Yesterday a commercial aircraft was shot down, with the loss of 298 lives, 3 of which were babies. In the Middle East, a well-armed country put boots on the ground on a strip of land and more civilians and especially children died for the sole reason they lived there. Also a high-speed train was involved in a crash, luckily no-one was killed. I do not judge the perpetrators of these incidents, that is not my purview, instead I grieve for the senseless loss of lives. And what do I see on certain forums - no mention in any way, shape or form of these happenings, just an ongoing bitchfest, with threats to 'out' posters, send their details to the police, while others are still composing files, letters etc to all and sundry, especially if they have any clout in high places, or are celebrities. Are their lives so small, so insular, that they cannot at least acknowledge what is happening in this benighted world we inhabit? Does the slaughter of 4 small boys, playing football on a sunny beach, not resonate with them? Does the rape of a 6 year old girl in a schoolroom not touch them? Are we all so hardened, so unfeeling, that these tragedies do not touch us at all? Sitting in our safe houses, with full bellies, electricity, watching footie, Reality TV, the silly antics of some z-list celebrity, have we lost the will to care any longer? When we collect the dole or benefits, do we ever consider those in other countries who have to grub in the dirt for something to eat, the children as young as six working in brick factories or spending the whole day washing cars, let alone the ones forced to pleasure rich tourists? No, instead we nitpick, argue, traduce and defame people who have a different point of view to us. Tell me, what has happened to that most precious of gifts, the ability to weigh up knowledge and then act on the results? Until someone can answer that and people start to reform their selfish ways, sniping and defaming on the internet will far outweigh the real life tragedies happening all over the world. And the bile continues to be posted up 24/7. Hatred and bigotry destroy all they touch. I despair of humanity, I really do.
