I'm glad I missed seeing this. http://www.weather.com/blog/weather/8_7549.html?from=blog_permalink_mainindex September 22, 2005 Jim Cantore MANY WITNESSES TO A SAD ACCIDENT Jim Cantore, On-Camera Meteorologist Last evening, many viewers witnessed a tragic accident on-air, when a dog was run over in traffic in the background of one of my live reports from Texas. When I learned what had happened, I was heartbroken. I was not aware of the accident that was occurring right behind me, as my crew and I were focused on getting the hurricane information out to our viewers. But the local authorities were contacted and handled the situation. Many of you have written and e-mailed. I do understand your distress and I am deeply saddened, too. Please know that we sincerely regret that this happened.
Why would you want to read about it? Why do people watch news? Why do people watch boxing, where people die? Why do people watch coverage of a war?
The appeal to the lowest common denominator? Morbid curiosity? Man's baser animal instincts? Lack of taste? A low level of intellectual capacity? Stange experiences from childhood carrying over into the adult, resulting in stange likes and dislikes, and fixations on the bizarre? Beats me. Keep D&D Civil!!
I'm a sicko. I want to see the clip. On a similar note, I ran over a kitten yesterday in Austin. I felt bad, because I like cats.
No, it is simply because curiosity is a natural human trait. I bet that some of those who might be inclined to pretend to be "holier than thou" have turned their heads at a car wreck at least at some point in their life.
On the lighter side, a dog registered to vote in New Zealand. Toby the Jack Russell Terrier decided not to invoke his state given right, however. --------------------------------------------------------------- Jack Russell registers to vote in N.Z. election Dog's enrollment angers local electoral official Updated: 12:20 p.m. ET Sept. 23, 2005 WELLINGTON, New Zealand - It was almost inevitable New Zealand's election would turn into a dog fight when you look at one of the country's 2.83 million voters -- Toby the Jack Russell terrier. Toby became a registered voter when his owner, Peter Rhodes of Queenstown, completed an enrollment form in the dog's name, giving his occupation as "rodent exterminator" and his age as 28. He signed the form with a squiggle and Toby's paw print before returning it to the Electoral Enrollment Center, the Otago Daily Times reported. Rhodes, an aviation safety specialist who said he was making a humorous point about local government bureaucracy, was shocked to receive written confirmation of Toby's enrollment in the Otago electorate on New Zealand's South Island. Voting is not compulsory in New Zealand and Rhodes said Toby had elected not to vote. "The only roll he's interested in is a dog roll, not the electoral roll," Rhodes told the paper. Electoral Enrollment Center manager Murray Wicks was more angry than amused that an application filed by a dog had slipped through the center's checking system. "It's an offense, and whoever's done it will be in the hands of the police," he said. Wicks said Rhodes could be charged with misleading a registrar of electors, making a fraudulent enrollment and making a false declaration, "to name a few" possible charges. The outcome of the election remained in the balance Friday. The ruling Labour Party holds a one-seat, election-night majority over the opposition National Party pending coalition talks and the counting of absentee ballots, but neither of the major parties has an outright majority. © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
I am going to defend SJC here. It is not sick, it is natural curiosity. It is like he said when somebody sees a car wreck do they just pass on by without looking? No. When fights break out do people run over and try to stop it or run over and take a peek? Most run over to take a peek. If executions were still public, and to some extent they still are, do you think nobody would show up to view? If so you're kidding yourself. There may be some of you that do not wish to see the clip but there are many others who do. It is why Banned from TV videos are/were so successful, people just want to see what it is, what it's like, or what really happened. Viewing the video doesn't harm anybody. If they do or don't view the video it doesn't change what happened and it never will. I'm not saying I want to view the video but I can certainly understand why some would.
I'm with SJC, too. Not that I personally want to see it, nor would I view it if someone happened to post a video. However, I remember a few threads here where people were laughing at the deaths of humans. I think that's the kind of thing that SJC is talking about.
In other news, Channel 2 has reported that RADAR, the weatherdog will no longer be in the lineup. (seriously)
