#12321 ·
Jessica Gonzalez said:I think I see where you're coming from with your perspective and everything you've said. It makes sense that people (somewhat irrationally) get attached to specific individuals, groups, or nations they happen to sympathize with. But, if you think about it, that’s mostly a fiction—kind of a mental projection shaped by the media. For most people on this forum, Kobe Bryant is essentially a fictional character, maybe not much different from someone like Indiana Jones or Batman. It wasn't an NBA superstar who passed away, but rather Kobe Bryant the man—the father, husband, son, and friend. And he was only that to a specific group of people who actually felt his loss personally. To the rest of the world, his life and death are just a spectacle used to trigger certain emotions, similar to how people react to purely fictional movies or novels. Seeing folks on here saying they've been crying for two days because Kobe died... I guess I find that hard to wrap my head around. It seems like a bit of an exaggerated reaction to me.
It's the same way with places like France or Vienna; they might feel culturally close to Americans, but in reality, they aren't that close at all. The media basically decides who matters and who doesn't. For instance, some major news stories that shook the US over the last year—like a six-person homicide in Atlanta or shootings in Miami—barely made any noise in the global news cycle. I don't really believe in mourning every single death or spending 24/7 posting flags on social media; if anything, I tend to feel the opposite. There’s probably no need to post flags or write intense tributes for people we don't know and whose deaths we can't actually impact. Ten or fifteen years ago, before social media really took off, this kind of thing didn't even exist in this format. If there is something you can actually do about an issue, then go ahead and do it. If not, I guess it's better to skip the flag posts on Facebook since it doesn't really change anything. Sometimes I think it helps to step back and try to see the bigger picture, which is rarely just black and white. That's sort of what I try to do in every discussion, even something simple like talking about pets. We live in a world where almost every belief, moral stance, or idea of "normal" is somewhat arbitrary and manufactured. I try not to take rigid stances on anything; most ideological topics are so layered that debating them usually just turns into picking one of two sides. So, if I ever accidentally offend someone, I suppose it's only because I'm trying to prompt a look at things from a different angle. There's hardly any topic where any of us can say for sure that we are 100% right. Whether it's laws, religion, nations, football corruption, or social media...
People who spend two whole days literally weeping for Kobe when they didn't even know him should probably go see a psychiatrist, because they clearly have some deep-seated trauma or unresolved issues in their own lives that Kobe just happened to trigger. It’s definitely not normal behavior.
It’s pretty stupid to try and comment on someone else's psychiatric state, though.
Since you brought up Batman, who would have guessed the conversation would end up in the gutter like this? 😁
