Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Some things just aren’t entertainment
On Tuesday, the question of what happened to Keith O’Brien of Biddeford came to an unfortunate and very public end.
The body of the 41-year-old, who had been missing since mid-April, was found hanging from the Spring Island Dam, just below the Elm Street bridge in Saco, and the remains had to be lifted off the dam to complete the recovery mission.
The humiliation for O’Brien and his family was complete as his corpse was raised skyward and toward the river bank by Ladder 1 of the Saco Fire Department. It was one of those situations which couldn’t be handled in any other way safely and privately.
What is worse about the situation was the public spectacle which became the participation of residents who gathered on the shoreline. Instead of averting their eyes in respect, the recovery effort became something of a carnival atmosphere with adults bringing their young children to watch as if what was happening was entertainment.
The spectacle became almost deadly as a Saco police officer was allegedly struck by a motorist who might have been distracted by all of the people gathered around the police tape, some of whom ignored direct orders to leave the scene saying they wanted to get a look at what was happening.
We can only say, “Try and find some other form of entertainment.”
It is difficult enough for the media, who are trained and paid to attend the worst of life, to stomach such situations, let alone bother fire, police and EMS crews responding or worse, family members grieving at the scene. It is even more difficult to be standing in a crowd, watching people take pictures and videos of the body in the air, making obscene comments, and fielding questions like, “Why aren’t you (the media) taking pictures?”
The answer is, out of respect to the family, the deceased and to maintain common decency, we do not photograph or publish such situations, and won’t even with the insistence of the community.
Though it might sound hypocritical, it is our responsibility to not only report the news, but to filter out what is unnecessary for the public discourse.
Our suggestion is if a similar unfortunate situation occurs in the future, consider what one is watching for entertainment, and definitely do not expose children to such horrific sights. The innocent and young do not need to be exposed to the worst happenings of society just so their parents can unfortunately get a cheap thrill.
Simply put, place yourself in the shoes of the victim, his or her family and friends first before choosing your form of “entertainment.”
