Counterbacklash
It’s one of those situations where I am – to use the oldest phrase in the book – ‘blogging from Singapore’. I’m in one of those departure lounges whether it’s impossible to say if it’s day or night. I think it’s early evening but I’ve eaten about 14 times in the past 24 hours or so, as you do with plane travel. At Changi airport they don’t do boarding calls either, the airport is basically silent and borderline eerie all day long, so you have every chance of getting so confused that you miss your plane. It’s fair to say – without disrespect to Singapore – I would be a bit disappointed to get stuck here. After the 12 hours to get to this stage I’d really like to finish the job and make it to Melbourne. The last couple of hours were a bit bumpy, too. Bumpy as in ‘mmm, this is unpleasant’, though, rather than ‘atheists suddenly starting to say prayers’.
My trip to Melbourne, for the few people who asked, is for various reasons – a little bit of ‘media work’, a corporate gig, and a few bits of admin for Mark Watson Productions Australia, which is a less grand edifice that it sounds, as it is essentially just me in a different country. It goes without saying, Aussies, that I will be back properly in March, when I will tour with my new show, which unfortunately is so new that it doesn’t entirely exist yet – as those who saw it in Edinburgh will testify. But hey: March is a long way off. About three years, I make it.
While I’m here in this strange repetitively-carpeted limbo, I might as well make the half-thought-out point about September 11 I was pondering the other day. I can’t see anything possibly going wrong with a poorly considered response to 9/11, can you?
All I wanted to say was: inevitably, there was a lot of September 11-anniversary coverage, and the Twitterfacebookites of the world (who tend to be my barometer of opinion, apart from this blog; sorry, Andrew) made quite a lot of remarks about the fact it was overdone, crassly sentimentalised, bordering on ‘disaster porn’, and grossly disproportionate given that many hundreds of thousands of people have been wiped out SINCE 9/11, just for living in the wrong place.
The last point is definitely true. The rest, though, I think people need to be careful with. These days we’ve all evolved a sort of media-proof carapace to protect us against the constant bombardment of images, opinions, adverts, and other crap we’re all exposed to virtually all day long. There are good reasons for this and clearly there are strong arguments for being cynical about the media’s selection of the facts we consume: you don’t need a very long memory to realise that. All the same, I think people go to the opposite extreme too readily. Because everyone’s on about the tenth anniversary of September 11th, it becomes fashionable to take the contrarian angle and make out that, really, it wasn’t THAT big a deal. Or that it’s somehow tiresome to mark a momentous historical occasion. But it’s not, it’s only human; and it clearly was a big deal. Sure, not as big a deal as numerous acts of genocide we’re all aware of. But a big deal nonetheless, particularly if you happened to be related to one of the very large number of people who died. If I were in their position and I heard some hipster complain that 9/11 had been ‘over-analysed’, I think I’d be pretty bloody angry.
It’s like what I was saying about poor old Winehouse in July. Because there’s a kneejerk outpouring of grief, there tends to be a commensurate backlash almost immediately. Too many people say it’s terribly sad about Amy, so then it becomes the vogue to say ‘no it isn’t, shut up, she was a dick’. This happened, some of you might remember, even as far back as Diana’s death in 1997 (actually it makes me shudder that some of you are young enough NOT to remember, but there we are). Everyone went bonkers over the tragedy and the media coverage bordered on the mentally unstable (not to mention hypocritical since some of them had helped to hound her to death). Clearly this was too much. But then, you started to get people nailing their colours much too hard to the opposite point of view. ‘This isn’t really a tragedy at all. All you people are stupid.’ This in its way is just as dumb as over-reacting. Of course it’s a tragedy if a youngish person, who spent a fair bit of time helping the underprivileged and who inspired many others, suddenly dies. OK, you don’t want to get caught up in over-sentimentalising, but that doesn’t give everyone a licence to trivialise it either.
I think what I’m saying is – my usual point of view on everything, actually – it’s quite important to be able to take the middle ground on things. The likes of me get criticised for occupying the middle ground because it seems like you’re too scared to venture a real opinion. But I have got an opinion, it’s just my opinion is that most opinions on all topics are too extreme. The truth is pretty much always to be found by navigating between opposites until they start to converge a bit.
The events of September 11th, as they’re called these days, were enormously scarring for tens of thousands of people, and affected the destiny of western civilization, at least in the short term. It’s fine if you found all the documentaries and the earnest news reporting a bit much, but there’s no glory in making out that it’s irrelevant, either. September 11 was a dreadful day that merits a considerable remembrance, just like Amy Winehouse was a culturally important person with big psychological problems who deserves to be honoured. Basically, death is sad. It really is horrible. Anyone’s free to object to the presentation of that sadness, but don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Don’t forget there are people out there for whom this isn’t just a conversational topic.
