Wednesday 10 October 2012

Your Eye

The beauty of the internet is that information seems so accessible and close. Whatever you want to find out about.....type it in...and more than likely, you will get some information.

However, like everything that seems so easy, there can be a downside.

Over the past few months, I have seen bloggers post some very disturbing pictures and videos on their sites. I wont mention the issues they have touched on but the most recent pertains to the Uniport students - referred to as 'Aluu 4'. While I commend some for drawing our attention to certain hitherto 'hidden' issues...I do question the motive behind some bloggers' decision to post really gruesome, disturbing material.

Even more so, I question some readers/ viewers' motives when they view such material:
- Is the reader viewing it motivated by voyeuristic* tendencies ?
- Is the reader viewing it to spear-head a campaign that will aim to right whatever wrong has been committed ?
- Is the reader viewing it to be titillated* ?
- Is the reader viewing it to gain knowledge about something new ?

Whatever the reason is, I suggest we remember this:

 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. 35 See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. (Luke 11:34-35)


Research has shown that there is a strong link between porn and child abuse. This is no surprise as images can distort people's view of what is acceptable or unacceptable behaviour.

Whether we like it or not, the more we view violent, dehumanising and abhorrent material.....The more we begin to think this is the norm. The first time I watched a video of a Python swallow another animal on Youtube...I screamed.....Now....I yawn and go...'Next video please...!'

As users of social media, I believe we have a duty to think before we post and think even harder before we repost. We are not sheep.


*Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of spying on people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions usually considered to be of a private nature.[1]

*Titilated is to Stimulate or excite (someone), esp. in a sexual way.

71 comments:

  1. My bestie said to me yesterday i bet you have not seen that Aluu video and we both laughed because she knows that I will not view it or anything that will upset me or shift my state of mind into depression as much as I want justice for the ALUU 4 i delete from my facebook people post gruesome pictures and prefer to hear , see, say no evil.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am like you. I am very reluctant to view anything that will distort my thinking or peace of mind.
      I rather hear than see
      Thanks dear

      Delete
    2. We r alike.... once I see a title of a post and I know the images are not palatable I don't go in further. Some blogs I read at work filter images so am unable to see the gruesome or sexual images which I am thankful for.

      I like to guard my heart with all diligence and I have a photogenic memory. so FLEEING is my best option.

      The post is well put together. I always question people's motives though...

      Delete
  2. I totally get what you mean. After seeing the pictures of the Aluu 4 victims on a blog, still some people went to go and watch the video. I just don't get it. Because these same people who after seeing the pictures and then watching the video, will still call those who killed them inhumane when they too can stand to watch the video of those men being killed.
    We also need to draw attention to those people who post such horrific material on their blogs because if people keep seeing such things regularly, it starts to become normal. If we are walking along the road and see someone being beaten to death, it could get to a stage where people are not even shocked. Already we've got people who just stand there recording with their phones instead of getting the police or doing something themselves to prevent things like what happened to the four men from happening.

    ReplyDelete
  3. 'because if people keep seeing such things regularly, it starts to become normal'
    Totally agree
    It's actions like these that have now made people record wrong-doing instead of stopping it.
    Thanks dear

    ReplyDelete
  4. i too couldn't even stand to look at the pictures, i won't ever go near the videos, i find such things traumatizing..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I dont blame you my sister
      Thanks for dropping by
      xxxxxxxx

      Delete
  5. I agree with you. I guess for some people, it's natural human curiosity but still, it should have limits.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My sister, I agree that we should have limits oh
      Hope all is well with you
      xxxxxxxxxxx

      Delete
  6. @NIL, thank you for posting this. I could not bear to look at those pictures. This reminds me of the burnt bodies that were posted some months back, and I remember putting up a post that condemned posting burnt naked bodies for people to watch. It is a pity! Voyeuristic tendencies? may be.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I feel you my sista
      I am bewildered by this trend
      e pass me oh
      Stay blessed
      xxxxxxxx

      Delete
  7. No, we are not sheep.
    That reminds me, there's a video I need to get off my blog...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL @ reminder
      I feel you my sister
      Hope all is well
      xxxx

      Delete
  8. I've been surprised by my mostly indifferent reaction to the tragic Aluu incident. You can say that I fall into the yawn and move on category. I even watched a few seconds of the nightmare to SEE how it unfolded. I stopped after a few seconds not because of the horror, but because I simply thought it wasn't a good use of my time. I had better things to do.

