Hehehe, true! I grew up near VA beach and one year when I was a teenager we had a few shark attacks. A few friends of mine suddenly refused to go in the beach that summer, I was like “eh, whatever”.
Shark attacks in FL made national news- I think the summer of ’02 or ’03? Statistically, there were fewer shark attacks that year, it’s just that the first one occurred on a slow news day, so it got picked up. After that, every shark attack made national news.
It probably wouldn’t be so bad if Shark Week were one week, but I swear they keep running it over and over and over…it’s been more like a Shark Quarter this year! Let’s face it, we’re a nation that now runs on fear…fear of terrorists, fear of our children being snatched, etc., fear of food allergies that keep peanut butter out of schools, fear of parents, thus we have to clear them before they can attend school parties (which I don’t think anyone pointed out, generally occur with the teacher in the room! Can you imagine a parent helping out deciding to harm a child with the teacher standing there!)
Last night’s Leverage episode was about fear-mongering news anchors (her name was Monica Hunter).
I was cracking up thinking Nancy Grace every time they talked about her show and how she is “on the ‘hunt’ for the truth”.
The character even admits that it’s all about fear and ratings and that fear is what drives her ratings so if the show scares the viewers that is good.
She also mentions that she was beat by shark week and Nazi’s on the discovery channel, lol
The funny thing is that most people are actually able to realize how rare shark attacks are and realize that taking simple precautions like not swimming during their feeding hours is enough to keep one reasonably safe. Why can’t we be that sane about human predators?
I don’t give in to panics about child abductors or drinking straws (don’t laugh, I’ve been *warned* about them) but I like to indulge in Shark Week and Nat Geo’s “The Hunter and the Hunted” (HATH)(when large predators try to eat people) because you never know when you’re going to meet a mountain lion and it’s good to know not to swim at dusk near the mouth of the river down stream from the abattoir. It’s also useful to know the signs of the impending tsunami. I guess when you get right down to it, Shark Week and HATH leave me happy but Nancy Grace leaves me wanting to change my first name.
In the end, Shark Week is closer to freerangekids. Specifically, one of this year’s SW shows (“Sharkbite Summer”) detailed the how the 2001 shark hysteria was completly media-driven. (TiVo is a wonderful, wondderful, thing!)
Moreover, I don’t think Nacy Grace has ever shown someone hypnotizing a supposedly dangerous Great White pedophile (by grabbing his snout!) while free-diving in the open ocean, and then hanging on to his dorsal fin for a ride. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6trY0RdVEU
Come to think of it, it’s more likely that the suburban parents in my neighborhood would forbid their children from watching Shark Week. It might be too traumatic, which proves to me why it might be useful to watch.
Funny. When I was a kid living in Hawaii, my sister, friends and I would body surf all day and frolick in the waves even though fishermen would drag hammerhead sharks onto the same beach routinely. We never gave it a second thought. There were no lifeguards on the beach either. My mom taught us to swim by the time we were three. We had deep water survival training provided by the Navy in our summer camp. I guess a typical suburban kid would have been shark bait or dragged out to sea to drown after the first 15 minutes. We just wore ourselves out.
I might have been more cautious if I had seen Jaws first but I’m going back to Maui in a couple of days and probably won’t worry about it much.
ROLFMAO!!! SO. TRUE. 😀
Hehehe, true! I grew up near VA beach and one year when I was a teenager we had a few shark attacks. A few friends of mine suddenly refused to go in the beach that summer, I was like “eh, whatever”.
I’ll just note that there are no traditional jokes about lawyers displaying professional courtesy towards sharks.
Shark attacks in FL made national news- I think the summer of ’02 or ’03? Statistically, there were fewer shark attacks that year, it’s just that the first one occurred on a slow news day, so it got picked up. After that, every shark attack made national news.
Dogs, snakes, bees and pigs kill more Americans than Sharks. http://www.oceanconservancy.org/site/DocServer/fsSharks.pdf
It probably wouldn’t be so bad if Shark Week were one week, but I swear they keep running it over and over and over…it’s been more like a Shark Quarter this year! Let’s face it, we’re a nation that now runs on fear…fear of terrorists, fear of our children being snatched, etc., fear of food allergies that keep peanut butter out of schools, fear of parents, thus we have to clear them before they can attend school parties (which I don’t think anyone pointed out, generally occur with the teacher in the room! Can you imagine a parent helping out deciding to harm a child with the teacher standing there!)
I would *love* a Shark Quarter. They’re fascinating animals; 3 months of learning about sharks is about 9 months too little, if you ask me. 🙂
Last night’s Leverage episode was about fear-mongering news anchors (her name was Monica Hunter).
I was cracking up thinking Nancy Grace every time they talked about her show and how she is “on the ‘hunt’ for the truth”.
The character even admits that it’s all about fear and ratings and that fear is what drives her ratings so if the show scares the viewers that is good.
She also mentions that she was beat by shark week and Nazi’s on the discovery channel, lol
I love shark week!
The funny thing is that most people are actually able to realize how rare shark attacks are and realize that taking simple precautions like not swimming during their feeding hours is enough to keep one reasonably safe. Why can’t we be that sane about human predators?
Great comparison!!!
I don’t give in to panics about child abductors or drinking straws (don’t laugh, I’ve been *warned* about them) but I like to indulge in Shark Week and Nat Geo’s “The Hunter and the Hunted” (HATH)(when large predators try to eat people) because you never know when you’re going to meet a mountain lion and it’s good to know not to swim at dusk near the mouth of the river down stream from the abattoir. It’s also useful to know the signs of the impending tsunami. I guess when you get right down to it, Shark Week and HATH leave me happy but Nancy Grace leaves me wanting to change my first name.
LOL. My entire family loves shark week!
Thank you to take care for our child.
http://allainjulesblog.blogspot.com/
sounds like a good way to reduce beach crowding to me!
“Live every week like it’s shark week”
–Tracy Jordan
In the end, Shark Week is closer to freerangekids. Specifically, one of this year’s SW shows (“Sharkbite Summer”) detailed the how the 2001 shark hysteria was completly media-driven. (TiVo is a wonderful, wondderful, thing!)
Moreover, I don’t think Nacy Grace has ever shown someone hypnotizing a supposedly dangerous Great White pedophile (by grabbing his snout!) while free-diving in the open ocean, and then hanging on to his dorsal fin for a ride.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6trY0RdVEU
Nah, it’s just typical adolescent fascination with blood and gore. Think of it as nature’s Friday the Thirteenth.
Come to think of it, it’s more likely that the suburban parents in my neighborhood would forbid their children from watching Shark Week. It might be too traumatic, which proves to me why it might be useful to watch.
Funny. When I was a kid living in Hawaii, my sister, friends and I would body surf all day and frolick in the waves even though fishermen would drag hammerhead sharks onto the same beach routinely. We never gave it a second thought. There were no lifeguards on the beach either. My mom taught us to swim by the time we were three. We had deep water survival training provided by the Navy in our summer camp. I guess a typical suburban kid would have been shark bait or dragged out to sea to drown after the first 15 minutes. We just wore ourselves out.
I might have been more cautious if I had seen Jaws first but I’m going back to Maui in a couple of days and probably won’t worry about it much.