(no subject)
Feb. 1st, 2003 11:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rivkaIt hurts me to see people whose first reaction to this is to look around for someone to hate.
I'm not talking about people who are afraid that it might have been terrorism. For the most part, I think those folks just don't know enough about the plausibility of shooting down a fast-moving spacecraft at 200,000 feet. I'm talking about the people who are already spinning fantasies about the evil their enemies will make of this: Bush will use this as an excuse for war! The media is certain to play up terrorism speculation to increase ratings! And - I'm not kidding, I really saw this as someone's initial reaction on LJ - only the evil racists in Congress, who can't bear the idea of non-whites in space, will prevent the space program from being utterly shut down!
Yes, we know that you think Republicans are the worst people in the world. Yes, it's terrible to think that some Republicans' first reaction to this tragedy would not be to mourn the victims or praise their courage, but to look for a way to blame people they despise. Look at the motes in those Republican eyes! Maybe you should offer to help them take it out.
I'm not talking about people who are afraid that it might have been terrorism. For the most part, I think those folks just don't know enough about the plausibility of shooting down a fast-moving spacecraft at 200,000 feet. I'm talking about the people who are already spinning fantasies about the evil their enemies will make of this: Bush will use this as an excuse for war! The media is certain to play up terrorism speculation to increase ratings! And - I'm not kidding, I really saw this as someone's initial reaction on LJ - only the evil racists in Congress, who can't bear the idea of non-whites in space, will prevent the space program from being utterly shut down!
Yes, we know that you think Republicans are the worst people in the world. Yes, it's terrible to think that some Republicans' first reaction to this tragedy would not be to mourn the victims or praise their courage, but to look for a way to blame people they despise. Look at the motes in those Republican eyes! Maybe you should offer to help them take it out.
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no subject
Date: 2003-02-01 08:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-02-01 08:59 am (UTC)I'm grudgingly giving the White House credit for so quickly saying "it's not terrorism" rather than just letting the media carry the message and opening up doubts with official silence.
no subject
Date: 2003-02-01 09:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-02-01 09:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-02-01 09:12 am (UTC)I had a similar feeling of irritation this morning at my doctor's office. The nurses hadn't had the news on; when I told them about Columbia, one of them announced "Well, Man wasn't meant to be flying around in space anyway."
I know that irrational reaction to tragedy isn't unusual. But some of those reactions seem to reveal core beliefs that are unsettling to me.
no subject
Date: 2003-02-01 10:01 am (UTC)It really does anger me. But I know my own news media too well. I saw how they acted over the Chandra Levy disappearance, how they're acting over the Lacy Peterson disappearance, and so on. We are going to get wall-to-wall coverage of this in the States, whether we want it or not.
It is so depressing.
Thankfully, talk seems to be turning away from terrorism and more toward speculation over the adequacy NASA's recent funding.
It's a safer topic, but it's still speculation, rather than facts. We won't know any facts until the investigation is completed.
So I'm going to wait for facts. And see if there's any possible way that we can lower our house flag to half-staff.
::sigh; feeling very, very sad::
no subject
Date: 2003-02-01 10:02 am (UTC)Race???
Date: 2003-02-01 10:13 am (UTC)Chantal, who happens to be independent-to-Republican and a staunch supporter of the space program
no subject
Date: 2003-02-01 10:13 am (UTC)As one of the network news technicians who just had to spend 2 more weeks in Modesto, CA, I'll tell you the reason why you all got Laci Peterson and Chandra Levy and the Yosemite murders and the WTC and Oklahoma City wall to wall to wall is because when those stories were on the air, ratings *spiked*. They didn't bump, they didn't do a gentle roll, they *spiked*. So it isn't a matter of "whether we want it or not". You (the collective "you") *do* want it. So you get it. If ratings slumped, it would go off the air in a snap.
The explosion of Columbia is a legitimate news story, and the media *should* be covering this as deeply as possible. NASA is a government agency funded by tax dollars - the legitimate drive for scientific exploration is, and always will be, counterbalanced by both internal and external political concerns.
It's unfortunate that the 24-hour news services have a lot of air time to fill, and that they *will* speculate to fill that air time. But at this point I've seen all three major networks and CNN say that terrorism is a very unlikely cause of today's disaster.
no subject
Date: 2003-02-01 10:27 am (UTC)I'm listening to the KSC administrator right now, and I'm quite impressed with the Mishap Investigation procedures they're putting into place. They're handling this very promptly and efficiently, it looks like.
Re: Race???
Date: 2003-02-01 10:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-02-01 11:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-02-01 11:38 am (UTC)True. But "normal" doesn't mean that inappropriately directed expressions of anger shouldn't be discouraged. I wouldn't want to see right-wing people make political hay of this tragedy before the debris has even cooled, so I think it's incumbent on me to challenge left-wing people who are doing the same thing.
Re:
Date: 2003-02-01 12:53 pm (UTC)It's a sad commentary on what humanity is like, when you realize that tragedy does sell papers and so forth.
I'm glad they're avoiding hysteria in this instance, though. I was really afraid that they wouldn't.
Re: Race???
Date: 2003-02-01 01:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-02-01 08:49 pm (UTC)Yeah.