    Yesterday I began to wonder why I have reacted this way. It was then I recalled the first horrific jungle justice I ever witnessed and how difficult it was for me to move on. For weeks the image of the bloodied kidnapper who was killed by the mob was imprinted in my eight year old memory the way a "made in China" label is printed on products. Every time I closed my eyes or looked at a reflective surface all I saw were the images of the kidnapper desperately pleading for his life and how his white shirt gradually turned a deep red color as the mob aggressively split his head with large logs of wood. I was traumatized by the images for a long time.

    So now I guess my stoic reaction is my body's way of self-preservation? Not sure....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had goose-pimples at your description of the man
      We underestimate how these images change our psyche
      Yes, it could be your body's way of coping but please avoid such images abeg...
      Hope all is well
      xxxx

      Delete
  9. Thanks for posting this. People should search within themselves and know their own motives

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My sister, you have spoken well
      Nothing more, nothing less
      God bless you
      xxx

      Delete
  10. You are so right. I remember being in a University with constant cult shoot outs. I was terrified most of my first year. By the time I was in my final year, I was completely desensitized and would just assume my position under the desk once the shootings started. Once, I even "eyed" a shaking Year 1 student who was shivering - I remember a class mate deriding the same girl and saying " Why are you shaking? Haven't you heard shooting before?" That incident made me think...I have remained resolute that I will not be desensitized any more.

    People that post disturbing pictures/videos especially without a warning get "un-friended". I haven't watched the Aluu video. I do not intend to.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I laughed at the story of the Jambite LOL
      I totally understand. It was like the first time I saw a corpse, I was shocked and then later it became 'normal'

      Na wa. Please avoid the video abeg
      Stay blessed
      xxxx

      Delete
  11. This is getting disturbing I have to confess. I wanted to blog about the issue but was turned off by the connotation. We bloggers are still learning, I guess. For myself, I did not bother to see posts on the issue after the first few, and def not the video.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I totally agree we are still learning
      I am hoping we will learn and become more discerning
      Stay blessed
      xxxxxxx

      Delete
  12. I have managed to escape watching the video & I have stopped reading about them, not because I don't care but because I desperately need to keep my food down. I am traumatised enough by the stories I've heard.

    @Prism, it also worries me that some children were exposed to hours of what those boys went through. I just can't deal. Too horrific

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Like you, I was traumatised by the stories alone
      I feel so much for their parents/ relatives who might have seen the videos
      Take care sis
      xxxxxxxx

      Delete
  13. You talk well, sista! I haven't watched the video but have seen pictures. I can't speculate on people's motives for posting what they do but it is disturbing to video such acts of violence. God help us in that country!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree re...........God help our country oh
      Negatives, negatives...its too much
      Take care sis
      xxxxxxxx

      Delete
  14. I didn't watch.
    The pictures were enough to make me cry.
    As long as there is viewer's discretion, it is left to me to watch or not.
    I am so ANGRY at the brutality..and the people filming the act instead of calling the police or other students to come to their aid.
    I strongly believe this can be used to STOP jungle justice!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. according to BN police were called and did not nothing. they said they had less bullets in their guns..... kmt I cant laff

      Delete
    2. You are brave, Ib
      I couldnt even look at the pictures
      Take care my sis
      xxxxxx

      Delete
  15. I only saw the pictures and i have been traumatized since. I dont even know how people are watching it. I would say the only positive thing to that video going viral is the pressure on the police to to find the perpetrators.
    I once saw a viral YouTube video about a Muslim militant group somewhere in Africa cutting the neck of a man with a short blunt knife. After the nightmares that caused me i swore never to watch any of those videos again. And i know that Aluu video is worse than it. Had i seen it i would probably be seeing a "shrink" by now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! I am in shock regarding you watching the video about the Muslim militant.
      You are soo brave
      Please dont do it again. Abeg
      xxxxxxxxxxxxx

      Delete
  16. The indifference I've felt over the Aluu 4 is questionable. It's like my mind refused to acknowledge it. Very little sympathy. The excuse I kept and am still giving myself is that what of they were robbers and have killed people or caused people pain too? And then a part of me says, ok even if they have, no one deserves to die like they did. To learn now that maybe I've been dehumanised by several things I've seen is disturbing.

    The funny thing is that just last night I was telling myself to not be too eager to view certain things and that scripture was on my mind.

    Thank you for talking about it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you my sister
      Please avoid such images
      Thanks again
      xxxxxxxxxx

      Delete
  17. The eyes is our mirror into the world. We should engage it wisely.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I cannot emphasize the important of guarding your eye and ear gate
    because it determines what you will produce in life...

    Hi dearie!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello my sis
      Thanks for dropping by
      Stay blessed
      xxxxxxxxxxx

      Delete
  19. I must admit i watched that video. I stumbled on it by geninue accident, but honestly after a few seconds of watching on someone else's computer,i then went to search out the video. Why i was looking for it, i really cannot tell! i think i was just trying to satisfy my curiousity as to what indeed happened. Luckily i didnt find the video online anymore.

