Tuesday, May 31, 2005 11:58 PM
ryanseals
Gah!
Sometimes I wonder what Web sites such as Msnbc.com mean by putting this headline as one of their lead stories: "Bloody May: 77 U.S. fatalities in Iraq."
I always end up shaking my head. I hate the randomness of it all. I hate the use of sensational words such as "bloody." I hate the picking and choosing, the "monthly death tolls," the pushing forth of these stories on us in such an alarmist fashion. I can't even get on the Internet to check my e-mail or read some crappy gossip about celebrities to try to numb my brain a little without these stories popping up from all over the place. What is the point? If we're going to talk about deaths, be straightforward. Say, "77 troops died this May." Don't present it in the way that you do, top of your Web site in an attempt to get more hits, arousing alarm in some and causing others to shake their head, and turn those lives into some sort of "cause" against this war in the process.
There was this exhibit in town a few months ago. Supposedly, it displayed boots representing every service man or woman killed in Iraq. A tribute to their lives. At first, I thought it could be a nice thing to go to.
Outside the exhibit, I literally stopped short, started sweating, and almost burst into tears. The exhibit was blatantly anti-war, anti-being in Iraq. And here it was, using the "boots" of dead soldiers who may or may not have consented, to further an agenda.
Now pardon me, but this sort of thing just boils my blood. Anti-war or not, anti-Bush or not, anti-main stream media or not -- whatever -- that's sickening, to use those boots to futher a cause; or proclaim May the "bloodiest month ever" in an attempt to get more hits on a Web site. Trying to create a spin on the news or an angle instead of just TELLING it.
I wish sometimes I witnessed a little more respect toward the men and women protecting our country. They undoubtedly receive respect from many, many people, but stuff like this -- well my hands shake to type about it.
-Christy