In this episode I answer a Listener Question about James Holmes and his violent murder of a dozen people in Aurora, Colorado at a viewing of the latest Batman film, unsalvageable people, Charles Manson, and a clip from Joe Rogan’s podcast. Click here to download this and past Rosscast Shows. Enjoy!
We've all felt like losers at some point in our lives when we fail at relationships, jobs or school and been angry at ourselves or at the world. It takes a special kind of loser to give up on himself and decide to take other people with him. Fucked up beyond belief. I don't believe in the death penalty though. Whatever about justice/revenge, never mind the murderer. My main concern is what putting someone to death says about us. I think abolishing the death penalty is one of the costs of being a decent, civilised society. Whole 'nother conversation I guess.
ReplyDeleteAbout the extract you played at the end, that kind of myopic worldview really gets under my skin. I agree that your first priority should always be you and your loved ones and making your environment a good one for yourself and for them. But calling people's concern for other people that they have never met 'pseudo-empathy' is the most arrogant, cynical thing I have heard in a long time and reflects the speaker's selfishness and tunnel vision far more than it represents a valid view of the world. Every single fucking day you are the beneficiary of the contribution of someone you've never met whether it's when you use public sidewalks and roads, libraries, unemployment support, public education, whatever. Yes, I agree that the media's 24 hour news cycle is manipulative, sentimental and pointless -I saw this clearly for the first time in 2002 when two little girls disappeared in Soham, England- and it's up to each individual to screen that out. If you choose not to and prefer to live in a world of Oprah-style drama then good luck to you. Also if you watch the news, see people suffering and decide you're not interested because you can't do anything about it, I get that too. That's perfectly normal. But if you are the kind of person like me who is interested in the news -not the TV news which is 90% filler, but actual real news- and decides to try to do something about the problems they see, do fucking NOT accuse me of 'pseudo-empathy'. My empathy is very really, which I know sounds very sanctimonious, but it's a bald, straight fact and fuck anyone who decides to justify their indifference and lack of action by claiming that people who care about shit are just being manipulated by the media into a sentimental fake emotion. I act on what I know and how I feel about it, and I know what I do, informed by intelligent sections of the media, makes a difference to people in need in my own city and in two foreign countries because I use this information to become involved in a solution, instead of lamenting the problem or deciding not to do anything because the problem is so big. We are set up to process what we choose to process so I totally disagree with the guy who says we're only set up to process 'the neighbourhood'. Maybe he is, but many of us are not. The world is not fixable but that shouldn't stop those of us who give a shit from wiping the bits we can clean, bit by tiny bit. Those of us who take on the responsibility know it's hopeless but it's still bloody well worth it.
Oh, the death penalty. I had a discussion about this a few weeks back and you and I touched on it briefly on Skype before it crapped out. Me, I know I have inconsistent views on the world. I have a fuck everything mentality towards things I dont like and go nuts for the things I love. The more time passes the less grey there is in between. So when I read about someone who is a cold blooded killer I want them gone and not breathing my air.
ReplyDeleteDoes that make me as bad as the person that is being executed? In a way, yes. I dont deny that a single bit. But knowing that I am on the planet with people who are capable of shooting a theater full of people and couldnt kill more because his gun jammed bothers me.
I believe that we are crazy ass animals that are aware that we are on a blue ball floating through space and that we have a certain amount of time on this planet to enjoy ourselves as much as we can before we die. People like James Holmes takes that away from people and for that he should be killed. There are people who cant be fixed and he is one of them.
The guy you are talking about is Duncan Trussell. Knowing more about his background and the way he grew up and the things he has gone through makes me see his view of the world a bit differently than you do. People have had things rough can either go crazy and shoot a theater or they can become angry and cynical towards things. He’s still a funny guy and I was laughing at him this morning on the way to work.
ReplyDeleteThis tunnel vision you speak of is something that is getting worse with each passing year and its something that we’re going to have to get used to. In a large extent I have tunnel vision. There’s a very “This is what Dante eats, drinks, likes, does” set that I adhere to and very rarely veer from. It just depends on how well you know the person hat dictates how you perceive them. Kinda like how someone can be called cocky and their friend will say confident. Some people call me stubborn and some say I just know what I like.
As for the news…ugh. Every year there’s a period where I just don’t ducking deal with it for a few months. I will actively not watch “real” news because it does become overwhelming. I am fully aware that things are fucked up in the world but sometimes I just want to wake up, watch Youtube videos, and write about how stupid dolphins are while children are starving to death and bombs are being dropped on innocent civilians. I have always had a hard time empathizing with most people even when they are going through things I have experienced. There’s a broken cog in my machine.
Lastly, I do believe that there are people here that are manipulated into giving a damn about things. Here in the states before this Aurora, Colorado shooting there have bee news stories that have dominated for a week or so before being replaced with something flashier meaning more tragic. There was an officer involved shooting in Anaheim that is not getting that much coverage even though there is rioting because it was one guy, not fourteen. There was the Trayvon Martin case that is slowly vanishing even though the president got involved publicly. Before that it was the KONY 2012. I work in television and know how to make things prettier or uglier with a few pictures, words, or phrases. Its disgusting in its beauty how the media here is.
All that being said, I do wish people would handle things in their own home before venturing out to save the world. I know that I am fucked up so I am trying to handle myself first, my friends second, and whoever comes after. Too many people are trying to problems that are too big for them to even begin to understand. Wow. I wrote more than I was planning.