    This is thought provoking and i will begin to question my motives more!

    NB- I am still traumatised and infact barely slept because of the images i viewed...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are a brave woman for watching the video
      Hope you are sleeping better now
      Take care
      xxxxxxx

      Delete
  20. wow ma'am!!..this is an awesome post.
    ive been reading some of your posts and i must say, your posts are usually informative and educative, and ilike:)
    yea, like Jesus said, when the eye is filled with darkness, then the whole body is automatically going to be filled with darkness and so be careful what you feed into your system or else, it ends up corrupting you big time.
    like the above example you made, its sooo true. when you get used to it, it becomes a norm. like when the bible mentions men whose conscience have been seared with hot iron. the first time, you're like.."haar!!!its painful or its gross, but when you keep watching it, you start seeing it like..ehnn..so what else. i'm used to this, can you impress me more?etc''
    eg when you watch a horror or gross movie for the first time, you might be a little scared but when its now your movie collection, like a friend i have who is hardly taken aback by movies like this and so while me am closing my eyes and screaming or shaking, she is describing the scenes and watches it all the same..lool while i'm suggesting i take a chill pill
    it all begins from the little things that we do.
    ff u already. lovely blog

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for dropping by
      I liked your story about your friend
      That was a great example
      God bless.
      (I've popped you on my blogroll so I'll be back)

      Delete
  21. Luke 11:34 (the message version) Your eye is a lamp, lighting up your whole body. If you live wide-eyed in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dark cellar.

    I have not seen the video,I still can't get pass the pictures I saw. The Images still flash through my mind. Its so hard to forget.

    Thanks for sharing this N.I.L bless u!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I haven't watched and i don't intend to. For some reason I've also not talked about it except when people broach the subject. It's funny how the whole thing has also turned to a joke with people making funny images and caricatures of the whole thing. The eye is really a light. As for the perpetrators of the crime, God always has a way of dealing with people who choose to play God!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I liked your comment: 'It's funny how the whole thing has also turned to a joke with people making funny images and caricatures of the whole thing'

      I think we triviallise things we should take sacred and vice versa

      God bless you
      xxxxxxxxx

      Delete
  23. I couldn't agree more with you, this is a very sensitive issue especially for the ALUU 4. I couldn't view either the pictures or the videos, but the anger I felt from people's comments led me to write on it.

    My main issue is the fact that today in Nigeria ' love your neighbour ' is a lost concept. Everyone is more concerned about protecting themselves against evil however remotely perceived. We should learn to protect our neighbours too, there are way too many instances of terrible things happening to our neighbours simply because we turned our backs on them when we could have said or done something to assist them.

    I love your blog..I learn something each time I read it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Love your neighbour is truly a lost concept. And to think we profess Christianity like we are pure.
      God help us

      Thanks for dropping by
      xxxxxxxxxx

      Delete
  24. What a brilliant post! I have refused to see the pictures or the video, I just don't have the heart for things like that.

    I also like this very much "Research has shown that there is a strong link between porn and child abuse. This is no surprise as images can distort people's view of what is acceptable or unacceptable behaviour" because just yesterday I was in discussions with some folks who claim that a grown man watching porn is no big deal, mind you some of these folks are Christians, I mean seriously!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I laughed at the discussion about porn,
      To each his own.....as long as they dont harm others abi?
      Thanks for dropping by
      Stay blessed
      xxxx

      Delete
  25. Great post! Indeed our eyes are the lamp of our bodies and we need to be careful what we take in through them.

    With regards to the Aluu 4 though, I think spreading those pics and videos on the net have been what has caused a major effect in a lot of people condemning it. When we hear stories of people being burnt over stealing, it always seems to be yet another story, but seeing those horrific images of what was done to those 4 made thousands including high ranking Nigerians voice out against it. I believe that before any mob would kill a supposed robber in furure reference would be made to this and they might just refer to the police or authorities instead... hopefully.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like the angle you brought to this
      I do agree that these videos might make us more aware of what is going on.
      However, I do worry about our increased appetite for gory images.
      Stay blessed
      Thanks for dropping by
      xxxx

      Delete
  26. This time around I'm number far far, lol! I love the title of this post, although I have to admit that I was expecting some kind of poem to praise our intelligence cum beauty. *Readjusts halo* Lol :D

    I've been tempted to do a post on Aluu four but my hesitations are pretty much confirmed in this post. On the issue of "my eyes" let me share this: I was browsing Google images for pictures of 'Ask Jesus' when a topless blonde girl flashed my pc screen. So like a good girl, I avoided the scroll button! Lol :P

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL @ 'readjust halo'

