Pushing A Political Agenda During A Tragedy

Discussion in 'Politics, Religion and Philosophy -(FORUM CLOSED)-' started by Azndude2190, Jun 14, 2016.

  1. Azndude2190

    Azndude2190 - Lakers 6th Man -

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    I don't think it's inherently in bad taste. I just don't. Whether I agree with that political agenda or not. I think you can mourn and be empathetic at the same time that you passionately fight for something that you truly believe in.

    People tend to forget when it's some distant thing, as oppose to front and center news. What's wrong with taking advantage of that to make your own point.

    For example, some of you will remember the murder of the reporter shot on live TV, Allison Parker. Her dad came out for immediate action on gun control the day after the tragedy:

     
    Azndude2190, Jun 14, 2016
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  2. therealdeal

    therealdeal Moderator Staff Member

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    I disagree with that. I think voicing your political agenda immediately after a tragedy or any impactful event generally leads to misinformed positions. This is an age where jerks like Trump who have millions of followers spreads some nonsense opinion on a subject he doesn't have all the information on. That or someone like Hillary Clinton uses this event to push her own shady political agendas. Lost in that mix is properly mourning the tragedy which we end up becoming numb to. Part of the information age is being inundated with so much information that we numb ourselves to emotions.

    I think the proper approach is waiting until all the information is available and then using that information to make a concrete decision. People reacting immediately after the Orlando tragedy used this as a platform to lobby their own self interests like gun control when this situation was far more complex than that.

    And that goes both ways too. I would like for there to be more open debate. So many people get so entrenched in their ideas that they're unwilling to bend and when something like this happens that entrenchment gets even deeper.
     
    therealdeal, Jun 14, 2016
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  3. Punk-101

    Punk-101 - Lakers Starter -

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    I think there's a window between insensitively too soon and yesterday's news apathy. Public interest and opinion is so largely shaped by the media, and the media seems to have about a 5-7 day attention span. Somewhere in there is a tactful and respectful time to strike while the iron is still hot, IMO.
     
    Punk-101, Jun 14, 2016
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  4. therealdeal

    therealdeal Moderator Staff Member

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    Yeah I mean I understand there's a limit to what I'm saying and you cannot take away future impact from present events. I'm just saying our rush to jump to conclusions has people making rash statements and decisions about events much too early in the process. This age of twitter has people making snap judgments before they even understand all the facts. It leads to polarized opinions. Then when more information is learned, the opinion may change but the damage can already be done.

    For instance just with the Lakers D'Angelo is still called a snitch even if he didn't actually decide to put the video out there. It was a joke that someone else put out into the world and he got the blame, but he's still a snitch. Another sports example: any time an athlete is accused of sexual assault or domestic violence those things tend to stick with them even if they're never eventually charged with a crime. The moment it comes out, action is called for and we jump to conclusions.

    There's a middle ground where we ought to wait and make more informed stances.
     
    therealdeal, Jun 15, 2016
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  5. Kingsama

    Kingsama - Rookie -

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    I agree, there has to be a time to just let people grieve, but in reality there has to be a transition to talking about real and actual solutions, which in our culture involves political agendas sadly. I think the real issues are that people ignore giving folks that time to just sit and grieve and jump straight to a political finger wagging that is generally less about solutions and more about political power. In reality if people were concerned with actual solutions we wouldn't have the crap mental health system we do now.
     
    Kingsama, Jun 15, 2016
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  6. sirronstuff

    sirronstuff - Lakers Legend -

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    Sadly, the people that are sometimes first on the scene cause more harm than good in their attempt to self promote.

    Ex: much of the good done in the past by people like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson is undone by a clear shift toward self promotion during times of tragedy.
     
    sirronstuff, Jun 16, 2016
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