Things that scare you in the news

wandajune6

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/world/europe/europes-anti-semitism-comes-out-of-shadows.html?referrer=

I read this article when I woke up this morning and it has gotten under my skin. I'm the second generation daughter of Eastern European Jews and this scares the shit out of me.

There are so many awful things in the news each day. I woke up to the radio talking about muggings on the train I take to work, then turn on the local news to hear about missing kids. Then I read this. I want kids but sometimes I think it's not fair to.

What's been bothering you in the news lately?

climbingsingle

I used to watch the news every morning and every night. And honestly, I've stopped. I find a lot of it too upsetting, and it affects me too much. I sometimes still check out some news sites (NYDN, NYPost, local sites), but I tend to stick to more fluffier news now (Gawker, Jezebel). Granted, they still have articles on the ISIS beheadings for example, but I can easily scroll right past. 

RebeccaFlower

ClimbingBrideNY said:

I used to watch the news every morning and every night. And honestly, I've stopped. I find a lot of it too upsetting, and it affects me too much. I sometimes still check out some news sites (NYDN, NYPost, local sites), but I tend to stick to more fluffier news now (Gawker, Jezebel). Granted, they still have articles on the ISIS beheadings for example, but I can easily scroll right past. 

This is me. I used to turn the news on in the background, but too much stuff was making me so upset. I try to know enough not to be ignorant, but not enough that gets me too riled up. 

esstee33

Basically everything scares me anymore. I saw this yesterday, which just absolutely broke my heart: http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/24/us/ohio-walmart-death/index.html

It pains me to be an NFL fan and to see, over and over, how little they value women. 

It pains me to see the comments on articles about women's issues and realize that, at any given time, a huge section of the population actually believes that I might deserve to be raped or beaten. I hate getting ready to go out on weekends, knowing that every article of clothing I do or do not put on could potentially be used in some asshole's defense if something were to happen to me. I hate that I have internalized that mindset, even though I disagree with it. 

larrygaga

Ebola. It's scary that we have to take away our doctors and volunteers from them so we don't spread the sickness more. Plague scares me. 

I also just read enough on the NYT and local news websites to get the gist. My mom will sit around and watch the news the entire day and she somehow is not totally depressed and emotionally destroyed. 

falsara

I check the news everyday, but normally just MSN. I refuse to look at Chicago times. I just moved here I don't need to be scared to leave my apartment.

The one thing that I do really keep up on is the actions that the UN is taking against ISIS. I have quite a few friends and family members that are still in the Marine Corps, even though my dad is retired. If they ever decide to supplement air strikes with ground troups I want to know about it so I can have time to deal with family members deploying.

flyingfoxes

The ISIS stuff.  Especially when ISIS is calling on extremists here to track down US service members' home addresses and go there and slaughter them.  We don't live on post, so that kind of freaks me out a little bit. 

MairePoppy

The ISIS stuff scares me. Those people are crazy and full of hatred. I worry about the soldiers and innocent civilians that will be killed because of them.  

The missing college student in VA story reminds me of how our lives can change in a minute. I'm afraid this story isn't going to have a happy ending.

mschristie123

I think I've mentioned this on here, but I'm a psychologist and I work with DCFS kids who were severely abused and neglected. I deal with so much shit and trauma at my job that I have a hard time reading/listening to any news. I just get too upset and some things just hit too close to my job (the whole Adrian Peterson thing, for example). I have CNN news alerts and listen to NPR in the mornings just to stay up to date on current events, but I can't read too much or it just overwhelms me.

sarawifenow

I am also scared of ISIS. It is terrifying to think that there are people that join ISIS and then go back into their communities and kill people. FBIL is active military, so it worries me that he might have to become involved in this.

loveislouder

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mbvd/louisiana-familys-daring-rescue-saves-kidnapped-mother#1npbps1

This is super scary to me.

smalfrie19

Mainly my new source is theSkimm. I get bite sized pieces of big new in my email each morning. Makes it way easier to understand. 

LDay2014

There was a school stabbing in Toronto earlier this week (about 2hrs from me).

19 year old guy was killed by a 17 year old because he was BREAKING UP A FIGHT.

He wasn't even in the fight, he was just trying to be a good guy and stop someone from getting hurt and ended up being stabbed with a knife.

It really makes me question so many things when stuff like this happens.  Heartbreaking.

steph861

Mainly ISIS, for reasons everybody else has stated.

bethsmiles

The Ebola crisis in Africa is pretty fucking scary. I'm not afraid I'll get Ebola but they are now predicting that if things don't start to get under control the death toll will be in the millions by January. It also really pissed me off/makes me incredibly sad that several health workers who went over there to help were murdered.

http://www.latimes.com/world/africa/la-fg-attack-ebola-guinea-outreach-20140918-story.html

@esstee33 - I had to stop reading the comments on any articles about women's rights/issues. It's incredibly depressing to see how many people don't understand feminism and don't see that gender inequality exists everywhere, including the U.S. The best is that those people are usually making all sorts of sexist remarks while trying to claim that inequality isn't a thing.

