Terrorism

“In a cause of explosion in a mall 168 people died. The man who committed this crime was sentenced to death on electric chair. Relatives of the victims demanded the government to permit to broadcast his kazn nationwide on TV….”

Flashback…

Year 2001… the twin towers are drowning in clouds of dust, chunks of the building, screams and fears…. Television restlessly repeats the pictures of the World Trade Center falling down – over and over again, tattooing the picture into the brains of shocked and speechless viewers for forever.

Year 2003… People with blood on their faces and their legs and arms injured, soldiers raping men in Iraqi prisons, and bombs blasting more often then the heart makes its normal amount of beats per minute – and the society, with its breath held, glues to the screens of TVs. The more, the bloodier – the better.

Year 2004… Mass media truly enjoys the information about tragedy in Beslan, Northern Osetia, and cuts it into pieces to feed the chunks of the bloody pie about victims, terrorists and grieving relatives to the TV viewers.

Wouldn’t you say you are a child of a modern world? I would. I don’t react on catastrophes, terrorism attacks and death any more. I don’t care who died yesterday, who dies right now, and who is sentenced to die tomorrow. I’ve had enough of this information. TV news did their job well and fed me up with their reports.

People die every day… so what? Does it really matter, how they do it? New people will be born to replace old ones. Especially conservative citizens will still visit the cemetery, cry over stones… I’m not cynical. I’m just the daughter of my epoch. I was raised like this, so what did you expect to see?

If I were different, I don’t think I would’ve been able to handle the situation. What kind of a normal person could do it? All we are able to do is keep on saying: “Oh, man… did you hear how many people died in tsunami? Horrible, unbelievable…. How many, once again?” I’m sick of it.

And they call it information? Then I don’t have anything to say against showing the death of the crazy lunatic dude on TV worldwide. Why not? I’d even place some comments. After all, we see the same stuff on TV, hear on the radio and read in newspapers everyday. We eat it with an appetite of hungry African children.

If we place this explosion in a mall on the timeline of catastrophes that happened over the past two years, it will just be lost. 168 dead bodies – so what? Twice as many die in Middle East every day, but people still manage to survive.

The funny thing is – movies about sex and violence are R-rated, but as to the death broadcast – you are free to watch. Like a lesson that needs to be learned: if you do something bad, you will be severely punished. If we choose this way of living, let’s follow it till the very end. Either truth, or lie all the time. Everything has to be natural.

It’s just that I’m not interested any more. I’ve got classes, job, Mom, grandma and tropical fishes to take care of. I want to live. And I will until I die. Maybe, these crazy folks on TV will even show how I get cremated. By that time absolutely everyone will get used to death, which is important. You have to feel it near without the feeling of fear. And still be able to live.