I’ve noticed recently that tragedies are being reported in more gruesome detail than seems absolutely necessary. A recent example is the crash of the Helios Airways plane.
We now know (thanks to the relentless reporting) that of the 121 folks on the plane, 26 were still alive when the plane crashed. More specifically, it apparently is necessary to inform us (the public) that a 5-year-old boy was still breathing, “but only for a second”, after the plane slammed into the mountain.
Did we really need to know this?
I’ve always known that planes occasionally fall out of the sky. Furthermore, I have what’s known as “bad plane karma”. This has manifested itself in numerous ways, including lightning strikes on wings and birds sucked into engines on take-off. As a favor to fellow travelers (and to avoid damage charges from fingernail gouges in the arm-rests), I now drive most places.
I’m aware that statistically, my chances for an accident on the road are much higher than in the air. Somehow, though, the horror of dying in an airplane crash seems much worse. While I suppose I should be grateful to the bloodthirsty reporting for bringing my worst flight nightmares into the light of day, I really was better off without all this extra information.
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