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I don't feel as if I must watch every bit of media coverage to get the sense of this story. Watching every minute of it makes it harder to get to the truth. The trouble is that people are not discerning that they are seeing the same stuff over and over and also because they mistake emotional commentary as reasoned analysis
posted by
Azur
on March 26, 2005 at 11:12 AM
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Benzinha, I think your sister soounds very wise and human at the same time. I have been watching DM and Temple agreeing on some of the fundamentals and misunderstanding each other over a sideline skirmish which seems to me a metaphor for how this whole thing is playing out
posted by
Azur
on March 26, 2005 at 11:09 AM
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Anthony, there's little point in looking back. I think people would have derided the husband had he turned his back on her completely any time in the past 15 years. People would find fault no matter what.
But that is not the point I make here. It sincerely concerns me how people invest so much pressure and guilt on others
posted by
Azur
on March 26, 2005 at 11:06 AM
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MayB
I,m sick of it all and I wish they'd just leave the husband alone.
He made a good decision for the right reasons.
Those parents ought to concentrate on what the hell it was about them that turned their daughter into a person with an eating disorder that tried to kill herself a few times.
That's the stroy I've heard and how come we don,t read more about that?
Happy Easter luv
posted by
WileyJohn
on March 26, 2005 at 9:23 AM
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Alright, alright, let's blame all the idiots for being idiots.
Let's blame the idiots who want to be on tv and the media for being idiots for giving a forum, and those of us who are idiots who watch that crap and give the media the reason to film it in the first place, fair? And declare Benzinha the wise one who just made me laugh.
I agree with you, Abuelita. And your sister. Some hesitation, I understand. Tis human and forgivable. I don't want a life without my intellect, that's how far I go, for me personally. If I'm like, walking, breathing, living the life of a 3 year old....if that's going to be my life....shoot me. My intellect, my intellegence, is what makes my life happy, who I am. I hope that no one never has to make those decisions. That's what I hope most of all.
DM, five hours reading this stuff? Dude, do you have a job? I can barely find five hours to sleep! (I've read some of it, too, because I had writer's block yesterday. Don't tell anyone.)Speaking of, I have something to send to my editor before morning, so off I go....
posted by
Temple
on March 25, 2005 at 10:11 PM
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B, You take the hard road and I'll take the soft road and I'll be in
Martyrdom A'fore ye'. I have no idea what I just wrote, sang, but I wanted Temple and DenisonMan to stop misunderstanding each other and wanted to further confuse the issue here.
My second sister, while awaiting Mom's dismissal from the hospital the other day, said," I'd turn off all of your machines..." and pointed to each family member. I have made her executor of my Living Will. She's a member of the Hemlock Society and that, of course, explains it all. Of course, she waited a week while her little doggie died, not taking her to be euthanized at the vet, just couldn't do it.But, tho' she might hesitate, she finally takes dogs to the vet and would finally pull the plug on my machines, waiting days or weeks, but not years.
posted by
benzinha
on March 25, 2005 at 9:39 PM
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Temple
The only way to stay informed is to stay tuned in. Yet, I don't blame the media for the idiots walking around Pinellas County with crucifixes right now. Instead, I blame the idiots themselves for acting like idiots.
I get sick of saturation coverage and turn the television off...did so yesterday when I decided to spend nearly five hours of on-line computer time actually reading court transcripts and reports to Governor Jeb Bush concerning the Schiavo case. After spending so much time reading the factual exchanges, I now recognize the blatant lies and propaganda on television...and in the blogosphere (added that word to my spell check recently.)
DM
posted by
Dennison..Mann
on March 25, 2005 at 4:06 PM
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DM, I'm not in misery...
So, what are you talking about? I'm merely saying that if the media didn't broadcast it, sensationalize it, people wouldn't take such extreme measures. Period. We are all guilty of watching it, myself included. The solution? Who knows. Solutions seem to be in short supply these days.
Normally you and I come out on the same side of the issue, so let's go back there. I like that better. This media thing really isn't the point. If you (the generic you) agree that the media is sensationalistic, don't watch it. Choose stations that are fair, give equal time, etc. And the rest, well....I don't know what we can do about it. The issue at hand really is that the gov't seems hell bent in mucking about in my personal life and death issues, and I can't have that, no matter if I'm watching CNN or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. You feel me on that, right? :)
posted by
Temple
on March 25, 2005 at 9:04 AM
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Tapsel-T. Good points or salaciousness? That style of program preys on people's worst fears. It is irresponsible for programs to promote such a climate of fear. A disabled man is an easy target to play off these emotive issues on. It makes good TV but takes advantage of vulnerable people.
In my opinion it is all too easy to lump together everyone who is disabled together and make sweeping generalizations to say that this could happen to anyone too. I think that is happening way too much in this case.
posted by
Azur
on March 25, 2005 at 8:45 AM
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MayB - You make good points here. The sad thing is that there are some good points coming from all sides. Last night I watched Larry King Live and his guests who were brain injured people. They made very good points also. I was especially saddened by the disabled person who called in and was so fearful asking, What is going to happen to m in the future and would someone starve me to death because I am disabled?".
posted by
TAPS.
on March 25, 2005 at 8:05 AM
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Meriouma, I read somewhere recently that at times when the world is in upheaval and change that people opt for simplistic world views.
posted by
Azur
on March 25, 2005 at 7:53 AM
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MayB,
I like your take on this. This country has been on the path to government mandating of Christianity (hence, guilt for being human, in more strident circles) for a long time. The Schiavo case is just another example of it.
Good post!
posted by
myrrhage_
on March 25, 2005 at 6:51 AM
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Of Course Not, Temple
At all costs, we must not blame ourself for our own misery!
