Introduction
Death is the scariest thing that can happen to anyone. Many people try to avoid it but they cannot. Death is inevitable and it can occur to anyone. Recent news from what happened in Libya indicated that many people had insulted the former Libyan president Gaddafi. He was a dictator during his reign in his country but unfortunately when his death was announced, people in the social media randomly placed bloody pictures and uploaded footages on the social websites (Lawson, 2011). This exhibited an embarrassing behavior towards the family by the citizens. They abused Gaddafi’s dead body in public. Every culture has an idea of how to honor the dead. This is really important. Staring at the body of a dead person feels bad, but it is important to celebrate the dead and give the dead person privacy to rest in peace. The point is that it does not revolve around humanity in giving each person its right to life.
The bigger issue is that everyone should get privacy during death period. Whether it is a normal person or famous figure, one would ask him/herself if it is right to accept death events and keep them on low profile. Shall this be blamed on public or media? Both opinions have the power in making positive and negative impact around the world by taking it out as propaganda news with no limits or dealing with the issue responsibly. Mark Lawson stated in his article “Such fusses end result from a left over feeling in the society. This shows that there should be dignity and confidentiality in death. The obligation forced on editors (by such Institutions as the Ofcom and PCC and) not to source pointless or unheralded offence to susceptible clients.” This clearly shows how other people reacted on what Libyans, which were not acceptable at all (Lawson, 2011).
Human Beings Fighting for death or End
In the Poem ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth”, the speaker categorically states that there are some groups of people who do not have a humble end. The tone is very sentimental as it describes the loneliness experienced by soldiers and the cattle as they die. There is always no loved one to see out their burial. For example, at the battlefield, there cannot be a funeral service. The bodies of the dead soldiers are left to decay because at times there are no traces to the places where the soldiers’ died. This is a big a shame. The soldiers have been likened to the cattle. It is as if the soldiers have gone to the slaughterhouse to die (Owen, 2006). This is not always the case. In true sense, these soldiers know the risks in battlefields and have taken a sacrifice for the sake of their countries.
This always calls for a great tribute and should have the greatest respect of all. These people always miss the great ceremonies that are offered to great people. They are like celebrities of their countries but their end is so brutal. The speaker describes war as a very dreadful thing. It leads to the untimely inevitable end. The war presents an aftermath of mass deaths. During this process, the families of the soldiers are far away. At times they get to hear the news about the death of their loved ones after a very long. This presents the family members and relatives to sorrowful moments. One fact remains clear. This is on the issue of burial. These people do not get to set their eyes on their loved ones who have passed on (Owen, 2006). This is just a bit of the pain, not to forget the dishonorable burial that the loved once have experienced in after death. No good thing can erase such sorrow in the minds of these people. This is because every culture has one way or another of crowning the end of a loved one.
Old media and social media announcements
The current media associations have a certain range of freedom compared to the olden days. The government controlled the former associations. This was especially in cases where icons or celebrities were victims (Metcalf, 2003). The main purpose for not giving accurate information in the past was because other elite members of different government could have participated in such life ending ordeals. One other factor that could have contributed to the inaccurate footage was because of security of the families and next of kin of the deceased.
Another factor was the versatility in culture or a statement placed by the family members that denies the media the capability of placing footages of the victims’ cases for the public to see (Kelleher, 1996). This is somewhat understandable because some communities are much conserved hence protect their image. At times it is controlled. For example, in the issue of Osama’s death, the pictures that were initially released were faked. The genuine pictures were only shown later. This reduces the credibility of the information from the media. But it is understandable because this only occurred for special cases. For instance, Hussein and Osama were accused of crime against humanity. Any information about them and their death was so crucial for the wide world. The bloody pictures of Gaddafi were due to the effect of anger by the citizens. As for Princess Diana, belonging to the Royal family contributed to the reservation of her ware bouts even in death. Her death was also tragic, hence had to be investigated (Murray, 2009).
Press was targeting Princess Diana easily, but her death was a shocking historical event people felt so sad to lose her as one of the famous icons of the English people. With colossal media coverage of Diana’s death, Kear clearly said, “Mourning was a collective social action fuelled by private but shared feelings and meanings.” (Kear, 1999) However, the social response was greater which shows how inspiring figure she was. Of course this was true because she belonged to the royal family. In England, those who come from the Royal family are great people hence the public would always want to know their cases. When one is a celebrity, he or she attracts much public opinion. For Diana’s case, her innocence and beauty could have overwhelmed many that they would ask themselves how such a beautiful person can die. To show love to the family, it is important the public send condolences or just put across views it is not an offence. This happens for both good and bad people.
People always act on their own peril at times. If a bad person dies obviously the sentiments towards him or her will not be good. Most people who die after committing crimes against humanity should not be given respect at all. Although they have families, the impact they leave is more important. Their crimes go against the will of so many citizens. Their actions before their death take ages to be erased from the minds of the victims. Everyone has a right to every particular freedom rights indicated in the constitution of various countries. Hence, when they give bad sentiments towards the case of the people that have died, they would not be on the wrong because a bigger percentage of the world would support them.
One thing that will forever remain is the issue of the loving family members. However much one of the loved ones has cost shame, they would still mourn the death of these people because blood is thicker than water.
With social media though, there is not much control. This is because the advanced technology has reduced the world to a global village hence no information can be kept away from people for long. The control of media is more or less in the hands of individuals.
Conclusion
Sad events like death worry everyone, nowadays it’s easy to access news but the important thing is on how the news is announced or passed on to the public. Actions should be taken against media and random sources that place public post through social media. This is because it will initiate new dark path and that would bring conflicts which political figure pass on to their families. These key figures in high governmental posts should be responsible and not the public. It is so unfortunate that the public has to be blamed always for any mishap from the government side. This would lead to violence in the future. People are not judged by how they live but how they act.
Reference List
Kear, A. (1999). Mourning Diana: nation, culture, and the performance of grief. London, EN: Routledge Ltd.
Kelleher, K. (1996). Death as picnic in some Cultures. Los Angeles Times. Web.
Lawson, M. (2011). Gaddafi Muammar Deserved a Private Death. The Guardian (UK). Web.
Metcalf, P. (2003). Understanding Issues of Death in Cultures. NASP Resources, 20. Web.
Murray, E. (2009). Death, Cadavers and other Grave Matters. New York, NY: Blackwell Publisher.
Owen, W. (2006). Doomed youth Anthem. New York, NY: BookRags, Inc.