I’m not a reporter. I do not have
a degree in journalism. If asked to describe myself, I would say I am a
wordsmith. My columns are meant to give the reader pause to think by presenting
both sides of an issue, albeit leaning a little to whatever side I feel is most
accurate. As a Jersey girl born and raised, it’s impossible for me not to be
opinionated. You will never hear me apologize for feeling strongly about an
issue. Give me a worthwhile cause and a willing ear, and I will stand on my
soapbox until I’ve whittled it down to a toothpick.
Every morning I read the largest
of our daily papers looking to widen my understanding of the world and its
inhabitants. Some days I am energized by good deeds performed by average
people. Most days I’m depressed because the stories presented are mostly
headline grabbers meant to sell papers.
Here are a few recent examples:
On May 5, 2014, a headline in the
Palm Beach Post declared, “Sheriff: Rape suspect wanted to talk to victim.”
As a survivor of domestic abuse
and as the mother of a rape survivor, I am drawn to stories about sexual
assault. Information is power. We can
never know enough about how these predators think; so I read and then re-read
the article. The most telling information in the report was not that the
attacker wanted to speak with his former girlfriend about their relationship
but that a former neighbor, present at the beginning of the confrontation, left
the premises despite pleas from the victim that he/she remain.
Not only did the neighbor leave
the victim to be beaten and raped, he/she did not take the initiative and call
the police to report a possible assault. This is a scenario I am all too
familiar with and, I would guess, happens more often than we care to admit.
Seven years ago when my daughter
was beaten and raped by a maintenance man with a master key and a machete, her
downstairs neighbor heard her screams and chose to barricade her door and cover
her ears. When my daughter escaped for a few brief moments and ran across the
parking lot screaming, no one – not one person in the many apartments lining
the parking lot – called the police. Had one resident fulfilled their obligation
as a human being, the outcome of that night would have been much different.
When reporting criminal activity,
it would behoove journalists to focus on the loss of humanity in our
society. As far as I am concerned, the
neighbor who deserted his/her friend is as guilty of the crime as the
perpetrator. Very often I hear people questioning the lack of empathy among
teenagers and college-aged students who show little interest in the well-being
of their peers. Perhaps, it’s because their role models behave the exact same
way.
A better headline would have been
“Neighbor deserts friend abetting rape and beating.”
On May 6, 2014, the Post carried
this teaser on their front page: “Boynton police: Man, 77, with walker tasered
in bank incident.”
Let me confess right at the
outset of this paragraph that I am pro law enforcement. Every day police
officers put their lives on the line to protect us… even those of us
undeserving of protection. They should not be cast as villains so that a
newspaper can sell a few more copies and make a few more bucks. I just can’t
believe the public relations officer for the Boynton Beach police department
started his news briefing off by saying, “Our guys tasered some old dude with a
walker.”
According to the article, Russell
Cooper entered his local PNC bank and demanded money from a teller. When told
that his account had been closed due to lack of funds, he became enraged. Yes, Cooper
is an old man. Yes, he uses a walker. Neither condition prevented him from
pulling a knife and taking the bank manager hostage, threatening to “slit” his
throat if he did not get the money he wanted.
The bank manager, who claims to
have been in fear of his life, escorted Cooper to the door where they were met
by a Boynton Beach plainclothes police officer. The officer’s unexpected
presence distracted Cooper, allowing the bank manager to escape.
When the
officer ordered Cooper to drop the knife, he responded, “I’m going to stick it
in your (expletive) gut.”
Long story short – more police
officers arrived and, when Cooper refused to comply with orders to drop the
knife, he was tasered in the back and arrested.
Cooper’s son, who lives in
Michigan, claims is father is a mild mannered man driven to extremes by
bankruptcy and “scammers who stole thousands and thousands of dollars.” He
questioned why the police did not kick the walker out from under his father,
which would have forced him to the ground.
I can’t answer why the police
chose to act as they did but, as they are trained for these situations, I trust
their judgment. An angry man with a knife, no matter his age or physical
condition, is still a threat.
Now, I also have a question. Who
is Mr. Cooper’s guardian – he, obviously, needs one -- and why was this person
not aware of the closed bank account and his lack of funds?
Allow me to travel back in time a
bit to prove that hard copy media is not the only offender in the headlines for
headlines sake saga.
In June 2012, two medical reports
on Fox 29 WFLX were responsible for an intense gnawing in my stomach. The first
had to do with increased obesity in children born by caesarean section. The
second focused on the danger to children who gain access to the new colorful
cleaning “pods” offered by manufacturers like Tide.
As to the first report, Brazilian researchers claimed to have found a connection between
overweight babies and C-sections. The consensus was that vaginal births
provided healthy bacteria, which helped to avoid weight gain “… in later life.”
Let’s look at the criteria used to reach that conclusion.
Initial findings were based on interviews with
individuals born by caesarian section. The oldest person surveyed was age 23.
Twenty three is not “…in later life.” As much as I hate to admit it, I am in
later life. Twenty three is a body still under construction.
Resulting from these interviews, scientists found
a 9% to 16% higher likelihood of obesity in c-section births compared to 7% to
10% with vaginal births. When you realize how shortsighted they were in
limiting the age range of their subjects, it comes as no surprise that the data
they relied on never accounted for life circumstances -- such as heredity,
weight at birth, education, income and bad habits like smoking and alcohol
consumption. Once those factors were taken into consideration, the research
proved to be completely false.
Unfortunately, the new evidence was not reported
although it was readily available. As a result women who heard the broadcast
and who were candidates for a caesarean birth had something else to worry
about… unnecessarily.
The second story spotlighted brightly packaged
cleaning products and the danger said products are to children who play with
them. My first reaction upon hearing the report was, “Seriously. Have we not
yet learned to keep dangerous products out of the reach of children?”
A 2001 UCLA report stated that
unintentional accidents were the leading cause of death in children over the
age of one. Injuries to children for the years 1987 – 1995 averaged 246,000
ANNUALLY. Although it is a commonly held belief that accidents just happen,
that isn’t true. The UCLA report noted that most injuries are not random and
unavoidable. They are the result of choices made by parents, guardians and
supervising adults, e.g. parents make choices about whether to place containers
of hazardous materials where children can reach them.
Let’s be honest. The purpose of creative
marketing is to sell. The obligation of parents is now and always has been/will
be to protect their offspring. The two agendas are not mutually exclusive.
Dangerous chemicals need to be kept securely away
from small children whether they are packaged in plain brown wrapping or a
bright circus motif. There are as many companies manufacturing cabinet locks as
there are laundry and dish washing detergents.
Perhaps if the aforementioned locks were used on
cabinets holding both cleaning supplies and high fat snacks, our children would
be safer and thinner.
Author Walt Streightiff said, “There are no seven wonders
of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million.”
Seven million wonders equal seven million dangers. Parents
need to be seven million times more aware.
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