Outraged
I was browsing through the papers this morning when I came across an item.
The item was about an Israeli soldier posting a photograph on a social network site, though the context of the article isn’t what struck me. What jumped out of the page were the two words “sparked outrage”.
What is this “outrage”. It seems to appear everywhere. Every day someone or something “sparks outrage” and there is a flurry of activity on the Interweb until someone promises to “hold an investigation”, whereupon the Outraged can relax as their job is done.
To me, the word “outrage” conjures up an image of rooms full of Mary Whitehouses all scouring the news to see if there is anything that might offend their oh so touchy sensibilities. Have these people not got a life to lead? Are their lives so empty that they justify their existence by tut tutting at things that offend them?
The photograph that sparked this was of a boy’s left ear in the scope of a sniper rifle. I looked at the photograph before reading the article, and my thoughts were that it was technically a mildly interesting composition, but nothing more than that. My thoughts on the conflict between Israel and Palestine didn’t even enter the equation. It was, after all just a photograph. But this isn’t enough for the Outraged. They have to read all sorts of agendas into it and have to display their moral disgust.
Who are these people who spend their lives scouring web pages and Twitter looking for offence? What is their moral standard by which we are expected to live? Do they lie in bed at night seething over every petty event that they witnessed during the day? Are their fingers itching to get typing on Twitter so they can tell the world of their disgust?
Why can’t they just mind their own fucking business and get a fucking life?
I am outraged that you would write such a flippant account of what is obviously an attempted murder. All right thinking people must blah blah blah ……………… and demand an apology etc etc ………………….
And I am outraged by your outrage. How dare you.
Warning. A not so nice comment. Take it or leave it.
I get a bit outraged (well, more annoyed) at the lack of depth of your posts GD. Most are of the nature of trivial fluff and even though you write well, a lot of the subject matter seems like feigned outrage to me (ironic, considering the subject of this post)
And what annoys me even more is the opportunities you've gotten from that shower of inbred, nepotistic, insular crowd you once worked for, especially considering there are much more talented writers/thinkers out there.
Just a thought. Probably best to keep it to myself. I'm sure I'll get a bit of backlash for that one from the dumb yanks sycophants, whose great great grandfather came from Co.Mayo and who think this all riveting stuff.
Bet you don't like Guinness either … 😉
Hah! No problem. Now where do I start?
I'm not quite sure what you mean by trivial fluff? The whole nature of the site is in reflecting the meandering thoughts that inhabit a old fart's head. Sometimes I think serious thoughts; sometimes trivial ones. A lot depends on my mood and it's a case of taking pot luck when you read my regular scribbling.
Indeed I have expressed outrage myself, BUT I reserve my outrage for those who deserve it – those who through their actions cause others to suffer. By those I mean the likes of politicians, nuns and their fucking laundries and anyone else who makes live miserable for their own benefit. I will not however get my knickers in a twist over a photograph, a Tweet or someone's casual remarks. It is the latter group to which I refer today.
I grant there have been occasions when I have expressed an opinion that might be contrary to my true thoughts. I'm not saying when, or about what, but sometimes I feel the need for a little shit stirring for my own amusement. I don't do it very often so generally the thoughts here are genuinely my own.
I could indeed delve into the morass of experience that is RTE, but frankly I wouldn't want to bore my readers. I got to know most people in RTE and the vast majority were straightforward, honest, decent folk. There were one or two exceptions all right, and I don't think I need to spell out their names. One reason I don't write about my experiences there is that my scribbles would probably end up sounding like an exercise in name-dropping which would bore the arse off anybody, most of all myself.
One thing I do value though is honest opinion, even if the opinions I express myself aren't always 100% honest! 😉
Fair enough GD. You write about whatever you want. Nice of me huh.
And happy birthday. If I'da known it was your birthday, I woulda held off on the opinions ''till tomorrow. 🙂
"If I'da known it was your birthday, I woulda held off on the opinions ''till tomorrow."
Why? Opinions are always welcome and valued.
Such an aggressive response is utterly unacceptable. You can clearly see that I am in the right and all right-thinking people must abhor your indefensible stance. Are you trying to further draw out my rage ?
