Monday, July 23, 2012

Blaming Victims

No picture today.

I didn't want to jump on the bandwagon of people commenting/editorializing about the tragic shooting in Colorado, but then someone said something that just ticked me off.

I haven't watched any of the news coverage. I've seen headlines and photos, but that's it. I've purposely avoided it. But I can't really keep my head in the sand; it was, naturally, the top water cooler topic at work today -- just not in the way I expected.

A co-worker said that there was a discussion on one of the news stations about whether or not parents should have even taken their children to a midnight showing (issue #1) of Dark Knight (issue #2). What did I think?

What did I think? I thought that question was akin to asking what a rape victim was doing out walking alone at midnight. It's the same as asking a rape victim what she was wearing or what she had to drink. It's ridiculous, is what I think, and TOTALLY IRRELEVANT.

How dare the news media find some way to make these parents seem in any way at fault for "putting their children in jeopardy." This is not about good parenting. This is about a man committing a horrendous crime against innocent people. Parents who took their children to a midnight showing are in no way complicit.

This is exactly why I didn't tune in to the news in the first place. I knew they'd find some way to either exonerate the criminal or blame the victims. It makes me sick to my stomach. I can't handle the news of the actual crime on top of that.

2 comments:

  1. Weeelll... I think this issue is a little different from asking about a rape victim's clothing. Because the implication there is that a woman dressed like a "slut" is asking to be catcalled or harassed or assaulted. But in this case, there is no implication that parents who bring their kids to midnight showings are asking to be shot by a mass murderer. I mean, there's zero correlation there. By definition, a tragedy like this is random.

    That said, there's nothing to be gained by asking that kind of judgmental question. It won't bring anyone back.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, exactly. Why ask? Why pose the question as to whether parents were right in bringing small children to a midnight showing of "Dark Knight?" It's irrelevant. But now the idea has been stirred up that those parents were somehow placing their children in danger. It's ridiculous.

      Delete