Boston

I know I may catch hell for this but I've got to ask: In the wake of the Boston bombing (which I have elected not to talk about), Facebook blew up (bad, unintentional pun) with people posting "I'm praying for everyone in Boston", "Pray for Boston", etc. How many people who put those sentiments out there actually pray?  I don't pray.  I'm not praying for Boston.  I'm not praying for them the same way I'm not praying for anyone else, not just to be especially spiteful.  I understand, as a society, we generally lack the words to deal with death.  That's a conversation for another day because we use euphemisms and catch-alls to talk about it. I drove by a local church who's reader board said "Pray for Boston" and I thought well, it's a church so that makes sense.  On the other hand, I saw several people post something similar on FB.  These are people that I know have no religious affiliations so it left me scratching my head.

Also, at what point does an incident become a national tragedy to be forever and ever memorialized? The bombing in Boston was horrible. Three people died.  It is getting lots more coverage than a bus wreck that kills nineteen. Or the bombing in Somalia last week that killed 28.  I'm sure there's an element of the homeland vs elsewhere. Anything that happens in the US gets lots of media coverage simply for that reason. Most people can't be asked to know where Somalia is, let alone what happens there. I can understand the coverage after Superstorm Sandy because that impacted tens thousands of people and had a final cost of tens of billions of dollars. There was a huge explosion in Texas the same day as the Boston bombing that killed fourteen people (so far, which is eleven MORE than Boston), yet I haven't seen more than one or two headlines about it. I won't get started on the fact there was another earthquake in China today that has a death toll of over 208 so far and is the latest in a series of quakes that are possibly triggered by man.  Instead, Boston has been inescapable on the internet, the radio, facebook, etc, etc, etc.

I suppose the bombing is getting lots of play for a similar reason that a plan crash does.  It's out of the ordinary. Bombing don't happen everyday (well, outside of Afghanistan and Iraq) so regardless of the size of the bomb or the number of affected, it's a rarity. It also sells headlines because it prays on people's insecurities. The media can feed the beast that is born shortly after an event. A beast that feeds on information, pictures, interviews, however important or superfluous and who's life the media tries to extend.

After events like this, especially when it happens in the US, it doesn't take long for the public's bloodlust to reach a peak. In cases like Boston, where the suspects flee and died or are seriously injured in a hail of gunfire and tactical maneuvers, the bloodlust is quickly quenched. It means that there isn't a wait for a trial, sentencing and a slow moving judicial system. It also means that there isn't any information gleaned, no insight gained, no knowledge that might prevent any of this from continuing to happen.

I didn't have a visceral reaction to this attack, much as I haven't for the attacks I see on international soils. I ponder the why's, the how's and the what next's. It leaves me with more questions than answers and mostly about who we are as a species, as a culture, as individuals.

Negativity

Why is it that one negative remark can outweigh ten compliments? Why is it that a difficult patch in one part of my life bleeds over to everything else?

Humans seem to be programmed to focus on the negative. It's easy to recall the awful thing a kid in your class said to you all the way back in fourth grade.  It's much tougher to forget it.  Look at the issues we have with anorexia, bulimia, and plastic surgery addiction.  We have multiple news channels, many of which run news 24 hours a day and the vast majority of it is horrible.  You could fill your days with nothing other than stories of rape, murder, terrorism and political scandal/ineptitude. Sure, there was the two and a half minute story about the dog that rescued a cat but does that make up for the other 1,437.5 minutes for tragedy and mayhem? It extends into Facebook, into our conversations and inevitably into our consciousness.


People are more often negative to each other too.  That couples with the long lasting memories of those interactions.  I can remember the messages on an online dating site where the guy was clearly being a dick.  It ruffles my feathers when someone is obnoxious to me (or someone else) in a store or cuts me off driving. Sure, some of those incidents pass as part of the chaos of living in a heavily populated society. Other incidents mean I stay ruffled for the rest of the day. Even a compliment doesn't sufficiently soothe a hurt.


Granted, life can't be all Mariners wins and cold beers on sunny afternoons. But how often do we identify ourselves by pain, suffering or frustration? Mariners fans, and Seattle sports fans in general, are long suffering and we're usually the first to say so.  The best music and art was created from heartbreak and hard times. If things are going well at work and you ask "How's work?" I'll likely say "Fine" but if it's not going well, grab a cup of coffee and I'll give you the whole run down. We perpetually remember tragic events. Year after year the flags are lowered, the world stops to recognize the victims and their families. At the rate we're going, between old incidents and new ones, we'll be lowering the flags daily. My tragedies have all been personal ones.  I didn't lose a family member in a bombing or terrorist attack but I'd imagine that at some point I'd want to be known as more than victim number 1857. At what point does remembering prevent moving forward?

I digress. You may have noticed I write more, more passionately and more animatedly when things are going wrong than when they are going right.  For several years now I've tried to really note the positives in my life, even when most of it is circling the drain, yet I often find myself incapable of halting the cycle. It seems to have it's own life force.  After a couple days, when it's run it's course, then I'm back to normal, but I'll be damned if I can't short circuit it sooner.

On that note, go compliment someone. Make it someone you know and a total stranger. Smile when you greet someone or are greeted. And go forth, for better or worse, because it beats staring at a computer screen alone all day.