When i heard that people had used facebook in Egpyt as a tool to mobilize the nation, frankly, i found it astonishing. I have this stigma against facebook that if "it" happens on facebook, "it"either gains or loses legitimacy. For example: if someone is in a relationship on facebook= legit. If someone make an event on facebook or a group for a club that they are in= not legit. For some reason it is just not how my head works.
I was not on facebook until 12am (sat night/sunday morning) this weekend. I was amazing by how much poeple were really interacting on the site. They were posting news articles left and right (no pun intended) and having REAL discussions about them. It was not just another wedding album or a crazy yahoo news story that everyone smirks over and moves on. For once facebook, to me, seemed like a more legitimate forum for real, honest and serious conversation. While i certainly do NOT think that facebook can serve as a replacement to human interaction, there was something beautiful about hundreds (or thousands) of people coming together over one issue.
The New York Times apparently wrote an article that did not fully express the brutality and heartlessness of the crimes to the Fogel family in Itamar. After reading the article myself, i really didn't see the huge problem with it. Ok fine, they didn't show the bloody pictures that have now found their way into dozens of youtube videos. Ok, they didn't discuss how bloody the scene was. They still called culprits "killers" and expressed that it was an atrocity. Anyway, the point is not to review the article.
With all that is going on, that has happened over the weekend, i am reminded of agenda setting, a topic we discussed in class a few weeks ago. While i am looking for news relating to israel and this horrible massacre, the rest of the world is looking to hear of the 10,000 who died in the tsunami in Japan. Of the radiation and nuclear material that may have infected hundreds of people. It is so hard to grasp the death of 5 members of a family, how do i begin to relate to 10,000. I think that's the point though. While i am sitting here, listening to the news, reading articles and watching youtube videos about this family, it is possible to connect to them: i was once 12, i have parents and siblings (nevermind the fact that they are Jews and Israelis). It is so hard to go on the nytimes website and be smacked in the face with japan japan japan when all i want to hear about is Israel. I know it is important too, i don't mean to sound negative or like the rest of the world does not matter, but isn't there something to be said about have a connection with someone, with something so important. I can't control if there is going to be an earthquake that will cause a tsunami that will wipe out 10,000 people. I CAN control if i teach my family how to be proper members of society, that it is NOT ok go kill people, that every human life has value.
Why don't you try that next time nytimes?
i like your left and right pun.
ReplyDeletei find that everytime i go on to check news the news has been updated with a new horror story. it feels like the intifada where yesterdays bombing was old news. a new tragedy has already appeared. i dont blame the news papers for that, though i do wish that more attention would have been paid to the murder of innocent people.
i feel it is all our job to raise and teach our families good values. hatzlacha