There you go. A bit of genuine blogging, there, rather than hastily tapping 50 words into my phone to satisfy a self-imposed deadline. Maybe I should come to Singapore airport more often.
Posted by Rachael on September 21, 2011
You are, as usual, completely right. The middle ground isn’t always just about ‘sitting on the fence’.
Have you thought about starting your own political party? Perhaps it needs resurrecting, I believe the tag-line was MARK WATSON- WHAT’S THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Posted by Lydia on September 15, 2011
I agree with you on taking the middle road. I hate the flippancy of the backlashers.
This is such a good blog. I have been sitting here trying to formulate exactly what it is that I want to say and I am completely unable to.
Posted by Briony on September 15, 2011
A bit of genuine blogging much enjoyed
Posted by Aislinn on September 14, 2011
Both you and your blog are brilliant.
The best people are the ones who can understand both sides of the argument and still feel confident to take the middle ground. Opinions aren’t opinions if they’re forced upon you.
Posted by LisaD on September 14, 2011
It’s entirely possible that no one wants to hear what an American has to say on this topic. Fair enough, skip ahead if you like. For that matter, that was easily something folks could have done with any or all of the 9/11 coverage without feeling the need to label it something gross. There was a lot of the coverage I didn’t watch, but I did watch a documentary about the devastating health impact digging through the rubble had on rescue workers, many of who either have not or will not survive to see the Republicans allow funding for the first responders’ health care costs. Didn’t feel like I was watching porn at the time, but it did feel like that day had a massive impact on a lot of people who don’t have the luxury of seeing it as just another day.
I’ll take the middle-of-the-road over snap judgments any day
Posted by Knox on September 14, 2011
if blogs like this are the outcome, then yes, i think you should definitely spend more time in airports in singapore.
i was possibly one of the backlashers, to an extent, on twitter (have finally joined!) on sunday…not going to go into a long reason why (way too tired and incoherent at this hour) but do agree that it’s important to remember the personal tragedy for each relative, friend etc. unfortunately, i don’t think that’s what a lot of the commemoration was about. but anyways.
travel safe the rest of the way. and back, also.
Posted by Helen on September 13, 2011
Excellent, thought provoking blog. May I ask, does it become easier to communicate opinions the older you get? Because, I’m 19 and many of the thoughts you have written here have been in my head, somewhere, in some form, but they were all fragmented and interspersed with doubt and generally in no fit state to present themselves in a conversation. In fact at times it’s only when I actually say them that I can clearly sort out the weak points from the better points, by which time it is often too late, especially if you are trying to be concise.
Anyway, as others have said refreshing to see you sticking up for the middle ground. Have a good flight to Melbourne.
Posted by Jen on September 13, 2011
Good point,well said!I think all people who voice views need to do so whilst at all times remembering these are real events, effecting real people with real feelings – a bit of sensitivity is all that’s needed!Jx
Posted by lisan66 on September 13, 2011
9/11 has had absolutely no relevance in my life. I was 9 when it happened and I remember coming home from school and it being on the news but I can’t remember watching it and I can’t remember anything that happened afterwards. I get that it was horrible and that it has affected millions of people in all sorts of horrible ways. But I have to say, I view it the same way I’d view any kind of horrible event in history. It happened, but it didn’t happen to me and I’ve not got a proper memory of it to make it important to me. Obviously the anniversary was important to others, but I spent Sunday the same way I spend nearly every Sunday….I read a book and that was it. I actually forgot the date till that night when my dad said something about it.
Posted by Rachel/Pandora on September 13, 2011
An excellent point well made, Watson.
It’s impossible to deny that 9/11 changed the world, if only the personal worlds of thousands of people who lost loved ones.
The deaths of 3000 strangers isn’t made any more sad by the documentaries that are shown every anniversary, it just makes them slightly more relevant. Same with Winehouse’s death too. We shouldn’t feel more upset, just more informed. It’s also worth remembering that the bereaved families probably want to see the footage of the Towers falling over and over even less than you do.
I think to dismiss the coverage of 9/11 as ‘disaster porn’ is a bit disrespectful to those who lost their lives. If you’re offended by the coverage you’d probably be better off avoiding the documentaries and newspaper stories rather than dismissing the whole event as an irritating or irrelevant. It was a tragedy on a massive scale, and it should be down to the individual how they commemorate or remember it. Just keep it to yourself a bit, yeah?
Posted by Misha on September 13, 2011
Hurray for Singapore?
