this post was submitted on 22 Jun 2023
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Must we do the comparisons? The sub story was simply more interesting. It's not some media conspiracy, unless the media is already controlling the upvotes on kbin lol
Yeah, this comparison is getting really strained. As the Joker once said:
A sunken ship filled with hundreds of migrants in the Mediterranean is, horrifyingly, a routine thing. It's "part of the plan." But a billionaire in a minisub possibly stranded on the Titanic? That's newsworthy. Yes, it sucks, but it's human nature and some battles are just impossible to win under the current circumstances.
How is the story of five idiots choosing to do something incredibly dangerous – and predictably dying – more interesting than hundreds of desperate souls perishing at sea because of racist policies? That latter should be absorbing almost as much interest and attention as climate change, considering how closely they're connected.
And it is a media conspiracy. The news doesn't happen by accident, it happens by several people coming together and deciding what to report on.
Conspiracy, from the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition (emphasis added):
In this instance the media decided to report overwhelmingly on the bunch of idiots rather than the plight of and the conditions leading to the death of hundreds of tragic deaths. This comes as no surprise because to media barons and many media consumers, apparently, the life of refugees is seldom as interesting even as a politician caught with their pants down. The result is that nothing will improve for refugees but the safety rules for keeping other billionaire idiots alive might be reformed. If that's not sinister, reprehensible, or injurious, I don't know what is.
Perhaps not a conspiracy, but doesn't it say something about our culture that we find it more interesting?