There was an uproar in the media about the remains of bomber #1 being brought to my town of North Attleboro. In all honesty, if the media had just kept their mouths shut, there would have been no controversy at all. The whole thing was a non-issue.
Instead, they turned the solemn and private celebration of the life of a young woman who fought and succumbed to cancer into a media circus with helicopters and news vans orbiting around the Dyer-Lake Funeral home. Then, as the grieving family members exited the funeral home, they were confronted with reporters sticking microphones into their faces and asking them, “What did you think about them bringing the body of •••••••• •••••••• to the funeral home while you were having the service for your family member?”
Now, stop and think for a moment: the grieving family didn’t even know that •••••••• ••••••••’s remains were in the building until the media shoved microphones and cameras into their faces and proclaimed it to them.
Next, the media were pointing fingers at Dyer-Lake Funeral home and saying, “How dare they honor bomber #1 by receiving its remains?”
I have some news for you: it’s their job to do that! They were not honoring the bomber, they were doing their civic duty to assist the state in moving the remains. As any member of the police, fire department, the military, and many other public services can tell you, sometimes in your duty to God and country you are asked to handle distasteful problems and people that no one else wants to touch. (Trust me, that’s an understatement. Just ask Mike Rowe. Listening to his comments is well worth your time!)
People complained about doctors treating bomber #2. Again, that is their duty is the treat the sick and wounded. Not to pronounce judgement and sentence on people.
So what can people do?
Actually, the media had the answer in the beginning. Laughably, because they couldn’t pronounce the names of the two bombers. So the media simply referred to them as “suspects 1 & 2” or “bombers 1 & 2.” This is what we should be doing. Do they deserve the honor of having their names spoken by you? Do they deserve to be turned into celebrities and have their names become legend by the law-abiding public?
No, they do not.
Remove their names from the American lexicon. Simply refer to them as inhuman objects: bomber 1 and bomber 2. (The lack of capitalization is intended.)
Anonymize them. The names of the bombers should never be raised above those of their victims. Leave the bombers to be lost to obscurity, never to affect the flow or a change in society ever again.
I will never use their names. Not even in use to describe removing the residue from the lugs of my boots after stepping in animal excrement. They do not deserve such elevated status in civil society.
Instead, let them be forever marginalized in failure. Forgotten in silence, never again to bother society and civilization with their existence. Shun them and leave them alone in their shame.
Instead, look to all the people who heroically stepped in to help those stricken by the violence. Exemplify those who have turned to helping rather than harming others such as the students of Boston College who today did a fund-raiser for the victims of the bombing called A Walk to the Finish. The walk was five-miles-long, representing the last five miles that many of the Boston Marathon runners were unable to finish because the race was called off due to the bombings.
Instead, when you are having a bad day, don't use that as an excuse to ruin someone else's day. Hold open the door to let someone else through. Let that car cut you off rather than try to teach the driver a lesson in civility. Be the example, not the complaint.
Instead, watch this video as an example of how real people should behave. Russian drivers get such a bad reputation due to all the bad videos, this makes a good example of how it should be:
(link by way of tywkiwdbi)
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