dathwampeer said:
It's not just the escapist. When is the last time you saw a story about someone being killed, and it genuinely shocked you? Or when is the last time you actually thought about how much people suffer in third world countries. Or war torn countries. I don't get becoming desensitised to human suffering but still crying about a bunch of puppies drowning.
Don't get me wrong. I'm no bleeding heart. The world is a fucked up place. I just accept this and get on with my daily life. But this should apply to everything. Not just humans. Just because it's cute and whelps as it's being thrown. It shouldn't really spark any more sympathy in use than that advert of whatever his name is dying of diarrhoea in Africa.
Do you not see the hypocrisy?
Actually, call me a pussy but I have a real issue with still being shocked by news of cruelty. Fuck, I get shocked by certain violent movies and TV series like CSI (not in general, but few episodes), when the realisation strikes me that in a world this big and violent, the same shit, if not worse, has probably happened somewhere. I start thinking about how/why the murderer or the victim would think/feel and it's a proper mindfuck experience.
I've recently heard about a gang of kids chasing down and stabbing a boy to death in the middle of the fucking day in London. I've spent 3 days constantly thinking about it, feeling at moments what it would be like to be a kid running for his life with no one giving a shit to help.
I've also heard the news of another gang of kids force feeding another kid gasolene and lighting him on fire. It still makes me literally sick to even have the thought pass through my head.
It also greatly bothers me that certain people get obscene, unnecessary (literally so, not excessive, unnecessary) amounts of money while there are people and countries that could use those funds much more. I've given it a decent amount of thought and even posted it somewhere around here on the Escapist in one of the threads.
I can give you more examples if you're really inclined. I'm not desensitized, at least not yet, so yes, this shit bothers me to a point (which is not to say I'm obsessed by it or can't think about anything else, just that focusing on that thought/news bothers me). I can still spare a few minutes of my time to be disgusted by a ***** who enjoys hurling puppies into a river and be further disgusted and disappointed we speak the same language. But that's just me.