Welcome to the Freakshow, Have a Look in the Mirror

This past weekend I went to Elbow Falls to enjoy a day of sun by the river. I had crossed to the opposite side of the river from where the picnic area was and lounged on some rocks that were behind the cliff the falls descended from. About mid afternoon two guys decided to jump off the cliff into the base of the falls. It was a risky move, not one that I really condoned considering the current was strong and the water was not that deep. A few minutes later two girls decided that they, as well, were going to jump. Unlike the two guys before them they stood at the top of the cliff dithering about whether or not to jump. As a result of their indecisiveness a considerable crowd began to gather on the other side of the river where there was a viewing area for the falls. The people in the crowd all had their cameras out and were waiting for these girls to jump off the 8 m high cliff. There were even people who were chanting "Jump! Jump!". I was very disturbed by the whole situation. Here they were, these two girls, in a very dangerous situation. Even though they were likely enjoying the attention from the crowd I found it highly disturbing that the crowd was egging them on, cameras ready, hoping for some sort of exciting disaster. I realized that people like a good show, especially when there is a disaster on the line. But what does that say about people? That we are willing to sacrifice other's welfare for our benefit? In this case it was entertainment, in the book Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro it was organs. In both cases, people seemed to care little that the outcome of their benefit could result in a human being losing their life. I mentioned in one of my earlier postings that I find a person's mental state more disturbing than their outward appearance and I think the situation I just described and Never Let Me Go emphasize this point. People who look normal used to go to Freak shows to reaffirm their normalcy usually on a superficial level. But I think its situations like the one I just described that reaffirm that a lot of people who look normal on a superficial level are really freaks deep down inside. I think the true freaks are not the people who look freaky on the outside but those who are freaky on the inside.

The two girls eventually did jump off the cliff much to the crowd's delight. Both were alright, they just had some minor bruises. I wonder if the people watching on the other side were thinking to themselves "What a couple of freaks. Who would be stupid enough to do that?" while I stood on the other side watching them thinking "What a bunch of freaks, who would be standing there egging them on to do that?"