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The Daily Tar Heel

Opinion: Conversations do not lose their importance

Last Sunday, news cycles and social media feeds were filled with condolences and statements of support for the city of Orlando and those impacted by the massacre.

By Tuesday, when a little boy was snatched by an alligator at the Disney Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, the Orlando massacre became further and further away.

By Thursday, Ayesha Curry’s tweet accusing the NBA of being rigged was the “hot topic.”

This past Sunday, exactly a week after 49 people were killed in a nightclub, the trend of Orlando on Twitter was replaced by Game of Thrones, The Cavs and Verizon.

This is a problem. We care and converse until the “next big thing” comes to replace whatever tragedy occurred. It’s dangerous because we have been conditioned and desensitized to tragedy that it takes most people three to five business days to be completely removed from what happened.

Why do the conversations stop so quickly? Is it because we feel less sad? Is it because it we cannot afford to let our lives stop and be consumed by tragedies so far away?

Is it that, in order to protect our energy, we can only allow ourselves to ponder such terrible things for a short period of time?

It is not that we should feel guilty for continuing our lives, however it is crucial that we do not publicize our feelings of sympathy just because everyone else is doing it, or you feel left out of the conversation by not engaging with others online. Now, this is not to say that sharing condolences online isn’t important, because it is. Grieving publically, while revealing, does create a community of support that many do need.

It may feel “over.” We’ve gotten answers from the attacker and his wife, we know his past actions and his previous encounter with the law.

The conversations should not end until we no longer have to have them. This culture of spending 24-hours mourning via social media and participating in the same circuit each time a sad event happens is toxic and dangerous. It breeds an attitude of temporality that can only be eliminated if one is directly impacted. It is dangerous because this will keep happening until each individual is hit “close to home,” and it should not have to reach that point.

It is our responsibility to remember not only the city, or the specific building but the names and the circumstances. To understand the context of which such a tragedy happened that we cannot remain silent until the “next one” occurs.

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