OnTheWight always welcomes a Letter to the Editor to share with our readers – unsurprisingly they don’t always reflect the views of this publication. If you have something you’d like to share, get in touch and of course, your considered comments are welcome below.
This from Harry, a 31-year-old Nurse from Newport. Ed
Hello fellow Islanders.
Today I wanted to reflect on the role of fear, the media, and rationality in our society – and to look at how we make our decisions.
“For what is [hu]man? A rational animal, subject to death. At once we ask, from what does the rational element distinguish us? From wild beast. And from what else? From sheep and the like.”
— Epictetus
Processing the bleakness
It’s not going to be a shock to anyone to hear that things can feel pretty bleak at the moment. We have rife inequality, TV screens full of war crimes, and we can see around us our neighbours struggling to get by.
The thing I want to reflect on today – is how to we process this, and what do we do about it.
What we eat affects us – we all know that. Eat lots of crap, and you’ll feel sluggish, gassy and lethargic. Eat lots of healthy food and you’ll be energised and regular!
How we consume media
What I want you to think about today – is how does what we consume in the media affect us.
If every day we are told that asylum seekers in small boats are coming to take our jobs, and that our bathrooms are full of trans woman trying to attack us – we are going to feel angry, scared and hateful. If we consume social media posts which fuel hate and anger, we are going to act out of hate and anger.
But is this actually happening? Is the bathroom full of violent trans folk? Are you daily fighting asylum seekers for your job? Isn’t it more likely that you were treated by a nurse from overseas last time you went to St Mary’s, and that most the time you don’t even notice the trans community just going about their lives?
What makes us human is our rationality
Now, let’s come back to the quote by Epictetus. What makes us human is our rationality. A real friend will encourage us to pause, reflect rather than react out of anger and fear.
The reason the media want to bombard you all day every day is so that you don’t get a moment to pause or think.
Pause to think
If asylum seekers are the cause for us being poorer – does that make sense? Wouldn’t they be minted by now? Wouldn’t it make more sense that the billionaires are the reason we have less money (including the ones who own the newspapers!)?
Or if the media tells you that the trans community are a threat to you, why not look up that stats and you’ll soon see that the world is a very dangerous place for the trans community who are much more likely to be the victims of violent crime. Why not speak to a trans person about their experiences?
The problem is, we don’t have time to pause and think. Media is 24/7 – and if we’re not consuming that, we’re consuming TikTok whilst we wait for the bus, or Insta on our way home. If you feel angry or scared. Pause, think, reflect.
“If you want to determine the nature of anything, entrust it to time: when the sea is stormy, you can see nothing clearly.” — Seneca
Speak to each other rather than turn on each other
The media want us to turn on each other – instead might I suggest we do the opposite and speak to each other? Instead of reading spiteful media talk about the trans community, why not speak to someone from that community – why not seek out their perspective?
Why not chat to your neighbour who’s from a different country, ask them about their day, their family, their daily worries, and you will soon find out we are all very much the same.
We are all human beings.
Challenge yourself
If you find yourself angry and scared, then first I want to recognise that that is a difficult way to feel, and secondly, I want to be clear that I don’t blame you for it. All I ask is that you pause and use your own powers of self-thought and reflection. If this is you – here is a challenge for you:
1) Take a week off social media!
2) Take a week off mainstream media (particularly GB news or daily mail etc)
3) Speak to your community
Let’s build our community, not tear it down
Do you really want people like Farage, Hopkins and JK Rowling making decisions on your behalf? Let them keep their hate – try and pause and breath and importantly think and reflect.
The world is okay, and the Island is a beautiful place full of beautiful people. Variety and diversity gives life excitement – let’s build our community, not tear it down.
When we make decisions, let’s make them out of hope, love and rationality, not fear.
Remember, you are what you eat – so please, stop eating GB news!
