Next of Kin

[bob12a]

Something has been bothering me now for a while.

 

The Scene

 

Imagine one had a son or daughter in the services and serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.

 

You are listening to the news and you hear

 

" A soldier/marine has been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan"

 

No more is said until the rest of the headlines have been read (2 or 3 Mins sometimes)

 

What can be going through the relatives of serving personals mind at this point.

 

Would it not be kinder if the news reader said before the headline

 

"The next of kin have been informed a soldier/marine has been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan"

 

 

I know the next of kin of the causality will have been informed before the news is released.

 

I have not been able to get this point over to anyone I mention it to.

__________________

[Goku]

Well what you say makes sense. Hearing the former sentence, my heart would miss a beat and a constant fear would grip my mind. But then, the news channel don't consider human feelings, do they? They are more focused on generating higher TRP ratings and saying the latter line will break the climax or the thrill of the news. Who cares for the relatives of the deceased if a few more TRP ratings can be achieved by delivering the news dramatically. :mad:

 

-- Goku

[BeeCeeBee]

The real shame is that we are living at a time where such headlines are commonplace. Of course we are not far removed from a time when next of kin were not notified for days and even weeks after after a tragedy.

[Plastic Nev]

The only comfort for any one with relatives in the front line, is the knowledge that next of kin are informed before the news is released. That of course is OK if it isn't your son or daughter, but not a lot of help when you have the letter on your knee.

[Mara]

Here, although usually they let the family know first, it's not unusual to hear gruesome details and then the newscaster saying, "The name will not be released until the next of kin have been notified". Egad.

 

It would be lovely if news took second place to human feelings.