Opinion: Media exposes the insensitive and polarized individuals who contribute to a grieving climate during hard times. They blame others after tragedies, which is not only immature, but it is counteractive in creating concrete changes.
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Grieving, specifically in the current times of media reliance, is exhausting. When a mass tragedy strikes, I find myself hovering over headlines and struggling to find the words I would like to digest surrounding the event. Although relevant resources and moving narratives help express a community’s sorrow, there is also an overwhelming amount of public figures and lawmakers placing fault onto countless individuals.
There is hardly opportunity to digest the tragic information before an overspill of blame and opinions clutter the subject. People we are supposed to look toward for advice are often unhelpful in their written expressions and are so vastly removed from the situation that their “wisdom” leaks out with condescension and condemnation. It is infuriating to feel like I am drowning in these accusations, especially when it leaves no room for the voices of the victims.
During the July 5 edition of Tucker Carlson Tonight — one day after the Highland Park shooting — Carlson said the crisis in America is due to “social media, porn and video games.”
He also blamed “government-endorsed weed,” going even further by saying “every school in the country” is handing out psychotropic drugs. Carlson placed the fault on counselors, continuing this gross, immature and accusational rant by calling them “crackpots” and “posers.”
This is just the beginning of a segment dedicated to blaming the issue on a surplus of topics while avoiding the most critical one: guns.
A day after tragedy struck, newscasters immediately turned to irrelevant and unhelpful accusations. As an observer of such actions, I feel hopelessly stuck with questions. What substantiated plans do we have for improvement? What is the point in talking about these incidents if the only ones listening are those prepared for a future of polarization?
There is no quiet solution to this phenomenon. At least not one I have been able to decipher. What I can speak on is allowing an appropriate amount of time for our community’s grief. Instead of filling the media with insensitive, irrelevant and untimely statements, we need to start coming to terms with the depth of these tragedies.
Simple celebrity responses to tragic events aren’t enough. There are many other ways to cope with the trauma and tragedy of mass shootings, such as reaching out to others for support, allowing yourself time to be angry with the events and using whatever power you have to create change. These ways don’t involve the tweets from someone with a verification sign; they can be the cause for further change.
In order to appropriately address the fundamental problems of our country, life changing events — such as the ones happening currently — should be addressed with compassion and proactivity. Despondency surrounds the community as empathy is lost from our lawmakers, but by claiming accountability we can lessen the polarization of the media. This will create a space for individuals to heal and for reliable plans to formulate.
