Jordanian pilot Lieutenant Muath Al-Kaseasbeh was caged and burned alive on February 3 by ISIS. Al- Kaseasbeh’s plane crashed in December when he was held hostage under ISIS control. To make matters worse, Fox News aired the horrific death of Al-Kaseasbeh leaving many of its viewers in total shock.
This isn’t the first time the Islamic State has killed innocent victims and it won’t be the last. Hearing about the numerous deaths that have occurred is gut-wrenching. Seeing these killings as they happen is even worse. Fox’s decision to air this video is dehumanizing and desensitizes our outlook on death.
Death is bound to happen to everyone. There is no escaping it, however, how one dies should not be put on display for the world to see. The Fox organization did just that after they decided to show its viewers how dangerous ISIS really is. Some of these viewers were students, parents and even teenagers.
On numerous accounts, we have had to endure news coverage, brutal pictures of victims and threats from the Islamic State. Without seeing any videos, I’m sure many of us received the message that ISIS is not joking around.
The world is subjected to violence on a daily basis. We see violence in movies, video games and in real life. The more we see violence, the more desensitized we become to it. More often than not, we look at violence as something that isn’t a big deal. People are killing each other and some of us don’t seem to flinch. What many of us fail to realize is that violence is not going away. Fox wanted to send the message that we need to wake up to violence, but they are also sending the message that it is okay to use power in order to get what you want, when in fact it isn’t.
With only moments left to live, Al- Kaseasbeh was set on fire. It’s difficult to imagine what was going on inside his head. Was he scared? Was he thinking about his family? Only he would know. No one should go through what this pilot went through.
Those who tuned into Fox News witnessed this horrible crime. For those of us who did see it, there is no forgetting or undoing. Viewers have to live with the fact that they saw another individual’s death and heard his cries of agonizing pain. Unfortunately, this isn’t a movie where we can wish all our pain away. Instead, this is life where our memories, good or bad stay with us forever.
Not only is Fox’s decision to show Al-Kaseasbeh’s death dehumanizing, but it is disrespectful to his family and loved ones. His family has to deal with the media showing the video and posting pictures. It is as if they are forced to relive the nightmare over and over again.
Fox needs to be more considerate of others. Yes, we should be aware of the issues we are living in, but we shouldn’t have to see another human being paying the price for these issues.
