SUMBLOG 10

Barry Glassner and his “Culture of Fear” really stuck out to me because I personally think that we as a society do live in a culture of fear.  I say this because when something catastrophic happens to us beyond the grasp of our control, we take drastic steps to make sure it does not happen again.  Since the terrorist attack on September 11, the security measures taken at Airports dramatically increase.  However, even this is not enough to ease people’s mind because there is always that question of “what if” at the back of people’s mind.  It’s this fear of the unknown that is making us ignore serious problems like inequality of income just as Glassner said.  We don’t want to look at the ugly sides of things; we fear that those negatives view because its reality and some people just can’t accept that.  So it’s just how Glassner puts it, once we accept the ugly truth, we lose the ability to move forward.  So literally, if we let fear control us, we can’t move on with our lives.

The recent bomb threat on the anniversary of the Boston bombing is an example of how fear still plays a role in our everyday lives.  The article which was posted on the Washington post can be found here (http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/04/16/boston-police-arrest-man-for-bringing-hoax-explosive-device-to-boston-marathon-finish-line/).  Rather if it’s for publicity, their 15 minutes of fame, or for a quick laugh; no one should do things that can potentially put other people’s lives in danger.  Having said that, this article demonstrates the person who did this stunt is disconnected from knowledge and reaction.  The person may not have the knowledge that these kinds of threat are taken seriously, and the reactions taken are severe.   Although this was found out to be a hoax, it’s still twisted as to why a person would pull off a stunt like this.