Ghoul Television: Why?

Coming home from an awesome punk show tonight I was informed by a gay AM talk show host that Zimmerman was found innocent. I got home and raced to my computer and made the meme you see above. I posted it on Facebook and it got one like (Woo Hoo!). Moments later I thought to myself, what does this trial have to do with Mormo Zine and why am I so invested in it that I spent 20 minutes making a meme about it?

America survived another massive, over a year long, ultimately disappointing Florida Murder trial. I want to admit here that I am a total ghoul. If something evil goes down in the world I wanna know about it. I watch the Dateline murder programs and other assorted true crime programming. The thing is I watch a show, get the facts, pass judgment and move on with my life. In 2008, there were 1,494 child (under 18 years) homicides in the United States. It's a sick sad world. I don't want to spend years emotionally invested in the same trial but there is no escaping it.

During the Caylee Anthony case I was working night audit at a hotel. I'd come in 15 minutes early to do shift change and 2nd shift would have the queen of ghouls, Nancy Grace playing on TV. As I counted my change she would repeat all the new grizzly details of the trial and everybody involved. I'd tell her I didn't care. It was sad the kid died and obviously the mom did it. Pretty cut and dry and the first news story I heard about it was about all I needed to hear to come to this conclusion.

Zimmerman went hunting for a black, stalked his prey with a gun, shot and killed a kid. At the very least guilty of being a fucking idiot and deserving of prison time. Twice a week for over a year now a young man with autism comes into my bookstore and updates me on the trial and tells me why Fox News thinks Zimmerman is innocent. What am I supposed to do? I did limit his shop time to a half hour but still Zimmerman and Trayvon are regular characters in my life for the long haul whether I like it or not.

So I am left wondering with such an abundance of child murders in America, why are we forced to have these two Florida cases thrust into our lives over the period of years? It's the news media making these decisions for us all.

So six companies control 90% of the media (as of 2011). These companies are controlled by the rich. The rich people want to keep all their money and continue to make more. Could these news stories be a way to keep the rich rich? Is it possible that these super long murder dramas with their soul crushing climaxes are created to manipulate the working class slobs? What is the ultimate moral of these kiddy killer parables? That there is no justice? It's ok to kill a black/poor? I don't even really know but these stories are forced down our throats for a reason I'm sure.