One of the things that I find disadvantageous to doing my morning cardio at the gym is that I am faced with at least three big-screen TVs blaring out the goddamned news. Sure they have FM transmitters, so I at least don’t have to listen to them, but they have closed captioning and I can’t exactly run on a treadmill for twenty minutes with my eyes closed.
A few articles stood out to me today. First is the story of Colt Haugen: a waiter at Ruby Tuesday in Colorado who prevented a woman from having a drink spiked by her blind date. Second is the feature on Utah students taking advantage of their state’s concealed carry laws. And third, is the short feature on CNN of the youngest superdelegate, Jason Rae of Wisconsin.
I’m not sure of myself on this one—whether it’s apples and oranges—but WHY exactly is this 21-year old even in the news? Seriously? Other than being the youngest member of a subgroup of the Democrats that can either enforce or subvert everything they stand for in the election process? I suppose this crazy primary process in which Hillary and Obama have placed themselves will beget its own share of column-inch fillers and non-celebrities.
I’m also pretty glad for Haugen’s press time and the amount of attention this has gotten, but I’ve also realized something in my late twenties: real heroes shirk from celebrity status. In fact, few even care about the massive media attention that something like this would bring. I lament, however, over why this is even a case of heroism these days. Haugen himself has told the news that he is no hero, and while I admire his actions, I also agree with him. He’s not so much a hero but a human being, one with enough compassion and sense of humanity that he has the good sense of preventing someone from taking a drug that they didn’t consent to.
I also have a problem with anyone who thinks that the only source of protection in a criminal situation is the arrival of the police. I have a friend who wants to be a police officer. I, too, have some plans in the back burner that lean towards criminal justice (as to whether I want to be a police officer or a prosecutor is more a matter of logistics and practicality more than anything else). But one thing he, I, and a few other friends agree on is that the police aren’t superheroes that can swoop in at the moment of a crime. I have always maintained that people need to be responsible for their self-defense; what bothers me is that so many people don’t even think that they are.
I suppose the editors at the Colorado Springs Gazette say it best about self-defense, and Haugen’s case:
Incredible. Save yourself and let the crime proceed. When you can, notify police. They will arrive within eight minutes on average, if traffic is good. Forget the fact that Colorado Springs hero Jeanne Assam saved a crowd at New Life Church from a rampage shooter, by getting involved as a selfless hero.
During saner times, Assam’s picture would have graced the covers of Time and Newsweek, under the banner headline: “Hero.†Instead, her story was initially downplayed. When she started talking about God, it became a footnote. When it was learned that the killer turned a gun on himself — after Assam stopped him with multiple hits — it was mostly reported that the shooter took his own life. Period. Assam’s heroism was brushed aside. The suicidal maniac, not Assam, became the front-page news.
Likewise, most press accounts of the poisoned drink didn’t mention hero Haugen. We read about Psaty — in all his past political and criminal glory — and an unnamed waiter, who, oh by the way, foiled the crime.
The mass media is a business, and yes, profits will be on their minds when they select stories and what to focus on. But sometimes one would just wish for just a little bit of humanity out of these writers. Y’know?
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