"I don't need to blame myself for anything."
Beautiful!
DM
posted by
Dennison..Mann
on March 25, 2005 at 6:43 AM
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I agree with DM AND Temple. OK, how does that work? Yes DM is correct that we can choose which media coverage to follow and it is clear that any outlet covering this story 24/7 is overdoing it and not covering all the other stuff going on in the world. Temple is right that many stations are sensationalistic and that many stories are staged. I am currently teaching about the news and ethics at a college so I am thinking about this constantly.
I am trying to instil into my students to use discretion and to think carefully about the news coverage they choose to follow.
posted by
Azur
on March 25, 2005 at 6:13 AM
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Temple, thank you. I am deeply concerned about this but this trend to expect others to martyr themselves runs very deep. I think it is a manifestation of people feeling powerless in their own lives that they look at things in such a black and white way. In a case such as this there are no easy answers. Taking 15 years to get to this point would suggest that
posted by
Azur
on March 25, 2005 at 6:08 AM
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DM, I agree it is reprehensible that children have been pushed forward into the frontline. Some of the pictures depict children who are too young to understand holding placards.
posted by
Azur
on March 25, 2005 at 6:05 AM
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Whacky, I think it is now a media circus but worse than that is the political circus surrounding it. It should never have got to this point.
posted by
Azur
on March 25, 2005 at 6:03 AM
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Okay Dennison, for your information, my television is off...
I'm actually working, writing, and I take a lot of breaks because I pop in and out of what I write since I'm having difficulting with what I'm working on. I guarantee you that if I just changed stations around, I would find it somewhere right now. I'm not blaming the media, but it is the truth that people stage things for the media. It is a statistical, sociological, psychological fact. Look it up. It's called the rebound effect in some places. Maybe it's not precisely 24/7, but they cover things too much, too long. I have a BA in Journalism, and that is why I left. It stopped being about news, checks and balances, and became too sensationalistic. I don't watch the coverage of it that often, I don't have time. I just happen to know how it works. Not to mention that was TWO sentences of my comment. I don't need to blame myself for anything. I would never watch Fox News. And I certainly don't have two or three hours to just sit and watch coverage this.
However, once again, this isn't even the damn point. See below. Back to work I go.
posted by
Temple
on March 25, 2005 at 2:54 AM
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The Media Doesn't Broadcast It 24/7
Maybe you need to tune off the story once in a while? I watched a few hours of FoxNEWS' saturation coverage yesterday and then when I had enough of their blatant lies, I tuned to MSNBC and had to wait (yes, wait) to see or hear anything of the Terri Schiavo case. MSNBC periodically informed its audience that they would broadcast any significant developments in the Terri Schiavo case while they covered other stories. Meanwhile, FoxNEWS was on-scene with some religious zealot who offered a sympathy starvation protest in Terri's name. Don't blame the media. Blame FoxNEWS for their saturation coverage and blame yourself for not occasionally tuning into something else...like Telemundo or the Cartoon Network.
DM
posted by
Dennison..Mann
on March 25, 2005 at 2:12 AM
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Oh boy.
Well, the media doesn't have to show it 24/7. These folks wouldn't go to such extreme measures if they didn't know that the media would broadcast it.
I agree wholeheartedly, May. Beautifully put. Wildwoman has a point, also. I kept wondering....potassium deficiency? heart failure? I don't get it. Then, I realized that those were thing associated with bulemia...anorexia, too, I guess, both, I don't know. I read an interview later somewhere that Michael gave about his wife's bulemia, and I know that eating disorders are really about control....feeling the lack of in the family. The dynamic here makes sense under that umbrella.
I don't know the answer for this family. The point is, it's not our question. The problem is, we are watching our Constitution, our country, our liberties being destroyed. On the state level when Jeb Bush pushed a law through Florida legislation after state litigation refused Terri's parents' requests, the Florida State Supreme Court found it unconstitutional. I hope it happens on the Federal level this way, and that we all remember that the point is we need to each look after ourselves, keep our own houses in order. That's the only real way to protect individual liberty.
posted by
Temple
on March 25, 2005 at 1:55 AM
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The Media Have Not Turned This Into A Circus
The parties concerned with Terri Schiavo's condition (ie, the Schindlers and Michael Schiavo) have turned this into a circus -- not to mention the selfish and absurd religious fanatics who take the opportunity to promote their own agenda. Any adult who encourages children to break the law just so they can get handcuffed and arrested on national TV should be locked away for years. Using tender minds to assert your beliefs smacks of pedophilia (although the exploitation isn't sexual, it's exploitation nonetheless.) Children cannot consent to adult activities.
One fool even drew a parallel between Jesus's crucifixion and Terri Schiavo's tragic state. What an insult to Christians everywhere. Terri Schiavo expressed a desire to refuse treatment. She's NOT being crucified for the eternal salvation of all mankind.
Don't blame the media for providing the facts around a case that will impact everyone's life and right to refuse treatment.
DM
posted by
Dennison..Mann
on March 25, 2005 at 1:42 AM
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The media needs to back off a little
they are turning it into a circus.
posted by
Whacky
on March 25, 2005 at 12:42 AM
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Wildwoman. At some point people must let go. It does concern me that so much guilt is being invested
posted by
Azur
on March 25, 2005 at 12:37 AM
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MayB
It's a difficult situation. Terry had said that she didn't want to live that way. I'm with her husband in letting her go to move onto the next realm.
What I didn't know was that she was anorexic and had coded (died). It's interesting to note that most anorexic women are the result of having had a controlling Mother. (psych).
posted by
Wildwoman_Laloba
on March 25, 2005 at 12:29 AM
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