There are many things in life that once seen, can never be unseen. Even though there are cautions and warnings advising people to stop, some still choose to watch videos that they will never be able to get out of their heads.
ISIS, a radical Muslim organization in the Middle East, has been brutally murdering people from all over the world for no justifiable reason. Not only do these Islamic militants commit mass killings, but they also film the tragedies and plaster them all over the Internet for anyone to see. Theses videos show journalists, pilots and laborers alike being treated as less than human. Recently, I have heard some people talk a little bit too nonchalantly about watching these gruesome videos.
The latest videos have captured the burning of a Jordanian man in a cage and the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians on a beach. These videos are profoundly disturbing, which is why I find it astonishing that people can actually sit through and watch the videos in its entirety. Not only would the visual images be stuck in my head for years to come, but also I fear that I would hear the sounds of suffering ringing in my ears constantly. I can’t even fathom the amount of sleep that I would lose.
Many U.S. media outlets have shown images from the video of Muadh al-Kasasbeh, a Jordanian hostage, being burned alive, but Fox News was the only mainstream outlet to show the graphic 22-minute video. Although, many of the horrific videos that ISIS has released can be found by anyone of any age with a quick Google search.
These videos are not quickly recorded in dark caves; there is production that goes into it. The videos are filmed in high definition and are designed to make us afraid. The Islamic militants are making these murders into a sickening cinematic experience.
Watching the videos is what they want, so why give them the pleasure? By watching and spreading this group’s videos we are going to lead their followers to believe that they are making progress, thus increasing their power. These videos are simply propaganda.
There have been times, and there will always be times, when showing death is necessary to help people fully understand what is really going on. In the cases of these videos, just hearing and reading about what they have shown is enough to make me outraged about the kind of horrors ISIS is causing overseas.
These videos are real life and have real people being murdered. The videos are not clips from action movies full of special effects; it is the last minutes of someone’s life. Watching videos such as these can have a deeper effect than reading about them. Seeing exactly what is going on can desensitize people to violence only making it easier to watch more horrific footage.
Watching the videos of these people should not be the only way we know and remember them. All of the hostages that have been killed had families of their own and lived normal lives until being kidnapped by ISIS. I want to be focusing on their stories and giving them the commemoration they deserve, not watching the last brutal seconds of their lives. I want to read more about the lives they lived, not the way they died. How do you think their families feel about everyone in the world watching these videos of their fathers, brothers and sons being murdered?
You can make up your own mind, just as I have, about what you will do with the access to these videos. You may think I am turning a blind eye to reality, but whatever you do next is your decision and it could end up sticking with you for a long time to come.
Follow Tanner Owens on Twitter @T_Owens21