“What’s over there?” ”-Don’t worry about it”

Juan Guevara
jg808618@ohio.edu

Censorship: I, kind of, get it. There are many stories which cover acts which are so heinous and so brutal that the mere description of the event can shock the reader's conscience. So, in order to protect the readers and viewers, those responsible sometimes do a little wiping first, or, simply leave it out. They change the wording, they describe in a way that the information is manageable. At first, I understood, I admired the effort, however, I started thinking about it more and I cannot in good faith support these tactics and I suppose, this entire approach. I’ll explain what I mean later.

There was a reporter in the Iraq War which pointed the obvious. Wherever he went there were bodies on the ground, and it didn't sound like they went peacefully. How could they? These poor souls passed on the ground. No funeral, no bedside manner, no pain management medication. The reporter asked why were they not showing these bodies? To protect readers? To protect viewers? My personal opinion is how are you protecting people from withholding pieces of information? If you told me a missile landed on a school and said 10 children died. I would be hurt and I would follow the news and read articles and attempt to understand how I can make a difference. Who do I vote for, or not vote for, for this not to happen again. Now, if there were photographs of the scene, of children’s bodies, hurt could not begin to describe my reaction. I would be shocked, and appropriately so. 

No one is protecting anyone’s feelings by withholding information. Do not worry about our feelings, we brought our big boys' and girl's pants today, we can handle it. I do not believe we can react appropriately to situations if they are “padded.” There are several circumstances which were made to seem lighter than they were (Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky scandal, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer). The reaction would be different. The climate would be different if things were exposed for what they were. And that goes for most things especially political ones, there's the saying “let the chips fall where they may.”

I understand not showing content which promotes terrorism. Terrorists such as ISIS want graphic material to be aired in order to spread fear and their influence. Those instances require special handling. The thing about reporting of war, tragedies, natural disasters, I say, let us have it. My point, what I am trying to say is; don’t withhold information from someone and then tell them it is for their own good. Let the people decide what is good for them and what is not. Sometimes we need to hear or see bad news to really get it.