I'm sorry but I shall have to insist on a Full Judicial Enquiry into your attitude.
I am going to refrain from commenting as the Israeli nation is just too utterly despicable in all that it does to the Palestinians to be worthy of recognition in your blog.
As I said Mossy, the photograph is just to illustrate a point and I deliberately refrained from passing comment of the Palestinian/Israeli situation. That's for another day.
and this dumb Yank sycophant can't wait.
Favor left. Pause. Send it.
What? Who? Where?
I suppose I could be outraged, if I could be arsed that is. Unfortunately I cannot be arsed, and therefore un-outraged or summat.
Inraged, obviously?
Inraged! That's the one….
Would have been a good name for this site?
I don’t recall as much outrage when Wee Willie pointed a gun at a photographer.
According to the Indo, the photograph ‘appeared to show the back of a Palestinian boy's head seen through the crosshairs of a rifle’. Should I be outraged that there are those in the world who can identify someone’s nationality by looking at the back of their head – I can’t do it.
Welcome, MM! Now that is the kind of thing that doesn't outrage me. The man is a fucking idiot and a shyster – best just ignored.
Equally, who is to say it's a boy? It could be a forty year old man? Or Sinéad O'Connor?
Don't shoot the kid's ear. Shoot all the "Outraged".
A contender for worst post of the year. So you see not problem with unprofessional IDF soldiers dehumanising the Palestinian people in the most appalling ways, and targeting children. Don't you have kids and grandkids? I suppose you'd have no problem if it was your kid in the picture, at the business end of a high powered rifle in the control of a complete cunt?
Fuck it.
As I stated in my piece, I am not passing comment on the Israeli-Palestine conflict. What I am commenting on is the howls of protest from people who more than likely haven't the faintest clue about the background to the picture, or the politics involved. I am commenting on the likes of the Twitter generation who will pick on a "cause" and express outrage, probably more as a result of wanting to be "one of the crowd" than through any genuine personal feelings. I chose that image as an example though it could equally have been a polar bear or a tiger in the scope. With reference to that image though, while not making any excuses for the photographer [cunt, as he more than likely is], lining something up in a scope does not automatically mean that the trigger is about to be pulled.
You're way off the mark on this. This isn't about the entire middle east conflict, this is about ONE soldier dehumanising ONE child, by reducing him to the status of a legitimate target and this situation being so 'normalised' that he is not only not ashamed of doing this but feels like it is a photo opportunity to share online.
He's not fucking creating art here, he's a trained killer acting irresponsibly while he is supposed to be in control of a high powered rifle. The fact that you believe your point is equally valid with a tiger or panda in the picture only underscores this point.
The 'Twitter' crowd you refer to is actually helping the situation by bring it into the consciousness of as many people as possible. In fact, this is what a number of human rights organisations do, namely Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
More here:
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/stoned-naked-armed-and-dangerous-more-disturbing-images-israeli-soldiers
Hey Grandad, you can never please what the professionally offended consider to be their latest bandwagon. So I presume Fuck It is an army sniper who has terminated people in the course of their duty and knows what he is talking about…….As to Mossy, How about going over there and seeing what it's really like rather than pontificating from your keyboard.
Ad hominem remarks.
'Because you have fuck all to contribute'
Fuck It – You are still missing my point. There are people with axes to grind, such as Climate Change, Smoking Laws, various wars and conflicts, or Save the Whales. That is fine and dandy and each will fight their corner with their own arguments. I count myself amongst them.
HOWEVER, what I am talking about is the casual person who sees something on the Interweb, or in a newspaper and will throw their hands up in horror and scream outrage in their social media of choice. These people generally don't see beyond the first mention of the word "child" or "children" before having their first attack out outrage and rarely have a clue what they are really being outraged by.or for.
There will always be people who will be "outraged" at something they know nothing about. You'll not likely hear from those who actually know about these things and/or actually lived it because they know that words are cheap and couldn't possibly describe the situation. You're post was clear enough to me.
No offense meant to anyone, of course.