Wednesday 24 June 2009

"I'm gonna start coaxing him to jump..."


As my bus rolled around the corner, crossing the front of the old domed City hall building, I saw a crowd gathered around the front. This immediately caused a gathering on the bus of everyone trying to see why they had gathered outside.

This straight away struck a chord in my mind. What is it about crowds thats people can't resist.

Anyhow as I got off the bus I finally noticed what everyone was looking at. I'm sure at this stage most people in Belfast have heard the story. Especially since it made front page in the Irish News and the Belfast Telegraph AM. Some one had climbed on to the top of the 60 metre high Belfast Wheel, and removed all but his shorts. Now this is not what I want to address. I wish to address the attitudes and reactions of the Public and the Media.

In all situations where something dangerous takes place, or something just out of the ordinary, there is almost like a magnetic field that people can't help be attracted to and soon a crowd gathers. I have fallen into thistrap before, but this time I was attracted for a different reason.

Here is a man, in certain danger and very serious risk of death. No one knows at this stage why he as climbed or who he is. To them he is just something, like a zoo animal, for them to gawk at. Here is a man that, to anyones knowledge, could be seriously depressed and threating his own life; and we all just stare like its a tv show.

People where taking pictures and videos, trying to make sure they didn't miss something "cool". Imagine if he fell, sure they'd have loads to gossip about, and the video would be class for youtube or even to seel to the papers, right? What a pitiful attitude. As people stood around laughing at him, making fun of him and saying things I couldn't even believe I was hearing. One man was phoning a friend, to tell him to come around before he missed something, then proceded to say "I'm gonna start coaxing him to jump..."

Of course the Media, who couldn't care less about the real man, go out of their way to find out what they can, and then plaster his picture and personal information across the frontpages the very next day.

I was once again brought to question humanity as they snapped photo's of the "animal". Me? I took a picture too... of the "animals" as I perceived it.




God Bless
Peace

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