NOTE: This is a first draft of thoughts I had today, in between studying. I will likely revise them when I have a chance to 1. Edit 2. Research 3. Edit again 4. Find memes to try to laugh about something really serious.

There was yet another horrifying shooting in America. This time an eerie, nonchalant, close range shooting of a homeless person in St. Louis. We long-ago realized social media loves to promote such horrific things, in spite of the negative psychological effects. Jia Tolentino recently wrote about this tragedy better than I can. I learned of this event - which just so happens to be a daily occurance in the US - either from right-leaning Christian channel, Not The Bee, or alt-left-leaning, producer of the Proud Boys, Vice. Videos of murder gets them clicks, they make money, and who needs shame when you have money? Certainly not a virtue signalling Christian or alt-left channel. It seems our news favors scaring you to informing you.

I’m used to the usual reactions of utter sadnes and disillusioned cynics who can’t even fathom others still have emotion watching horror. But the critcism of the filmer caught me off guard. Comments like, ‘Why didnt he do anything?’ IDK, prob cause he didnt want to get shot. Next stupid question. ‘Why would you film it?’ Evidence. Evidence of a murder. ‘Why does he sound like {assumption of filmer’s tone}?’.It was his natural reaction. People react differently. By the way, people also film just about everything.

You know what, no more questions.

Americans have a quick reaction that they can solve everything. They really believe they can stop horror. But they can't. I’m sorry gun-lovers, you’re not going to fiat a world where every good guy has a gun. Just a week or two ago these geniuses suggested that a woman doing an aerobic workout, nearly abducted by a lunatic, should have had a gun on her. Yes, that’s right, gun nuts suggested the solution to an abduction (where the abductor did not have a gun) was to excercise with a gun. What could go wrong? [/rhetorical] Likewise, I’m sorry gun-haters, including the victims of needless gun violence, but banning guns doesn’t make them magically disappear. I’m supportive of gun legislation, but honest about it. None of you “solved crime.” Horror is not as simple as it is inevitable.

I watched this video knowing I shouldn’t. It seemed clear the filmer was scared and confused. It did not seem clear he knew a murder was about to take place, but just that something either weird or horrible was going to happen. Bang! The filmer did what 9 out of 10 of us would have done: filmed something interesting going on, shout at the sound of gunfire, ran in disbelief. Even if you are the 1 out of 10 who doesn’t jump to film oddities that pass you, I’m sure you agree it is normal behavior.

I was reminded of a tragic shooting near me in Bnei Brak. It was also on video and I watched, knowing I shouldn’t. At one point a driver approaches the “Palestinian” terrorist and freezes up like a Possum. And as easy as it is to remark, “Why didn’t he drive over the terrorist?” “Why didn’t he drive away?” one could sympathize. We are not all trained to handle these situations.

I’m sure others were reminded of the Seinfeld ending, where the gang films a guy get mugged, then gets arrested over not aiding the victim. I could be wrong, but I think the average viewer had questions like, “Why would you get in trouble for filming something?” Of course, it's bad to laugh at a victim. But documenting the horror of reality, providing evidence for the court, is not bad. It’s actually the logical reaction. We even have evidence it can help. As many know, Curb Your Enthusiasm got someone out of prison.

We are not Superman. We are trained to avoid conflict and not make situations worse than they already are. Filming crime, whether it is a cold-blooded murder, police brutality or something else, is sadly the only tool some of us have. Getting involved in a dangerous situation puts you in danger, and is not advised by experts. In today’s twisted legal system, good intentions can lead to bad consequences. So we film.

So I say we should be ashamed of the crime rates and apartheid of St. Louis, where this man managed to murder and walk the streets for hours. We should be more ashamed of the media that pushes this content on us. And we should be even more ashamed of the social media that prioritizes clicks over mental health, wanting us to see content we explicitly do not want to see, just because it gets a reaction. We should never shame the bystandards of horror for their natural reactions. After all, most of us would do the same.