Interestingly, it seems to easiest way to avoid the disaster porn coverage is to have your girlfriend over for the weekend and then go up the park with her, a ten year old and one of your best friends; and spend an afternoon collection conkers and blackberries and playing in trees.
That way, when you get home, you can go : 9/11 that was sad/horrific/10 years ago, and carry on living.
I mean, 9/11 was bad yes, and it’s probably important to remember it, but it is a bit disaster porny, and if people don’t watch they won’t make it. That’s the answer really. Ignore the telly.
Interestingly, I’m (just) old enough to remember Dianna’s death, but not in detail. I would’ve been 5 or 6 at the time. I put some commemorative stamps of her face into a book.
Posted by ChrisP on September 13, 2011
The thing the separates 9/11 from something like a tsunami or an earthquake, where many more people die, is that 9/11 wasn’t a natural disaster; it was a mass murder caused by religious hatred. Plus Andrew’s very right in saying that there is a great deal of public interest in events that involve disasters in the Weston world (think JFK…). I wonder how many innocent people’s deaths went unreported in the “war on terror” as a result of all this.
These days absolutely anything in the remotely public eye, from a worldwide catastrophe to something scarcely making the local news will get over sentimentalised and also ridiculed/trivialised by various members of society, usually over social networks. On the whole, I think people were a bit more mature about this one (well done, humanity). It’s best not to use these exclusively as a social barometer; I read a great quote from (I think) Sean Lock this week “Twitter is for people who can’t shut up even when they’re by themself”. Spot on.
Anyway, top blogging, thats some pretty thought provoking stuff in there.
Posted by Simone on September 13, 2011
I agree with all the sentiments in this blog; couldn’t have put it better myself.
Posted by Andrew on September 13, 2011
I could write a reply as long as the above, but will reduce it to a few bullet points. The first one is controversial, and you can delete this if you think it will upset people (although hopefully people are smart enough to get where I’m coming from).
1) I’m convinced one of the main reasons September 11 got/gets so much coverage is that it was – putting all political and emotional opinions about it to one side – spectacular. It was hideous, of course, but it was cinematic in its concept and execution, and in spite of ourselves we can’t help but be morbidly drawn to seeing it over and over again. That’s given it an enduring fascination out of proportion with the actual event. It’s not a palatable idea, but there you go.
2) The aftermath of the death of Diana was, I think (and hope) unique. Many of the people here were not adults so won’t remember it the way I do, but it induced a deeply bizarre sort of mass hysteria where for days and even weeks afterwards any reaction other than immense grief was deemed inappropriate. Never before or since have I felt that I dare not speak my mind, at all, for fear of reproving comments from work colleagues (for the record, I thought it was sad, but no sadder than any other mother of two young children dying in a car crash.) If there was the negative backlash you describe, and I really don’t remember much of one myself, it didn’t happen for a long time.
3) As someone who spends much of his time saying that life is not black and white and that we’d all be much happier if we could grow up a bit and try and deal together with its greyness, I agree that it’s frustrating when people perceive what is a well-reasoned response as a lack of backbone. There are very, very few things in life that are absolute (no matter how much one might pretend so for comedic effect.)
4) Use the Twitter/Facebook fraternity as your barometer of opinion if you will, but bear in mind that lots of these people are incapable of expressing complex thoughts which require more than one sentence.
Posted by MusicalLottie on September 13, 2011
The thing is, although in purely numerical terms September 11th may not* have been the biggest deal in living memory, its impact was pretty huge. It changed the way that Western society lives in many ways, and it was the catalyst (as far as I know*) for the ‘war on terror’ that’s claimed and ruined millions of lives – not only are there the deaths that have resulted, but there are the injuries, bereaved families, traumatised Iraqi civilians … not to mention the rest of the damage from the overall war. So I think it was a big deal, but it’s important to recognise why.
*I could well be wrong. I was 12 at the time, living in my own world, and even since then I’ve never attempted to keep up with the specifics of world events, because a) I can’t, and b) even if I could, it’d be far too depressing. I tried to look up some facts for this comment but gave up because it was making me angry how many lives have been wasted and needlessly ruined by it all; self-preservation kicked in!
I’m with you Mark – it may not be fashionable to take a balanced view, but it’s unreasonable not to.
Posted by Georgie on September 13, 2011
I hope you enjoy your short stay in Melbourne! We’re starting to get some nice weather now, which is good. I hope March isn’t actually 3 years away. That’s too long to wait for the MICF! x
Posted by Joelle on September 13, 2011
A very interesting read indeed!
Will your trip to Aus next year include Perth or just MICF? Either way, I hope you enjoy your short trip this time around