretty ironic

freqn · Post by **freqn** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 11:37 pm

Apathy is the worst killer of all. It's the cause of most, if not all, of these other issues. I have to admit that I find it interesting how abortion hardly ever comes up in these discussions. You know, that "taboo" subject and unspoken continual holocaust of killing those who can't speak for themselves in both documented and non-documented cases. Of course that is a whole other debate in itself mainly due to.....you guessed it....apathy. We call it convenience or mask it however we can because we are too spineless and cowardly to admit what it really is. How dare we have the courage of parenting a child and facing the responsibilities of our actions. No scientific, political, medical, or technical explanation can wash away the blood that stains our hands as a nation in the matter of abortion which, in numbers and by a very long shot, supercedes any casualty count in any conflict this nation has ever been involved in. Now go on and cry about the war, malnutrition, terrorism, shootings, etc., which are all very important, but in the process you tell me where the real killers are and where the real battle is and let him who is completely innocent of apathy be the first to fire.

BTW: Total abortions in the U.S. from 1973 to 1998 -- 38,010,378. That's only the documented cases and without accounting for the last nine years.

anti-banausic · Post by **anti-banausic** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 11:49 pm

Johnisfaster wrote:mal nutrition being the number killer in the usa? I could have swore it was heart disease or something.

Technically this is true. Cardiovascular disease, and all of its sequlae, is the number one cause of death as indicated by the CDC.

But starvation I am sure is the number one cause worldwide. As well as malnutrition, but as malnutrition leads to many other disorders, it is more difficult to assess the total ramifications.

Best,
AB

corygilbert · Post by **corygilbert** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 11:55 pm

"Radialson" wrote:

Apathy is the worst killer of all. It's the cause of most, if not all, of these other issues. I have to admit that I find it interesting how abortion hardly ever comes up in these discussions.

I'm only posting 1 time about this, I absolutely refuse to become entagled in a flame war. BUT...
While I respect and honor your decision to believe in what you know is right.
i feel that in some cases the "life" that a young child would be subjected to may be more of a hardship. I understand that all life is precious and therefore subject to change and the ability to transcend any situation. i personally feel though, that first and foremost this is a women's issue and we should defer to them in all matters concerning this issue. As a whole I believe women to be more than capable of deciding what to do with this most special gift. I believe they have this ability for a reason. We of course are included in this process. May I suggest you only atttempt intercourse with women who
a. agree completely with you
b. defer to your opinion about their bodies and the bodies of their children
(I apologize for assuming your being a man, this forum is, unfortunately a little heavy on the Y part of the zygotic spectrum) if you are a woman, i still disagree, but i think that your words have much more weight.
There are many subtleties to this issue and although I disagree, i do not attempt to chide you for addressing it, again I respect your opinion and more so your attempts to inform and persuade others towards your point of view, i hope I will be granted the same courtesy.

dango · Post by **dango** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 12:03 am

edit: i am going to keep my 2 cents out of this thread.

forge · Post by **forge** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 12:08 am

Johnisfaster wrote:part of it is medias fault yes, but most of us americans just plain don't give a crap about "them" and we want to hear about all the sad stuff that happened locally. it's stupid but it's true and I think media just feeds everybody the stuff they care about. I mean, they are after ratings and they give us what we are interested in most, who do you blame?

actually you'd find the same anywhere - the only discerning factor here is the US etc are the priviledged, so there is a feeling they SHOULD be doing more to help, but in reality any humans anywhere are just as self centered

freqn · Post by **freqn** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 12:13 am

Thank you Cory.
I in no way want to stir up conflict or make enemies. That's not my intent. My aim was simply to address the blame shifting and my passion leaked out. Everyone is entitled to both their views and choices. Although I do disagree that it is only a women's issue and that hardship justifies taking innocent life, I do hear where you are coming from and respect you. Others were expressing their views and I was simply expressing mine with stats. That's one good thing about freedom if you want to call it that, we can differ in position yet respect where others stand and not get our heads blown off for doing so.

ethios4 · Post by **ethios4** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 12:15 am

hehe, I was just about to quote you on that dango

Have you seen the movie Idiocracy? Average Guy participates in military experiment to be hibernated for a year, ends up hibernating for 500....in 500 years the population has been so genetically dumbed down through so many generations of dumb people propagating and smart people not having kids, that Average Guy is the smartest guy around....pretty hilarious concept,and the movie is pretty funny too!