No News Is Good News
21 Nov
Billy had been reading the newspaper ever since it became a requirement for his English classes in Junior High School.
So now, as an adult, he felt a kinship with newspapers and the stories they told.
But, as with many things in life, change happens. And newspapers, like everything else, seemed to have changed as well.
The number of happy neighborhood stories dwindled and were replaced by stories of crime and violence that occurred sometimes in his own City, and sometimes in his country, and sometimes in far off lands.
The message was clear though. To Billy and to anyone who chose to read a newspaper, or watch the news on tv for that matter.
The community, the country and the world were scary places.
Places where bad things happened to good people on a regular basis.
So, being a member of the good people group, Billy became afraid.
He stopped going for walks in his neighborhood.
He stopped talking to his neighbors.
He stopped trusting anyone.
He stayed home, locked inside, hoping that the bad people wouldn’t find him.
Then one day something horrible happened to Billy.
His old papergirl, who was actually probably about 10 years old, stopped delivering his newspaper.
And, she was replaced by a paperboy who wore a black baseball cap.
Backwards on his head.
Billy knew all about stuff like this backwards baseball cap thing.
Gang members often wore baseball caps backwards.
So, obviously this kid was in a gang that took over delivering papers so they could check out who to rob and beat up next.
Billy did the only logical thing he could think of.
He promptly quit the newspaper.
Without getting the newspaper Billy stopped getting the news. And he thought that digital media was the work of the Russian Mafia so he never did buy a tv or computer.
And without realizing all the horrors that were waiting just outside his door Billy forgot that the world was a scary place.
He started going for walks again.
And he started talking to people again.
He even said hello to people wearing their baseball caps backwards.
And nothing bad happened to him. Ever.
Because life isn’t really all that scary I suppose. Except in the news.
So, for Billy at least, no news really was good news.
Unless, like Billy, not knowing what’s going on in your neighborhood results in you going for a walk just as a tornado was about to touch down.
Billy did survive by positioning himself in the eye of the storm and running with it until it played out but I wouldn’t recommend that to people who can’t run really, really, fast.
So, today’s question is:
1) Has reading or watching the news ever stopped you from doing something?
Not that I can recall, but I’m sure subliminally it has had an effect. On a similar note to Billy’s story, though, when my old neighborhood started to go downhill with drug dealers and people hitting you up for some cash in the street (or, as in my case, even ringing your door bell at 4 in the morning), I started carrying pepper spray. It was always at the ready whenever I walked out the door. Then one day I lost it, and I had to walk outside without it. And I discovered how much carrying that pepper spray had effected me. When I had it, I was always on the alert, expecting someone to jump me. My body was always tense, and I was living in fear. That all left when I lost the spray. I never picked up a replacement. (Though, I eventually did move out of that place, because it really was getting dangerous…lol)
I carried pepper spray for a while when I started biking in the countryside.
Then one day I realized that I would never actually use it on a dog anyways so I gave it to my daughter.
She’s robbed many a bank with it so I still think it’s a good purchase.