TBH, I get most of my news from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Regular news networks are just depressing. At least John Oliver can make me laugh while discussing a serious issue.

wandajune6

ISIS scares me too. I think what bothers me the most is how they can take their extreme views and are willing to use them against individuals like civilians and military families. It fundamentally doesn't make sense to me.

Ebola is shocking to me. I keep reading about how horribly underserved countries dealing with Ebola are and it's both scary and heart-wrenching. NPR had a great story when I was in the car the other day about how epidemics need the most resources when they first start, not when they're bad enough to get public attention. He also mentioned that they don't get money the way big disasters do because there's no exact starting point that grabs a lot of attention.

kat1114

The comments on stories scare me more than the stories themselves. I'd like to think people are just trolling, but sadly, some people are just really really stupid and ignorant. It makes me scared for our future.

esstee33

bethsmiles said:

The Ebola crisis in Africa is pretty fucking scary. I'm not afraid I'll get Ebola but they are now predicting that if things don't start to get under control the death toll will be in the millions by January. It also really pissed me off/makes me incredibly sad that several health workers who went over there to help were murdered.

http://www.latimes.com/world/africa/la-fg-attack-ebola-guinea-outreach-20140918-story.html

@esstee33 - I had to stop reading the comments on any articles about women's rights/issues. It's incredibly depressing to see how many people don't understand feminism and don't see that gender inequality exists everywhere, including the U.S. The best is that those people are usually making all sorts of sexist remarks while trying to claim that inequality isn't a thing.

TBH, I get most of my news from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Regular news networks are just depressing. At least John Oliver can make me laugh while discussing a serious issue.

I almost never read the comments section, but sometimes they sneak up on me and I can't NOT look. I always regret it and vow to never read them again. But I inevitably do, and then I get all depressed and mad all over again. 

Re: the bolded: I work in the manufacturing industry and it kills me on a daily basis to hear some of my male coworkers talk, just in casual conversation, and to realize that they will never understand what it's like to not have absolute privilege. They will never actually need a movement to stand up for their rights, because, regardless of what MRA groups want to claim, white men's rights are not ever going to be challenged or denied. 

chibiyui

I tend to stick to fluffier news like gawker and jezebel as well.

I think the comments on women's issues scare me the most. Every time there's any article that mentions women on Kotaku I know better than to read the comments. But oh my god I can't stop. The amount of people who think women make up all their problems, deserve abuse, and that they (the dudes) are entitled to sex. I just can't.

JCbride2015

My mom just texted me that I should stay out of the subways because there's an ISIS plot.  "They just uncovered the plot 30 minutes ago!  I check the NYTimes, then CBS and NBC local news.  Nothing.  They are all talking about the weather, Derek Jeter, and Eric Holder.

Finally some searching revealed a single comment from the Iraqi PM that has been totally unsubstantiated by any American intelligence agencies.  Literally zero details, nothing about timing, nothing.

I love that my mom is concerned.  But God help us if she ever starts watching Fox.

esstee33

It's really surprising to me how many people in this thread are calling Jezebel "fluffier" news. That site depresses the fuck out of me every single day. It's like a collection of every single bad-shit-happening-to-women article on earth. I mean, yeah, there's lots of other articles about things that aren't so horrific, so I guess it's possible that I'm just focusing on the negative. 

JCbride2015

esstee33 said:

It's really surprising to me how many people in this thread are calling Jezebel "fluffier" news. That site depresses the fuck out of me every single day. It's like a collection of every single bad-shit-happening-to-women article on earth. I mean, yeah, there's lots of other articles about things that aren't so horrific, so I guess it's possible that I'm just focusing on the negative. 

Yeah, sometimes Jezebel has light stories but they are constantly reporting on really shitty abuses of women, too.

kmmssg

ISIS scares the holy crap out of me. I just go right back to the day I was sitting at my peaceful Army desk, doing my Army job, and listening to the CBS Early Show on the radio (it was simulcast on analog signal so I listened to the Soaps I had followed since my mom's days). I was working in Education and Incentives at the time and my buddy next to me had a little TV with a VCR built into it for testing purposes. I told him to turn on the TV and we watched the 2nd plane go into the Tower. My whole life and career changed that day. Now, safely retired and sitting behind my government job desk, those people scare the crap out of me. I wish my SIL was farther along in his military career and could retire but he has 6 years left. I just keep telling myself he is 38 years old, a senior NCO, and he knows how to handle himself. It was breaking news just a little while ago that Iraq had uncovered a terrorist plan by ISIS to attack French and American citizens in their subways. "...asked if the attacks were imminent, he said, "I'm not sure". Asked if the attacks had been thwarted, he said "No." The "he" is Iraq's Prime Minister.

esstee33

@JCbride2015 I've kinda gotten to the point where even though it pops up in my FB feed and I'm like "Oh, fuck, now what?" I'm also incredibly grateful for it, because so many of the things they're reporting on are getting so little attention elsewhere. 

climbingsingle

JCbride2015 said:

esstee33 said:

It's really surprising to me how many people in this thread are calling Jezebel "fluffier" news. That site depresses the fuck out of me every single day. It's like a collection of every single bad-shit-happening-to-women article on earth. I mean, yeah, there's lots of other articles about things that aren't so horrific, so I guess it's possible that I'm just focusing on the negative. 

