Poor Kate Beagley. She was on a first date, did all the right things, and a pathetic excuse for a human being killed her.
The lowlife Thing has been sentenced to life and must serve a minimum of 30 years. Again, I hope he is in with a bunch of feral inmates who are psychotic and have sisters that look like poor Kate.
The news is so depressing of late. So many murders. Was it always this way? Should we stop reading the news to preserve ourselves? Or do we owe it to the people who have suffered so horribly to know what they went through/are going through – to form an opinion and speak out? As long as hearing bad things angers, motivates and disgusts, rather than desensitises, I think we need to know.
You pose an interesting question, MD. And yet you know when I look at the murder rate here and compare it to there, I still think, "you guys have it easy". And that sounds so callous, doesn't it, so dehumanised. And that's the thing, isn't it. We become dehumanised. The more we hear about it, the more we speak about it, the more we seem to take it in our stride. I gave up reading and watching the news a long time ago. I couldn't cope with the continual onslaught of violence. And the thing is its not just murders of one innocent by a raving lunatic, it's the murder of thousands in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, the Congo, the Sudan...
ReplyDeleteFor some reason we expect no killing, no murders and yet it is everywhere. Which view is the right one? Are we really just base beasts or do we strive to be more. What is this humanity of ours.
Oh dear, better put my soapbox away.
It's funny, Vanilla, I thought of what goes on where you live (and in other places) when I wrote that post.
ReplyDeleteYes, we do become dehumanised – it must be some kind of survival mechanism. If we were to despair over ever single killing, we would surely go mad, wouldn't we...?
I do go through phases when I stop reading such stories but as a journalist (and just as a person), I feel I should be informed. But I can see why switching off has to be the option for many people.
I like this: "Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight ~ Albert Schweitzer"
I think it may be that several high profile cases have come to court at once, but it does make you feel that society is crumbling - perhaps it is though!
ReplyDeleteThere also seems to have been a spate of ridiculous defences - following on from the man the other week who claimed to have only had sex with the dead body rather than killing her, this person apparently claimed that the victim stabbed herself to death.
Yes, that could well be the case. Maybe – let's hope – it is just timing and not the way things are going in general.
ReplyDeleteI heard those defences – they are just incredible. This latest case is sick – I mean, he expected people to believe that Kate Beagley stabbed herself 31 times?!. Nutcase.