We live in a world that is sadly uninformed. A world where real issues are ignored simply, because the public likes to place anger on people who don't deserve it, while they continue to be ignorant on issues of grave societal importance.
A radio prank by Australian DJs has caused public outrage due to the suicide of the prank victim. Not one person can say that Mel Greig, and Michael Christian knew that Jacintha Saldanha had mental issues.
No one knows what mental health history Saldanha had. When her family spoke to reporters they did not reveal any mental issues Saldanha had. Heavy.com wrote an article about the The Top Ten Facts, of the case, and not one of them tells us the mental health history of Saldanha. Yet the public is perfectly fine with demanding the firing of two people who in hopes of getting laughs, instead pulled a prank on someone they shouldn't have.
You know the story, Greig impersonated Queen Elizabeth, Christian pretended to be Prince Charles, and called King Edward VII Hospital, for information on Kate Middleton's condition. Saldanha transferred the call to another nurse, and the ensuing media coverage embarrassed Saldanha to the point where she could take no more, and ended her life.
Greig told Australia's A Current Affair, "There's not a minute that goes by that we don't think about her family and what they must be going through." In video of the interview you can see Greig's face covered in tears. She is clearly an emotional wreck over this tragedy.While also fitting tears, Christian said that he was,"shattered, gutted, heartbroken," when he heard Saldahna's suicide. He spoke of the family while saying he hopes, "they're getting the love and support that they deserve and need right now."
Christian and Greig have received all the blame, while the mainstream media outlets who publicized this prank have steered clear of any backlash. This prank got global news coverage, and Saldanha was mocked by the public. If the DJs are to blame for the suicide of Saldahna, the global media outlets who published the story should receive the same condemnation. No one has called for the firing of CNN's editors for publishing the story, and no one should, but they are wrong for condemning the Australian DJs.
Those who have commented on Facebook, and various new sites who have written stories about this suicide are inflicted with the displaced outrage disorder that has infected this ignorant, apathetic society which cares more about voting for American idol, than voting for a leader who writes laws that affect us every day.
The Canadians who have condemned these DJs have ignored the budget the Harper government has passed which now allows millions of our lakes to be poisoned or destroy by corporations who are willing to sacrifice our natural beauty in order to make money. They are allowed to pollute thousands of rivers that we canoe over on family vacations. Rivers and lakes that Aboriginal people need to fish and to feed their families are now under threat.
The Harper government passed a crime bill, they don't know the cost of, but we have shown the government that we don't care. Our crime enforcement costs will go up, jails will over crowd, and our lawyers, and judges will be overwhelmed, but that is okay, we just have to know if Selena Gomez will get back together with Justin Bieber.
The American public is no better. CNN's Facebook page has been littered with comments over the video of the A Current Affair interview. These people are quick to hold off on watching their kids, or performing a task for their job, in order to condemn the poor DJs. But they ignore what their president has done to them, and people all over the globe.
Barack Obama has wiped his backside with the American constitution, in continuation of a policy where politicians think of the constitution as an old piece of paper. Americans have ignored the fact that their president has executed three American citizens without due process.
They do not care that Obama has violated States rights by raiding dispensaries that give medicine to people whose bodies didn't respond to pharmaceutical drugs. Americans don't care that their government spends more money on the War on Drugs than they do on education.
The issues above are real issues. They are issues that affect our world, which should cause us anger. The people who have condemned the two DJs should give their heads a shake. They should be dismissed as fools for putting their time, effort, and disdain over the heads of two people who simply made a terrible mistake. Yes, a person lost her life, what about the loss of lives in Yemen, due to Obama's drone strikes? Americans seemingly don't care about the fact that their government can now read their emails and jail them without charge until the end of time. And Canadians don't seem to be aware that the policies of Stephen Harper are setting up the country for despair.
All suicides are tragic, Saldahna's is no different. We don't know if she had previous suicide attempts. We do not know of any medications she was on, or what treatments she had for depression, if she received any. Maybe work was stressing her out, and it is possible she was having trouble at home. No clear minded person without a mental health history commits suicide because they were a victim of a prank.
Michael Christian and Mel Greig have been punished enough by guilt. They had no malicious intent. For people to be outrage over one death, while ignoring the innocent lives lost due to drone strikes, famine, and disease shows how sad the state of our society is. By placing your anger on a prank gone wrong, and not on the actions of your government, you are contributing to the real misery that exists in this world