Yeah, sometimes Jezebel has light stories but they are constantly reporting on really shitty abuses of women, too.

True. But they also have a lot of gossip/celeb stuff too. 

steph861

kat1114 said:

The comments on stories scare me more than the stories themselves. I'd like to think people are just trolling, but sadly, some people are just really really stupid and ignorant. It makes me scared for our future.

Ugh, so true. Reading comments about Michael Brown / protests in Ferguson was a bad call on my part.

HaileyDancingbear

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/22/arts/design/in-a-mattress-a-fulcrum-of-art-and-political-protest.html?_r=0

The piece itself isn't what's scary.  It's knowing that she will carry that mattress until the day she graduates.  And the horrible responses people give (This paticular arrticle doesn't have comments, but I've read others on the same subject that do), calling her a whore/attention whore, saying women deserve to be raped etc.  It's just fucking horrifying to see how many people truly do not care.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/17/scsu-sexual-harassment-professor_n_3937037.html

This is actually at FI's college.  He has met Wendy Wyler and protested alongside her.  They JUST put in a title 9 coordinator due to the protesting, so that's a tiny step.  But Chevan, the teacher guilty of sexually harassing so many students is STILL THERE.  HE ISN'T GOING ANYWHERE.

Plagiarism is a worse crime than rape on a college campus.  That terrifies the absolute shit out of me.

JCbride2015

HaileyDancingbear said:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/22/arts/design/in-a-mattress-a-fulcrum-of-art-and-political-protest.html?_r=0

The piece itself isn't what's scary.  It's knowing that she will carry that mattress until the day she graduates.  And the horrible responses people give (This paticular arrticle doesn't have comments, but I've read others on the same subject that do), calling her a whore/attention whore, saying women deserve to be raped etc.  It's just fucking horrifying to see how many people truly do not care.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/17/scsu-sexual-harassment-professor_n_3937037.html

This is actually at FI's college.  He has met Wendy Wyler and protested alongside her.  They JUST put in a title 9 coordinator due to the protesting, so that's a tiny step.  But Chevan, the teacher guilty of sexually harassing so many students is STILL THERE.  HE ISN'T GOING ANYWHERE.

Plagiarism is a worse crime than rape on a college campus.  That terrifies the absolute shit out of me.

I think Emma Sulcowicz is incredibly brave and I am so proud of this project, especially the positive responses around campus and people helping her carry the mattress.  I'm so happy she's getting attention from major news sources like NYT (and it's all over the local TV news here).  Yes, there are lots of haters in the comments and that is terrible.  But she's standing up anyway, knowing she'd be subject to that kind of ridicule, to shine a light on the situation.  Go Emma!

steph861

I just finished reading a story about a teacher in a nearby city that put a sticker that said "I'm gay, lol" on a student's back. The number of people defending him is terrifying.

HaileyDancingbear

JCbride2015 said:

HaileyDancingbear said:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/22/arts/design/in-a-mattress-a-fulcrum-of-art-and-political-protest.html?_r=0

The piece itself isn't what's scary.  It's knowing that she will carry that mattress until the day she graduates.  And the horrible responses people give (This paticular arrticle doesn't have comments, but I've read others on the same subject that do), calling her a whore/attention whore, saying women deserve to be raped etc.  It's just fucking horrifying to see how many people truly do not care.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/17/scsu-sexual-harassment-professor_n_3937037.html

This is actually at FI's college.  He has met Wendy Wyler and protested alongside her.  They JUST put in a title 9 coordinator due to the protesting, so that's a tiny step.  But Chevan, the teacher guilty of sexually harassing so many students is STILL THERE.  HE ISN'T GOING ANYWHERE.

Plagiarism is a worse crime than rape on a college campus.  That terrifies the absolute shit out of me.

I think Emma Sulcowicz is incredibly brave and I am so proud of this project, especially the positive responses around campus and people helping her carry the mattress.  I'm so happy she's getting attention from major news sources like NYT (and it's all over the local TV news here).  Yes, there are lots of haters in the comments and that is terrible.  But she's standing up anyway, knowing she'd be subject to that kind of ridicule, to shine a light on the situation.  Go Emma!

I agree, Emma is amazing, but that rapist is not going to be removed.  No action will be taken on the school's part.  THAT is what's scary. 

slothiegal

steph11814 said:

I just finished reading a story about a teacher in a nearby city that put a sticker that said "I'm gay, lol" on a student's back. The number of people defending him is terrifying.

How the fuck do you defend that?

A headline my CNN homepage today was "State Blames Victim For Her Rape".  I don't know why I bothered reading it.  It made me ragey this morning.