Between the disaster in Japan and the upheaval in the Middle East, it seems as though there's nothing else in the world to talk about. Don't get me wrong, these are major and historic times in which we live and experience, however I still feel disconnected from most of what's going on.
...Except for the Itamar massacre. I'm still horrified by the events that took place in the small community of Itamar, located in the Samaria region of Israel, less than three weeks ago. For those who don't recall, Palestinian terrorists entered the Fogel family's home, and murdered both parents and three children.
Obviously this news spread the instant we became aware of what took place. It literally took over my newsfeed on Facebook; everyone was talking about it. Among the various articles, statuses, and comments about the horrific event, there was one post (that was reposted several times) that stood out for me. Graphic photos of the butchered family were released for the public to see. When I was confronted with this footage, I initially didn't know what to think. An attack of this nature was never presented to me in such raw form. I suddenly had the chance to get 'up close, and personal' with the victims.
OK, so you're presented with this opportunity. What do you do? Well I didn't know exactly what I'd encounter, but I took a deep breath and clicked on the link. I was drawn to. I had to. But now that I have, I wonder if I made the right decision. I believe strongly in being exposed to the horrors of war and conflict in order to understand and know it better, yet this was different. I felt like this exposure took it one step too far. Don't get me wrong, photos or no photos, there's no way to fully comprehend what actually took place. Yet in my eyes there is still a need to keep certain scenes shielded from our eyes, if for no other reason than to have respect for the dead.
I'm tempted to post a link to the pictures, but I just can't bring myself to even search for one. They're too horrific and too personal. This time the media took it too far.
Feel free to post a link. I personally have posted a link to the pictures of the now infamous "kill team" in Afghanistan. I am very sorry to hear though that you feel disconnected. It seems like there are a couple of reasons you feel more connected to the Itamar massacre than all the other horrible events around the world:
ReplyDeleteFirst, obviously since you are Jewish you are naturally going to feel a stronger connection to a massacre on your brothers and sisters in Israel. Second is the matte rof the pictures and the footage. If pictures are what really make you truly symapthize with a story then by all means look up the pictures and videos from around the world and i don't just mean Japan and Libya.
I agree with you, as the news has been a big blur over these past few days as well. Every story seems to run into the next. I think that's because we have been hearing about Japan and Libya for so long that it everything seems as if we already read about it the day or week before.
ReplyDeleteWith regard to the Itamar massacre, however, I do not agree. I think you are missing one crucial point here. Those pictures weren't taken and published by the media. Rather, they were taken by the Fogel's family and then given to the media. The Fogel's family wanted the world to see what really happened to such innocent people in an attempt of removing some of the bias that plagues Israel. The media does overstep its boundaries many times, but I don't believe that this was one of them.