by I’m thinking I may stop watching and reading the news except NPR and the BBC. I’m tired of seeing every story framed as a battle. Actually it was a blog post that prompted this wave of discouragement, so I will throw in certain blogs too. I’m tired of the ugliness, and the cynicism. I can’t take it anymore. Also, I was reading about Emmett Till again yesterday. He came up in a book I’m reading (The Time of Our Singing) and his story always makes me feel completely hopeless. Just show one fucking ounce of remorse Carolyn Bryant Donham!! For the love of God. I’d mention others but they are dead.
I want us to be better. And we are. On the one hand we have people like those 10 medical workers who were killed in Afghanistan, but on the other hand we have people like the ones who killed them.
I guess I need my two days off!!
I feel the same way, Stacy. And especially now with politics about to get in high gear, the never-ending partisan attacks, endless ads on TV, etc.
Lately I’ve been “escaping” by reading novels, and writing a bit of my own fiction — always my way of dealing with the overload of bad news.
For those who don’t know about the Emmett Tiil case, here’s an article from Slate on the subject.
http://www.slate.com/id/2120788
That image has always haunted me, too.
I’m amazed you’ve made it this long to be honest. I gave up during the second Bush administration. My desire to protect my joy beat out my desire to be “well-informed”.
I read the Washington Post and New York Times daily, but stopped reading the comments long ago. I got really tired of the ad hominem attacks, the trolls, the whole nastiness. I guess it is the anonymity of the process that drives the negativity. No consequences for their actions.
I do make one exception to not reading comments; Paul Krugman’s column and blog always seems to draw well-thought and reasoned comments.
Oh god, the comments sections!! Poisonous. Thanks for the pointer to a good one though.