A murder occurs in the United States every 36.7 minutes and someone is sexually assaulted every two minutes, according to the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network website. Many Americans, especially the younger generations, view these events as common and not worth mourning or worrying about. Teenagers should care more about what happens to those around them and attempt to feel some empathy for these victims.
Every night on the nightly news, there is a section where they discuss the tragedies of the day, listing off rapes, assaults, robberies, and missing children in less than a minute. Scrolling down the Chicago-area local news page on the Chicago Tribune website, eight stories on murder are interspersed with news on laws, teacher strikes, and politics.
Nowadays, it is easy to overlook these tragedies for many people nowadays. A lax attitude towards may seem like a small thing to many students because it is not something LZ residents have much experience with. LZHS students are lucky enough to live in a nice area, where the crime rate is 90 percent lower than the national average, according to http://cityrating.com.
Many students are not even aware of these tragedies. For instance, on September 11 of this year, Islamic extremists killed the American ambassador for Libya.
On the same date in 2001, the people of the United States were banding together and standing together in the face of a tragedy. While the American citizens came together to aid the victims of 9/11, many people did not pay attention to the murder. And many teens are unaware of this international incident.
TV shows like Criminal Minds, Law and Order, CSI, and Castle have all contributed to this newfound indifference. By romanticizing an atrocious act, these shows have lessened the impact violent crimes have on the concern levels of people.
The FBI states that less than one third of rapes that occur are reported. With people seeing rape and assault on reruns of these shows, as well as on the news, the mention of it has become less of an event. Even worse than that, hearing about these crimes has, unfortunately, become a regular part of the daily lives of most people. Every time you turn on the news, there is a story about a murder, or a gang fight, or a little girl who is missing.
Besides violent crimes, even the inevitable natural disaster has failed to shock people today. In the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, only seven years ago, the country rallied to helps victims of this monumental tragedy.
In 2010, when the earthquake struck Haiti, a country less than 800 miles from the U.S., there was a temporary sense of mourning followed by a quick dismissal of the problem.
Out of sight, out of mind quickly became the accepted frame of mind for U.S. citizens. This way of thinking has been applied to countless situations since then, with the War in Iraq being at the forefront of this.
In past wars, the citizens of the United States of America have stood behind their troops and come together to support their country. Nowadays, people just want to forget about the problems across the ocean and focus on their own.
Instead of thinking of these horrible events as common and not worth worrying about, students should strive to empathize with the victims of these tragedies and attempt to understand what they are going through.
The next time you hear of a little girl being kidnapped, or a man being shot on his way home from work, take a minute to grieve for the family and try to understand just how abhorrent these tragedies are.