A
man in his sixties strode, with a purposely gait, from the pavement
onto the road and into the path of the traffic that flowed as if like
Jesus he was walking on water, and therefore expected these seas to
part. There was no pause, no minute yet identifiable hesitation, not
even a look left and right; he just walked. The traffic didn't stop
nor did any drivers angrily beep their horns or yell out of hastily
rolled-down windows, so untouched he made it to the other side and
without a look back carried on down the High Street, obviously not
struck by his lucky escape from serious injury or death.
His
body could have been ploughed into, thrown up into the air to land on
a wind shield and bounce off, to then roll off a bonnet and be driven
over, and finally to lie scraped, bleeding and broken on the
tarmacked surface. And that's the worst case scenario. I can't tell
you what injuries he might have had had that occurred as I'm no medic
but I think they would have been either life-threatening or
life-changing.
It
may not have gone like that, of course. Drivers may have taken
avoiding action, thereby causing serious injuries to themselves or to
other innocent bystanders. The walker himself may still have escaped
unharmed or with only minor cuts and scratches, yet through his
thoughtless deed left a trail of beaten up bodies and cars. The
emergency services on their way, the sirens already wailing in the
background.
I,
a law-abiding and safe-conscious citizen, had watched this miracle,
of fortune and stupidity, unfold whilst waiting for the green man to
appear, which he duly did some time after that risky strategy had
been played out and others too had crossed less dangerously but still
not when it was entirely safe.
Nobody
these days can afford to wait, it seems. Even their own life (or that
of others) isn't precious enough. Drivers, too, are not altogether
blameless. Some don't slow if they can and will clip a jaywalker
deliberately, thinking it's just desserts for crossing when they
shouldn't. Maybe it is? But incidents have a erratic habit of
spiralling to become nasty accidents. Is it fair that witnesses get
drawn into a road-spat? This ongoing war of swear words, impolite
gestures and potential mangled bodies...I think not.
Gaming
has made us seem like skittles to be knocked down; like animated
figures gunned down, blown up, with more lives to lose than we need.
And where if you don't get back up it doesn't matter, a brand new
(and unhurt) version of you will appear; where wounds magically heal
and leave no scars, no physical suffering, no trauma.
Gamers
hide behind these self-cloned armies, killing, maiming, car-chasing
or using them as missiles, slashing with knives, so in time (and if
played obsessively) the sanctity of life is disrespected, which could
cross over to reality. Could. I don't know; I've never been a gamer,
but isn't it plausible that in some individuals it could warp the
brain? Make real life seem like a game?
Which
it is. But on a grander, more intricate scale. Where choices and
actions have far greater and far reaching consequences. And where
people are more dandelion-like: wispy and cobweb-fine compared to
their resilient humanoid equivalents, though the players living life
might think otherwise. Or even believe the only part of themselves
that could be mortally wounded is their pride.
There's
a level of violence accepted in gaming which, in my opinion, has
transmitted itself to our cities, our streets; but where violence
might seem justified in a game, here, in actuality it's not. Ever. No
act, random, premeditated, or unthinkingly committed is meaningless.
It will cut someone metaphorically speaking, cause pain, grief and
tears. Loss. Is our consciousness becoming that numb? Unfeeling?
I
don't think so and I hope not. And yet there's not just violence done
unto others, but a disregard for ourselves that seems, to me, almost
virus-like i.e. contagious. Copy-cats of each other, and in what
seems like minor trifling ways since it's now so normalised that
nobody tuts, bats an eyelid or admonishes. What's one more life?
Picture credit: Lemmings, White Wilderness, a Disney Nature Documentary
All posts published this year were penned during the last.
