In my government class today my teacher asked the class what we were afraid of when trick-or-treating these days. When I was younger I remember that the biggest fear on trick-or-treating was the legendary razor blade in an apple. But now the biggest fear is a sex offender will abduct you while trick-or-treating. I find it interesting how the media has changed the under lying of fear on Halloween from death to sexual assault.
If you watch the news around Halloween time you see nothing but stories about what is being done about sex offenders during Halloween. Sex offenders are not allowed to give out candy or leave their porch lights on; for fear that the sex offender will abduct your children. It seems the media has found a new Freddy or Jason. But this villain is very real, according to the media, and is sitting at home just waiting for your child to ring the bell. I find this whole over hyping of the danger of sex offenders on Halloween ludicrous.
Now don’t get me wrong, I think sex offenders are dangerous. But they are not abducting children by the bus load on Halloween. The media, in my opinion, is no longer concerned with the idea of razor blades in apples, when they can play up the danger of sex offenders on Halloween. Ten years ago there wasn’t this outcry about the danger of sex offenders on Halloween. Do we honestly think they all just sprung up in the last ten years? To me it just seems like another tactic by the media to over hype a story and to try to feed on the fears of the American people.
In conclusion, sex abuse and sex offenders are what sell these days. From all the CSI special victims this and that, to news shows that set up potential child abusers, such as, “To catch a Predator”. America seems fascinated with sex offenders, and the media will continue to play upon this fascination. Maybe it is just me, but when I young I was more afraid of getting a razor in apple, then getting attacked by a sex offender. And maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.
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2 comments:
This was such a great and unique commentary. It had never occurred to me that the dangers of Halloween shifted from razors hidden in apples to kidnappers and rapists. My mom's biggest fear when I was younger was that the candy would be tainted, but it never prevented me from going door to door and having fun. With today's fears, many children are probably missing out from the joy of walking around with your friends at night and watching your bag fill up with delicious candy. To me, Halloween is like an American pastime. No other countries that I know of celebrate Halloween the way we do, and it’s a pity that more and more children are unable to celebrate in this unique culture of ours.
I completely agree with you when it comes to the media’s portrayal of sex offenders. They love to give interesting and exciting news, and nothing is more interesting than the prospect of a child, or any other person, getting kidnapped and raped. Whether we like to admit it or not, it holds our attention and piques our interest more than most other news stories. I, myself, am guilty of this too. One of my favorite television shows is “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit”. The show is based around people, mostly women and children, being sexually abused. It’s a depressing and dark show at times, but it’s one of the most interesting shows on television right now.
I believe the issue runs deeper than with merely Halloween. Just today, I heard a report that one in five children (or something similarly ridiculous) are not allowed outside because their parents are too afraid of what’s out there. This is obviously the media’s fault with their coverage of all the dangers in the world. In the wise words of a government professor, “the media can’t tell you how to think, but rather what to think about”.
Brain said...
The commentary was good. This past Halloween I saw children in groups of two or three collecting candy and creating mischief. Many children participate in Halloween, but the child’s parents are paranoid about strangers giving candy to their children. Many parents do not like to see their child harmed, but they need to let their child have fun. However, I never heard of single case where a child was abducted by a sex offender during Halloween. I believe it is the parent(s) that ruined Halloween by convincing children that all people they do not know are dangers.
I agree with you about the media’s portrayal of sex offenders at Halloween. The media reports about stories that capture attention of adults. Most of the media’s stories are about sex, corruption, abuse, and disasters. However, I never saw a child in my life watch an episode of a news broadcast. So, parents believe what they hear on television and it corrupts them. If you want to watch depressing shows turn you televisions on the news.
http://bnationalreport.blogspot.com/2007/11/retort-how-media-has-ruined-halloween.html
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