Video of the Week: Jon Stewart's Quiet Expression of Outrage

As is true whenever a talk show host or comedian speaks from the heart about a fresh reallife horror Stewartamp8217s commentary made for dramatic thoughtprovoking television Late night comics are especially good at thisTelevision news really runs with tragedies of any kind but especially those in which a young man brings a gun to a place filled with people including children innocently going about their everyday business and opens fire To the shame of us all amp8211 not just politicians these stories now feel commonplace if no less crushingUnfortunately the collective news coverage always seems to converge into nothing more than a loud roar or a low hum depending on the attention one gives to it especially on the cable news networks which tend to orchestrate their reportage and commentary to attract their preferred audience Perhaps thatamp8217s why funnymen like Stewart along with David Letterman Jay Leno Jimmy Fallon Conan Oamp8217Brien and Jimmy Kimmel command so much attention when they turn serious It jolts us into listening carefully and quietly processing what we hearStewart certainly deserves the attention he received for his commentary as you will see in the video belowWhen I first heard about the massacre in Charleston I had the same response I always do to these stories I immediately recalled the many similar atrocities that came before including the 1966 University of Texas Tower shootings 13 dead 30 injured the 1984 McDonaldamp8217s Massacre in San Diego 21 dead 19 injured and the 1991 bloodbath at the Lubyamp8217s Restaurant in Killeen Texas 23 dead 20 injured Also Columbine in 1999 13 dead two dozen injured Virginia Tech in 2007 32 dead 17 wounded Fort Hood in 2009 13 dead dozens wounded Aurora Colorado in 2012 12 dead 70 injured and Newtown Connecticut in 2012 26 dead 20 of them children I feel compelled to add Oklahoma City in 1995 168 dead including almost 20 children in a day care center and almost 700 injured to this dark and depressing list even though guns werenamp8217t involvedThe incident in Charleston reminds us that extreme violence against black communities is nothing new Further it adds racism to the already toxic blend of reasons for the unthinkable becoming so prevalent in this country Easy access to guns and other weapons increasingly violent recreational technology and filmed entertainment increasingly lax parenting Internetinduced societal alienation a decline in the socialization of young people a malfunctioning education system an escalating mental health crisis and the limitations in addressing it brought on by skyrocketing health care costs etc etc etc Here39s an interesting article about how mental health and drugs figure into all of thisWatch enough television and youamp8217ll hear it all over and over again along with cries from Washington DC to the streets of Everytown USA that something must be done about people killing people or to be more specific Americans killing Americans But nothing ever is a key point Stewart made on his showThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage management or associated bloggers

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Video of the Week: Jon Stewart's Quiet Expression of Outrage

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Video of the Week: Jon Stewart's Quiet Expression of Outrage

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