Can We All Agree to Slap Stupid People?

I refuse to believe there is nothing good in the world. While my heart aches for all the hate and division that I see in the world, there has got to be a reason why mankind still exist. I typically get news late, as I haven’t had network television for years. I select which news outlets and stories I will read, as I don’t want to fill my spirit up with all of the negaivity that is often displayed in the media. The inflammatory headlines that often exist to race bait and pull in more readers are more than I can bear.

I spent my first few years of undergraduate study, attempting to acquire a Bachelor’s degree in communications with the emphasis on journalism. It was during that course work, that I took a class titled Ethics in Journalism. I learned about gatekeepers and their sole purpose of releasing news to the public that they determined met specific criteria. 1) Is the story newsworthy – and by newsworthy they meant would the mass population be interested in the story being told? This is the main determinant because only stories that are widely of interest produce the most funding. 2) Is there an angle that the story could take that hadn’t been addressed before? Many news outlets may have the same scoop on the story, but was there an angle that could be taken that made more people want to get their news from your source versus another source. 3) Is the story credible? While retractions can always be printed, the less retractions necessary the more likely people will want to get their news from your source. So it doesn’t matter the “how” is the news shared, it’s the “how much” is it going to make that is of prime interest.

I changed my major after being exposed to a photo in my text book of a little boy in a body bag that was half opened, while his mother looked on in terror holding back her younger child who was screaming and attempting to pull away to get to his older brother. There were microphones in her face and journalists asking how she felt at that moment. We’ve seemed to become so desensitized to other’s pain, and all we care about is how great of a story it is. Tragedies present the opportunity for human triumph, yet we are too busy expressing judgment instead of dispersing encouragement. We will lend an opinion before we lend a hand. We’ll give condemnation instead of concern. It’s in these moments that I understand how merciful God truly is, because I would have exterminated mankind a long time ago.

So before you judgmental assholes start politicizing the most recent tragic events, please do me a favor first, and put the shut to the fuckin' up! Sorry, but that’s how angry I am at your ignorance!!! This isn’t about gun laws, race or political affiliation, it’s about being a fuckin’ part of the human race who was affected by another tragedy that hits close to home. When I have two people in my immediate office who have loved ones that are fighting for their lives, deputies I work with who narrowly escaped death and one of them still unaccounted for, I don’t want to hear your spiritual or political opinion. It has no value to those who are grieving. Just do the world a favor and quietly crawl back under your rock until you get a clue on how to be a decent human being. For those of you with a shred of common sense still left, let’s start showing these assholes what it means to have love for all of our fellow man.

 

Continue to love and f;ght,

Andrea Y. Jones