4 ms·

So, the media reports on rare, interesting things, not mundane everyday things? I'm shocked!

losteric 8y ago
The news is supposed to keep the public informed... fusing of entertainment and information, along with corporate mergers, has brought us to this unhealthy state of public awareness. Our society is becoming more paranoid because it boosts ratings and profit. A prime example is the American public's irrational fear of terrorism, which translates to pouring unfathomable amounts of tax dollars into the unending "war on terror". Meanwhile heart disease/cancer silently kills 1.1 million Americans every year.
- GW150914 8y ago
  Fear of terrorism isn’t just fear of dying from terrorism. What was the economic damage or 9/11?
  - mLuby 8y ago
    Pretty sure the actual economic damage ($250B) from 9/11 attacks was small compared to the self-inflicted economic damage that followed in the form of market reactions $1T and wars $2T. In other words, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
    - GW150914 8y ago
      Factor in the two wars and you’re talking a further 6+ trillion. Call it self inflicted or not, it seems disingenuous to act like it all wasn’t a direct and predictable result of the attacks. I’m not discussing blame after all, but consequences and what poeple reasonably fear.
- rs999gti 8y ago
  > A prime example is the American public's irrational fear of terrorism, which translates to pouring unfathomable amounts of tax dollars into the unending "war on terror". Meanwhile heart disease/cancer silently kills 1.1 million Americans every year. The same thing could be said for the gun control narrative being pushed by the media and politicians. If gun deaths are classified as homicides and using CDC numbers, they account for less than 1% of deaths. However, looking at the same data on the site for the Guardian and NYT, it looks like the wild west out there and homicides are the leading cause of death next to cancer.
  - TangoTrotFox 8y ago
    I would elaborate on that as well. The main focus of the media is on "assault style weapons" which translates to semi-automatic rifles. Of that < 1% of deaths, rifles (of any sort) are the weapon type in less than 3%. Literally nearly all gun deaths are caused by pistols, yet the media obsesses on rifles. Even if we filter to mass shootings, the primary weapon is most often, again, a pistol. [1] How many people are aware of these data? I think that ignorance is going to be primarily the media's fault. [1] - https://news.vice.com/article/glock-pistol-omar-mateen-orlando-mass-shooting https://news.vice.com/article/glock-pistol-omar-mateen-orlan...
    - losteric 8y ago
      yeah... focusing on "assault weapons" is just divisive clickbait and legislative bikeshedding. Regulations should keep guns out of crazy and criminal hands, period.
  - losteric 8y ago
    I agree that the media is hyperbolizing gun violence, however that's a false equivalency. The "war on terror" is costly and only creates more terrorism... stoking public fear feeds back into the problem. Legislation could significantly reduce firearm abuse with negligible cost and no feedback loops.
    - pitaj 8y ago
      What legislation? I really wish that whenever people talk about "reasonable gun laws" they would specify what they are referring to.

The news is supposed to keep the public informed... fusing of entertainment and information, along with corporate mergers, has brought us to this unhealthy state of public awareness. Our society is becoming more paranoid because it boosts ratings and profit. A prime example is the American public's irrational fear of terrorism, which translates to pouring unfathomable amounts of tax dollars into the unending "war on terror". Meanwhile heart disease/cancer silently kills 1.1 million Americans every year.

GW150914 8y ago
Fear of terrorism isn’t just fear of dying from terrorism. What was the economic damage or 9/11?
- mLuby 8y ago
  Pretty sure the actual economic damage ($250B) from 9/11 attacks was small compared to the self-inflicted economic damage that followed in the form of market reactions $1T and wars $2T. In other words, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
  - GW150914 8y ago
    Factor in the two wars and you’re talking a further 6+ trillion. Call it self inflicted or not, it seems disingenuous to act like it all wasn’t a direct and predictable result of the attacks. I’m not discussing blame after all, but consequences and what poeple reasonably fear.
rs999gti 8y ago
> A prime example is the American public's irrational fear of terrorism, which translates to pouring unfathomable amounts of tax dollars into the unending "war on terror". Meanwhile heart disease/cancer silently kills 1.1 million Americans every year. The same thing could be said for the gun control narrative being pushed by the media and politicians. If gun deaths are classified as homicides and using CDC numbers, they account for less than 1% of deaths. However, looking at the same data on the site for the Guardian and NYT, it looks like the wild west out there and homicides are the leading cause of death next to cancer.
- TangoTrotFox 8y ago
  I would elaborate on that as well. The main focus of the media is on "assault style weapons" which translates to semi-automatic rifles. Of that < 1% of deaths, rifles (of any sort) are the weapon type in less than 3%. Literally nearly all gun deaths are caused by pistols, yet the media obsesses on rifles. Even if we filter to mass shootings, the primary weapon is most often, again, a pistol. [1] How many people are aware of these data? I think that ignorance is going to be primarily the media's fault. [1] - https://news.vice.com/article/glock-pistol-omar-mateen-orlando-mass-shooting https://news.vice.com/article/glock-pistol-omar-mateen-orlan...
  - losteric 8y ago
    yeah... focusing on "assault weapons" is just divisive clickbait and legislative bikeshedding. Regulations should keep guns out of crazy and criminal hands, period.
- losteric 8y ago
  I agree that the media is hyperbolizing gun violence, however that's a false equivalency. The "war on terror" is costly and only creates more terrorism... stoking public fear feeds back into the problem. Legislation could significantly reduce firearm abuse with negligible cost and no feedback loops.
  - pitaj 8y ago
    What legislation? I really wish that whenever people talk about "reasonable gun laws" they would specify what they are referring to.