      Topless blonde girl via 'Ask Jesus'
      How far? You no scroll? You are a good girl. I for scroll oh LOL
      That was toooooo funny. Google sha...LOL
      Thanks for that. You really made me laugh

      xxxx

      Delete
  27. This post makes a very good point. A lot of the things that people would be appalled to see on TV and online in the past, are rampant and 'normal' now. We all need to be more aware of what we say, do and watch.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well said.
      Today's 'abnormal' is tomorrow's 'normal'

      Sad but true
      Thanks for dropping by
      xxxx

      Delete
  28. its there.....
    so we watch
    sometimes for the shock value
    most times...to be able to actually pass a comment when it gets discussed
    cos if you say you havent seen it-someone will make sure you do
    how long you last when shown such a video oor whatever it is -is up to each person....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Its there....but I wont watch. My liver never strong reach oh LOL

      If I want shock value, I watch Tom and Jerry...LOL

      Thanks for that
      Hope all is well with you
      xxxxxxxxxxx

      Delete
  29. You have said it all, that the more we view such things, the more our inner minds take it as the norm.

    A great and interesting thought you have raised and I quite agree with some of the commentators on here so far. I mean, when did we get so comfortable with viewing such horrific content, and when did we become so numb to violence and murder of any kind.

    I don't even have the power to watch such content. But hey, each to his own.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Like you, I dont have the power. At all, at all. LOL
      How are you?
      Thanks for dropping by
      God bless
      xxxx

      Delete
  30. I completely agree with this post.
    theres so much that society once thought abhorrent, and now permit as a form of ridicule.
    What we're being desensitised to so many things and its just not right

    BLEURGH
    www.say-bleurgh.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks sweetie

      You are absolutely right. The scary thing is that desensitization is such a subtle process that we are numb before we know it.

      Stay blessed...and fab
      xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

      Delete
  31. thank you! in as much as i ran away from seeing the Aluu pictures and video.. . it came to find me on blackberry, someone changed her display picture to a picture of their dead bodies! what is the sense in that?!

    thanks for that bible verse.. lol it reminds me why i try to see none of these rubbish.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Display picture? Why would someone do that? A bit sick if you ask me. *shaking my head*

      Thanks for dropping by
      Stay blessed
      xxxxxxxxxxxx

      Delete
  32. Hi NIL, stumbled on your blog from Simply Mee's and i must say, i love the warm ambiance of your blog, well done. I share the same views, but a lot of people tend to derive some sort of sickening pleasure from the morbid. I saw the pics and was too horrified-didn't even bother to watch the video because i knew I'd never recover from the shock! Motive is key, and this Aluu tragedy, just makes one wonder at what the true motives of people in circulating these pictures and videos are!!!! Sad, but that seems to be the bane of our nation! Lord have mercy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for the kind words. Much appreciated.

      Like you, I have shied away from the images. As you said, motive is key. May God help us.

      Thanks for dropping by
      God bless you
      xxxxx

      Delete
  33. I understood the need for people to know about what happened at Aluu, but I was saddened by how people used the videos as opportunities to drive traffic to their websites. it just felt like they were profiting from the deaths of those unfortunate young men.

    I really think there should be more censorship of what can be seen on TV and on the net. The human mind is so easily influenced by what it sees, that when it sees things like pornography and such, previously unknown patterns and behaviors start to seem, attractive, acceptable, pleasurable etc.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 'Drive traffic to their websites' That is really sad

      I doubt we will have censorship of the web anytime soon and that is why we need to take more responsibility for what we post and read.

      Thanks for dropping by
      Stay blessed

      Delete
  34. I think that some good has possibly come from the video of the boys being lynched. It's probably sharpened our awareness... caused us to feel the necessary shame about how our society is. Maybe it will even spur us to action. Maybe.

    But like you say, we should learn to judge our intentions for sharing and watching what we do. Unless I were investigating the case for some reason, I could never bring myself to watch the video. I won't share it, or the pictures; enough people are doing that.

    Bottom line, our intentions, I think, are really important to God. And they should be to us too. If our heart is in the right place, more often than not, we will be at peace.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Uche. I liked this statement '....If our heart is in the right place, more often than not, we will be at peace'
      Thanks for that
      God bless
      xxx

      Delete
  35. awwwwwwwwwwww...... read it.. the love story.. it was muahh and emosh. I go love oo... I want a love story too..

    xxxxxx

    too cute...

    God bless your home..xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL
      I am glad you liked it
      You MUST love, You WILL love oh LOL
      Stay blessed
      xxxxxxxxxxxxx

      Delete

I always look forward to reading comments from visitors - so please leave yours. Many thanks for dropping by....xoxoxox