03-25-2011, 12:54 AM
"Othering." It's human nature. The larger and more different the group from one's self, the less people care. People care about things that stick out of the news... like random crimes that happen to middle-class people like themselves. Hence, the huge drop in public interest in cases like L & J. murders as soon as there was mention of drug dealing. (Phew, it's no longer about us).
And yeah, I agree, the age of facebook. There's a weird fascination to seeing the person behind the 'victim.' Suddenly all of those boring details that people post online become part of a 'before' and 'after' story: They posted a picture of their puppy and ate an egg salad sandwich for lunch, thinking it was going to be like any other day.... Find a case where the whole cast of characters has open profiles and jackpot: shameless snooping. You can compile a list of suspects, speculate on the plot and watch a real life story unfold. Isn't that what we are all doing here?
Like craning your neck to see the scene of an accident, only without the shame that would make you turn away and walk on, if you were really present.
And yeah, I agree, the age of facebook. There's a weird fascination to seeing the person behind the 'victim.' Suddenly all of those boring details that people post online become part of a 'before' and 'after' story: They posted a picture of their puppy and ate an egg salad sandwich for lunch, thinking it was going to be like any other day.... Find a case where the whole cast of characters has open profiles and jackpot: shameless snooping. You can compile a list of suspects, speculate on the plot and watch a real life story unfold. Isn't that what we are all doing here?
Like craning your neck to see the scene of an accident, only without the shame that would make you turn away and walk on, if you were really present.