However, I do not.
I find the newspaper - at least from where I live - glosses over the facts and paints a very sad picture for the reader. I mean take this example for instance. This happened yesterday - 25th November. A woman, 21 years old, drove her car over a 2 storey drop and died:
The Times
A young nursing student from Zebbug died tragically yesterday morning when she lost control of her car.
Another newspaper practically echoes the same thing:
Malta Independent
A woman tragically lost her life after losing control of the vehicle she was driving.
Two newspaper, practically the same sentence. Now some of you may think that I am being harsh, but I will tell you why I will not feel sorry for this "victim". WHY did she lose control of her car?
You may say that it could be a number of reasons. True, but reading further into the newspaper article you find some very concerning things that ought to make you think.
The Times
She is believed to have hit the crash barrier and then a tree before her car plunged two storeys to the slip road below.
Yet, the other paper merely says:
Malta Independent
...police deduce that the woman... veered off the road and plunged down a height of two storeys.
Well whaddya know? Bit of a different story here now. But maybe you think I am still fishing. Maybe you think I am just being heartless because I have no respect for the dead. Well then answer how this is possible:
The Times
Parts of the car, including the back door, a pair of shoes and a soft toy, were amongst the items the police found on Mikiel Anton Vassalli Street (The Street she was driving down prior to the accident) Other parts, including one of the car's seats, were found several meters away from the car.
eek Now surely if she was driving at an average speed and simply "veered" off the road that couldn't POSSIBLY happen. It's NOT possible, no which way you try to look at it. Reading that HAS to leave you with one other question:
What speed was she driving?
A person doesn't lose control of their car if driving sensibly and at a reasonable speed - no matter what may happen - and end up bouncing off a crash barrier and a tree, while losing a SEAT and a BACK DOOR in the process. It is NOT physically possible.
Now I am not saying I am a detective, but neither am I stupid. Something happened on that street and part of the fault was the driver herself. For some reason or another she either swerved or was not paying attention. It could have been that another car was coming down the wrong way; or that it was late (8.15 am) and she was tired; or that she was changing radio/tape/cd
The Times
The first people to arrive on the scene could still hear music inside her car.
Who's to say? The thing is nobody will ever know the truth. I'm not saying that the newspapers should speculate about what happened and misinform the people, but seriously, glossing over the facts is NOT the way it should be done. If you then argue that they do it to protect those grieving for the deceased then I say, what about the next victim that is likely to share the same fate. Reading on the paper that the driver, "LOST CONTROL" does NOT teach lessons. Instead it makes you believed that since it never happened to you, it won't happen at all. WRONG. It can and it will if there is no reinforcement.
In the end, this story is just going to be forgotten, like all the others. It's ironic really, that the man that claims he shall not feel sympathy for them ends up remembering more these tragedies than the people that grieved for them. It's not right.
