“Too Soon?” is a common question I’ve seen asked when people make jokes, offcolor commentary, or inappropriate commentary on terrible events. Sometimes it is hard to know when certain things become appropriate, or what is appropriate, so the question was asked in sarcasm at times, and in sincerity at times. This would extend, to an extent, to politics.
After watching reactions to the bombing in Boston and the horrible kidnapping case in Cleveland, I’ve seen commentary . . . well I can’t say degenerate. It’s as if “Too Soon” is gone, especially in the case of politics.
People were quick to work on their narratives in the Boston incident, and still are, even if it seems the case didn’t fit any popular political narrative – and is still ongoing. Now with the Cleveland incident, it seems there was zero time between the announcement and inappropriate comments, and blatant politicization in comments I read on the internet. True, we’ve had many a politician who would exploit the latest incidents for gain, but it seems that behavior is now completely normalized.
I miss “Too Soon.” We’re in danger of becoming as bad as our worst politicians and pundits.
Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach. He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.