Bodies are People

Re: Wave of Fatal Bombings Widens Fissures in Iraq (April 24, 2010)

To the Editor:
This article of Steven Lee Myers and Duraid Adnan, demonstrates the frustrations in media reporting. The most disturbing is the way in which the article addresses people who have died. Their body parts are objectified as if they are furniture pieces left in the debris. One article discussed that “At least seven explosions spread carnage in neighborhoods across Baghdad…” The reality is that seven bomb explosions killed people. The article also said that “The force of the blasts severed bodies and charred more than a dozen cars nearby.” Bodies are elevated at the same level as cars. These bodies are people. Even if one wants to look at the religious sense that the bodies no longer have spirits, it is still important to realize that these bodies represent the people that were loved and who are painfully missed. Emotion is important when discussing people. They are not objects in the street. The objectification of people represents the political take on the conflict between the moderates and the extremists. The extremists say that they are going to take bombs to kill people. Than the moderates say they are going to take guns to punish the bombs. It is a mixed message. Instead it is important to stop and to brainstorm ways that moderates and extremists can solve problems without tearing apart the lives of their fellow human beings. Such solutions could be to discuss similarities and differences between the goals of the moderates. This does not seem bad when violence is no longer a driving force.