Information Is Not Created Equal

I read this article the other day and thought I would share it with all the BadskiBlog readers. The article is about the number of motorcycle deaths amongst military members.

Pentagon brass got an eye-opener when they examined 2008 casualty figures: More Marines died stateside on motorcycles than were killed in Iraq or Afghanistan.

"That was a wake-up call," says Rear Adm. Arthur Johnson, commander of the Naval Safety Center. "It focuses your attention on what your real issues are."

Most people are probably extremely shocked by this article. I am, and I am not. On the one hand I am a little shocked that there are more deaths via motorcycles than there are from the war. Anyone who reads that is likely to be shocked. On the other hand I am not surprised by the large number of motorcycle deaths amongst military members. I have seen a ton of motorcycle riders at every base I have ever been at or visited, and the majority of them are crotch rocket riders. I am not saying people shouldn't ride motorcycles, I am just saying that there isn't much room for error on those things. The demographics of military members also lend themselves to being at higher risk of motorcycle accidents as discussed in the article. Most are male and young. Young males are more likely to ride motorcycles, and therefore there are likely going to be more deaths as a result of motorcycles.

What I find most interesting about the article is the disparity in attention that the mainstream media and people of our country place on different types of tragedies. Obviously one death is one too many during a time of war and I think that those who make the ultimate sacrifice for our country deserve all the attention and respect they get. With that being said I think that the media sometimes paints a picture that is more representative of World War II era warfare than that of today. This is not, I repeat not, to disrespect our fallen heroes in any way. I just think this article as well as any illustrates the power that the media has over what is covered. I think that influence is declining as I have mentioned in previous posts, but it is significant nonetheless. This articles serves as a reminder to me to research what you read and build your own view because all information is not created equal; profitable information will always get the spotlight and in turn will have a greater impact on society at large.

Disturbing Story Disturbing Trend

The ten year anniversary of the killings at Columbine High School have brought the horrible tragedy back to the forefront of the mainstream media. However, ten years later the story reads much differently. I found this article on USAToday and found it almost as interesting as it was disturbing.

The article does an excellent job of revealing how much of what was reported was down right wrong. While I read through the article I couldn't believe how different the reports that are being revealed now are from my memory of the media coverage ten years ago. In my mind I envision two "goth" kids wearing long trench coats out to destroy the "beautiful people." It was two kids who listened to the wrong music (metal), watched too much gory TV, got bullied too much, and were basically social outcasts. According to many of the books and reports out now not much of the media's portrayal was very accurate.

I am glad that this retraction of sorts is actually getting some press, no matter how limited. I am glad because I think it illustrates a disturbing trend in our society. The trend I am talking about is the trend to find blame. I see more and more that we as a nation are seeking to place blame and find fault in every event that unfolds. Take Columbine. People want to blame the parents, blame video games, blame bullying. The list is endless. Is it too much to fathom that there are just some bad eggs out there? Any statisticians out there that can back me up? I am a firm believer that people are inherently good. However, I also believe that some people are just not good people. I am not out to solve the nature versus nurture argument here I am just saying that I never understood the need to blame everyone but the person who committed the crime?!

"These are not ordinary kids who were bullied into retaliation," psychologist Peter Langman writes in his new book, Why Kids Kill: Inside the Minds of School Shooters. "These are not ordinary kids who played too many video games. These are not ordinary kids who just wanted to be famous. These are simply not ordinary kids. These are kids with serious psychological problems."

This trend doesn't just apply to acts like Columbine. It happens in everything from getting burned by a cup of coffee to natural disasters. Stuff happens, and I think that some of these events would have happened regardless of the precaution and/or changes in circumstance. Accidents happen, natural disasters happen, crazies are out there. Our quest to find a direct line of reasoning for the cause, which in most cases leads to blame, can not always be fulfilled. I don't know the what the perpetually increasing blaming trend stems from, but I think it may have something to do with the litigation nation phenomenon. We have more lawyers in the US than the rest of the world combined and it is their job to find blame, so maybe that is part of the cause. All I know for sure is that there is not enough responsibility placed on the perpetrator in scenarios like this and other tragic events. I think we can learn from the lessons illustrated in this tragedy, but beyond that realize that the world is a chaotic place and you cannot place the blame for any event that unfolds within it.

The Power of Blogging

I found an interesting article today on how bloggers are influencing customer service in a variety of industries. You can read the full article here.  I mention the article because it got me thinking about the power of blogs. I think that the power is being shifted more and more to blogs and away from mainstream media outlets. Will these mainstream media outlets ever go away? No. However, many people like myself are much more interested in getting news and learning from blogs than we are from reading CNN or MSN or a major newspaper. While the majority of print media outlets are complaining about having more overhead and the shift away from print, they are not asking why. I think that there are a lot of people who trust an up front biased blogger more so than a biased media outlet claiming to be neutral. Blogs covers things that those in the blogosphere deem worthy, and those bloggers are rewarded if what they cover is what people want to read. Major media outlets tend to be large, bureaucratic entities that cover what the other guy is covering. Content seems to be an afterthought for some of these outlets. People identify with blogs because they are like word of mouth from a friend. But this word of mouth has the potential to reach thousands of people in the time it takes spoken word of mouth to reach ten. That is the power of the blogosphere. The ability to remain personal while still reaching out to the masses. It's a very interesting concept and one of the reasons that I, like many others, am shifting my attention to the curiously glorious blog.

