Humanize the Harm

Putting a face to the chaos

I’m an avid news consumer. I like knowing what’s going on in the world. I’ve always been this way. I remember visiting a local TV station during an elementary school field trip. The station had a wall lined with pictures of their current lineup of anchors and reporters. I could name every single one of them.

My love of news extends to media criticism. I’m a regular listener of WHYY’s On the Media. The show opened up my critical faculties and got me asking questions about the industry. I’m not a scholar, nor am I particularly bright, but I’m like a dog with a bone when I get interested in something.

The something in this case is how media outlets talk about certain things. Most take a 30,000-foot, dispassionate view of the world. I understand the industry wants to be objective and open to seeing all sides of an issue. That’s laudable, but our current moment calls for something different.

Here’s what I mean. In reading stories about the current administration’s assault on the civil service, I notice the default way these people are referred to is as the bureaucracy, or what certain media call the “deep state.”

Language matters. The bureaucracy is an abstract idea, an empty vessel waiting to be filled with one’s personal bias. In all fairness, the media does publish stories of individuals within the bureaucracy and how the administration’s actions impact them. Even so, these glimpses are often fleeting and lacking in key details, including the minutia of work that’s common to every job.

I guess what I’m saying is personalize the harm. Maybe the media can’t do this because there isn’t enough time or space, or maybe editors and publishers won’t allow it. So, I guess it’s up to us. So, here is some unsolicited advice for how to think about some of the big issues in the news right now.

Bureaucracy - They’re not nameless. These are people. Some probably have kids, while others are just getting started with their careers. They pay rent or a mortgage. Some may even be crap at their jobs. These are not diabolical supervillains acting as a shadow government. These are people plugging numbers into Excel documents, making sure grant funding is being used properly, and helping veterans understand their benefits.

There are 2.3 million people working for the federal government. There are 330,000,000 people in the United States. The federal workforce makes up less than 1% of the population. Say the administration managed to get rid of 500,000 people, that’s half a million men, women, trans men, trans women, parents, people near retirement, people using their income to help care for their elderly parents, etc…who are now struggling to put their lives back together.

DEI - First, say the words, the acronym has become shorthand for something sinister. Spell out the words diversity, equity, and inclusion. Say the words in conversation with others and wonder together how a society came to label these words as evil. Diversity, equity, and inclusion, at its best, is an attempt to correct historical wrongs while attempting to prevent them from repeating. At its worst, diversity, equity, and inclusion is a surface-level, mandatory workshop offered by one’s employer for the sole purpose of saying it cares about these issues. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are not about promoting unqualified people to positions they’re not qualified for; frankly, that is part of what DEI is trying to fix.

Transgender male/Transgender female - Less than 2% of the U.S. population. These are our neighbors and our coworkers. These are folks that some guy at a party talks with and thinks, “I really like them,” until later, when that same guy finds out the person they were talking with is trans and now suddenly thinks that person is weird. Trans people probably spend a lot of time worrying about their safety. There’s a decent chance they had to move from a place like Texas (their home) to someplace like Washington (where they know no one and don’t have a job lined up) because they no longer feel safe. Trans people have very little power in this country. They, too, pay $5 for a dozen eggs.

Government - Just like bureaucracy, this word is meaningless. Government is impersonal, unapproachable, and unresponsive. Government is something you’re powerless to stop or even slow down. Government is people, specifically, “We the People.” Think locally, the school board member or the mayor, people you might bump into at the grocery store. Guess what? You’re a people. You, with all your faults and imperfections, your weird habits that no one knows about, could be a school board member or a mayor.

Climate change - Yes, the world is on fire (sometimes literally), but it’s hard to feel empowered when the only real solution feels global in scale. Very few of us have that kind of power, and most of the people who do, don’t care, don’t think it’s real, or are too busy building a post-apocalyptic bunker to do anything of substance. Instead, imagine your neighborhood on fire or a drought, making it hard for you and your family to find potable water. Depressing? Sure as hell is, but maybe also motivating and empowering. Changing the world is hard, but changing your habits is a little easier. Getting people around you to take an interest can work if they understand you’re all in the same cul-de-sac, neighborhood, or city-shaped boat.

A personalized approach to the news has the potential to make you even sadder or stressed out. All I can say to that, is, for me, this lens is a motivator. By removing the filter and looking at things as is, I feel a sense of urgency and momentum that gets me off the couch or out of my head because I’m not helping anyone that way. And right now a lot of people need a lot of help.