Posted by photojenny on March 25, 2003, at 6:15:15
In reply to POWs, and four were, possibly, shot to death » beardedlady, posted by OddipusRex on March 23, 2003, at 16:42:08
> I heard that they were shot in the forehead execution style. As horrible as war is, I hope that this was not true and they died in battle.
>
> It's also horrible to think of women and children used as human shields.
>
> It's horrible to think of accidental casualties.
>
> It's horrible for me to see the young soldiers that live near me and know they may be asked to go.
>
> I despise the newscasters who are treating this like the superbowl.
>
> I can't imagine someone using watching the war as a reward for anything.
OddipusI understand all that war entails, and the whole concept of war as `entertainment` (or some kind of gruesome soap opera). I don`t know about these `newscasters` you are taking about - the UK reporters/newsreaders are NOT treating the conflict like a superbowl, or whatever the English equivalent would be. (It actually seems to me that the worst offenders for this type of presentation are the US military.) But there ARE those who watch every grisly detail for extremely questionable reasons.
Having read beardedlady`s post to me, I am absolutely certain that she is not one of those. I understood immediately what she was getting at - the use of the word `reward` is one I can relate to. It isn`t an accurate description, but it`s actually the only word that she could have used. I think you have misunderstood what she was saying altogether - obviously images of death, combat, suffering etc. are horrific and I don`t think that anyone was disputing that.
My point was that, having spent 5 years absolutely immobilised by my depression (something I didn`t mention), I work very hard to keep it at some kind of manageable level in order to function. I find the whole war thing very difficult for similar reasons (I`m sure) to most other people. I feel that I *need* to know about what`s going on, so I watch the TV. I then have to work doubly hard to stop myself from going completely under ...... at the end of the day there is absolutely nothing I can do about the situation. I joined a million people in February in London, to protest against the war - this had no impact whatsoever. So - is it actually necessary for me to spend hours in front of the box? Probably not. But, as beardedlady pointed out, it`s hard not to - hence her 'reward' remark. I took her to mean that doing other things *before* catching up on events, and limiting viewing is a way of dealing with the horrors of the situation (I could be wrong, but I think this is what she meant).
Anna.
poster:photojenny
thread:211785
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20030322/msgs/212427.html