100-0 Story is 100% WRONG

OK, so I know going into writing this post that I am going to take some heat if anyone actually reads it. Just know in advance that I am going to try and lay out my assumptions and my viewpoint as simply and as logically as possible. I am writing about all the buzz surrounding the girls high school basketball blowout in Texas that ended with a 100-0 score. See this link if you haven't heard about it http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,482825,00.html. The more I hear about this story the more I want to puke. The latest news is that the coach has been fired for respectfully disagreeing with the school district's assessment that he/the team should be ashamed. If they are saying that he is being fired for not going with the program and backing the public apology that is one thing...albeit not a very stand up and honorable thing. However I would argue that at least some of his firing comes as a result of there needing to be a scapegoat. I also feel that this is a joke.
The thing that makes me sick the most is the message we are sending to our youth and the ungrounded and bogus way that message is being sent. When I first read the headlines I immediately thought wow what kind of asshole ran up the score to 100-0. However as I read the article, and other articles, and saw discussions on TV like Pardon the Interruption I quickly changed my initial judgement. I view this as a message to the kids who won the game saying "Be good......but not too good." What ever happened to being the best you can be? Now I am not some Nazi who thinks everything is kill or be killed and that they should have tried to make it 200-0.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a true sportsman and tend to act with class in most things that I do. My point is that I am a former competitive athlete. I have played hockey at some of the highest levels that you can play (Div I, a cup of coffee in a bad Semi-Pro league). Being a former athlete that has played at an extremely high level of competition I feel as though I can connect with this situation.
First off, let's assume that the coach was a completely classless character who told his girls to run up the score no matter what. Think Karate Kid and the Cobra Kai Dojo. Even if that was the case I can guarantee that as the score escalated and the girls settled into the game and saw the lack of talent on the opposing side they let up. Even if one or two girls were rabid dogs and refused to let up, I can guarantee that some of them did and that the overall play of the team let up. Now in the coaches statement he said that he did not run up the score. Do we believe him? Maybe, and judging by the way he publicly went against the school district's policy I think we should. I know that if I felt I did the right thing and was hung out to dry that I would act in a similar manner; by standing up for what I felt was right regardless of the consequences.
I just can't get over the fact that these girls along with their newly unemployed coach are taking the brunt of the pain from this. If you read this article you will see that the team they beat has learning disabilities and hasn't won a game in year's. My question is why are these team's playing against each other? This question really resonates with me now that I am a men's league guy who is still trying to live the dream. Some nights you come out and the team you are playing against is pure garbage. You get up by 10 goals and the other team starts cheap shotting you and yet all of a sudden you are the bad guy. Well wait a minute here, I didn't sign you up for this league. In fact I paid the exact amount you did to experience the joy and healthy competition of the league. Who's fault is it that you aren't as good as me or my team? Is it my fault? Should I feel ashamed? I don't think so. I busted my ass for years to get to where I am and the truth of the matter is that I never scored enough goals or won enough games in my life to go out and be "good.....but not too good" against the other teams I play against. Like I said earlier you do let up out there when you start to win by a large margin. Its just human nature. The funny part is that almost without fail, your next game you come out feeling pretty good and you get shelled 7-2 by the next team in the league. If you want to see this in action in the real world look at business. Our government already wants to put windfall profits taxes on companies. You can make money but we decide how much is fair or appropriate. This also came to light during this year's election with regard to taxes. It's only fair to take what you made and give it to those who need it.
Getting back to basketball, I think it is an interesting paradox that the very people who are most likely responsible for these two teams playing each other (the school district) are the ones who are appalled with the outcome. So is it all the school district's fault? Well I don't want to go down that slippery slope either because then we get into this debate of whether or not its the government's or administrations role to regulate what is fair and who plays who etc. See taxes argument above. I am merely saying that my conclusion is this. I think its garbage that these girls and their coach are being lambasted in the media for being excellent. I think the media in an effort to sell papers frames the story to read like they deliberately ran the score up on a weaker opponent when it was clear that the game was a blowout before it started and they likely let up (my arguments above and the team only scored 14 points in the fourth quarter and they were up by 25 midway through the first). I think the lesson learned here is to be as good as you possibly can be at whatever you do, do in your heart what you know is right, and let anyone who doesn't like it bitch about it as you pass them by working to become a better person achieving more and more than you ever thought you could.