Insensitive Hard-boiled Iraq War Perspective
| 45 | Number of people killed in Iraq on Monday (9 April 2007) |
| 85 | Number of people killed in Iraq on Tuesday (10 April 2007) |
| 42 | Number of people killed in Iraq on Wednesday (11 April 2007) |
| 50 | Number of people killed in Iraq on Thursday (12 April 2007) |
| 70 | Number of people killed in Iraq on Friday (13 April 2007) |
| 110 | Number of people killed in Iraq on Saturday (14 April 2007) |
| 100 | Number of people killed in Iraq on Sunday (15 April 2007) |
| 33 | Number of people killed at Virginia Tech on Monday (16 April 2007) |
Source: Iraq Body Count
Read More: Iraq, Iraq War, Virginia Tech massacre
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April 17th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
The one thing that trumps all according to the majority of Americans is that it happened in America. Ask the average American if it’s a bigger loss if 100 Iraqis or 33 Americans are dead because of a gunman. I bet the majority say the Americans just because they are within our country and the unsettling thought that it could happen here is what causes them to say that.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
What Brent says is so true. The fact that this sort of bigotry is widely accepted is a disturbing form of hypocrisy.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:24 pm
If it was all blacks shot by a white gunman, it wouldn’t be long before Hannity and O’Reilly would be looking for a way to “understand”…for us all to be able to “understand” why the white guy did it.
No one is as valuable to us and those who are like us.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
Those are some very good points. I have personally heard a fellow American say that they’d rather a thousand foreigners (not enemy combatants…just ANY foreigners) get killed than a single American. And it was said in a sensitive, patriotic, proud manner…and I’ll give the person credit for at least being honest and saying what was in their heart.
But, at the same time, that’s the root of the problem. Most really don’t give a rats ass whether our own actions cause another country’s school children to get blown up every day. If the war was causing the equivalent of two Virginia Tech incidents here, you better believe that the pressure would get hot and heavy on the Prez to just make it stop whatever it took, and quick.
But, alas, not enough Americans really care or see it that way…so, this country will continue to be the Uncaring War-Mongering Nationalistic poster country for what looks like at least the remainder of the first decade of the 21st century…and I think that sux.
April 17th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
Dropped cell phone calls, erectal dysfunction, irratable bowel syndrome, now those are real tradagies. People dying around the globe by the thousands because of war, hunger and disease every day, who cares, it’s happening over there and not here. We have more important things to worry about.
April 17th, 2007 at 8:21 pm
That makes me wonder…what WILL be the big fluffy celebrity story that knocks the VT massacre off the CNN headlines? And which Constitutional liberty will Bush and Co. slyly kill off while we are looking the other way and grieving? I notice the Gonzales testimony seems to have been indefinitely put on the backburner…
April 18th, 2007 at 5:14 am
I owe you a big-time apology. I left it at Blue Gal’s place. I am truly sorry for being such an ass.
Great blog, by the way.
April 18th, 2007 at 6:02 am
Appreciate it QuakerDave, and please accept my apology, too. Sensitive issues, you know…but glad we can talk about them!
Take care, and, heck…come back and visit some! You and your comments are welcome here.
April 18th, 2007 at 8:30 am
Heartfelt bigotry is no excuse. I’m reminded of the Klan, and Hitler’s heartfelt speechifying.
America is growing more stupidly idiotic by the day. I recently read that over 1/3 of American’s don’t know Cheney is veep. Lucky third, maybe…but…still…
One big thing forgotten in this is that what goes around, comes around.
April 18th, 2007 at 8:04 pm
With those statistics, I see the SURGE is really working.
I do find it frustrating that the average American wants any morsel of information about the shooter at VT, but no one bothers to learn more about Iraq or Gonzales’ “mistakes.” Any true reporting of those serious offenses are glossed over and rarely explained to the stupid American Public. It is not just a distraction by the MSM. They honestly want to know every facet of that boy’s life. Next thing you know there will be reports on his bowel movements.
It’s a tragedy yes, but it doesn’t do any citizen any good to concentrate solely on this story to escape the heinous crimes that are committed in our name on a daily basis.
April 18th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
Petulant: I’ve thought about this a lot over the past couple of days. My conclusion:
So, wanting to take the easiest course…most Americans consciously and subconsciously would rather focus on the VT shooter. Thinking about the “unfixable” VT shooter instead of the potentially “fixable” Iraq situation just makes our inaction feel less guilty.
Anyway, that’s my theory.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:38 am
Petulant,
You bring up a point I have been pondering.
Is it really the public that wants every detail of the boys life, etc? It seems to me the media run under their own power on these kinds of things. It seems they actually create the market with their breathless and horrified theatrics. They repeat it all over and over, they set up cliff hanger after cliff hanger. They interview every misquito or fly that every flew in his airspace.
Sure, we all have some level of curiosity, and I suppose there is a large audience who have been trained to love this sort of thing…………well, I know I have my own perspective. I have watched 15 - 30 seconds or less each time I channel surf through fox and cnn.
I’m just not that interested in what one crazy person does on one day, when we have a whole bunch of crazies so far worse everyday.
The good news is there won’t be a trial. I guess that is bad news for fox, court tv, etc.
I need to go back and read my Orwell. Then I will take my pulse again and see how I feel.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:41 am
Of course the media drives the story, but they sustain it because ratings show there is an audience. I think the media and the general populi are to blame. MSM presents their story spin and the average viewer keeps the story alive by continually watching. Ratings drive the market. If anyone thinks News is about information they are grossly ignorant. The MSM will beat this story till every facet is unearthed. Once viewership loses interest they will shift gears.
Welcome to Bush Country!
Orwell is a good read, but I would also suggest WE by Eugene Zamiatin, if you haven’t read it already. Written in 1921, it was the inspiration for Orwell’s 1984.
April 19th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
Hmmm…I’ll have to check out Zamiatin’s WE!
As for the problem of news as entertainment, we’ve seen this happen before at the turn of the last century and the battle between Hearst and Pulitzer. I’m not sure how to predict the future of TV News from that era or “yellow journalism.” As with Iraq, the sensationalised news back then led to the Spanish American War. But what of the media empires? The great depression finally hit and largely deflated their balloons. Hope it doesn’t take another great depression to end the current reign of prime-time sensationalised entertainment journalism. Maybe more people will turn to the Internet and slanted network news will just fade away…
April 19th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
Thanks, Petulant.
I read the Wiki you provided.
It is on my list for my next visit to Powells World of Books.
Joe, what you wrote jogged my memory about how the cia is constantly getting caught paying people to write their stories, issuing fake stories and videos…and now I recall the military was just caught doing that in Iraq.
I have no idea what to believe anymore…except more and more often seems to benefit someones bank account.
Basically, if I see someone expressing reasons to kill people and/or take their stuff or change their politics, etc….I doubt I am getting the real story and in fact, lean to the side of whatever person/tyrant is being demonized.
Trying to do that with Darfur, but the info from the other side is so scarce.