Two homicides in two days…that was one of The VOICE's headline articles online a few days ago. The morbid scenes of both murders thankfully weren't posted on their website but it did make its way to many a social media platforms and by extension smart phones. As horrific as the scenes were, that didn't stop some heartless individuals from whipping out their mobile devices in effort to get a lasting memory of the fallen human beings.
The cell phone as put by one of my favourite rappers (boy I have a lot eh) Childish Gambino, is a tool. We are no longer talking about a tool used for the sole purpose of making and receiving calls, texts and sms. The mobile phone has now taken the role of a super computer in the palm of your hands. Activities you would have to wait until you sat in front of your desktop or laptop to do can now be done by a few swipes and taps of your 6" screen.
Which brings me to a line I never thought I would have to say or use in the real world. "If we allowed such power to fall in the wrong hands who knows what catastrophe could occur". That quote was used in almost every single cartoon that required a crime fighter and now it is very relevant in today's sensationalized society.
No longer will we see the use of a mobile device for the good it was intended. For instance, if I were to faint before a crowd of people in the Boulevard, phones will be in the hands of its owners mere seconds after my tumble. Sounds like the correct sequence of events, right? Well, it would be if the "celly" is being used to call me an ambulance as opposed to recording my blunder to later post me on Instagram or Facebook. Calling for help has become a distant option to people in this day and age and that is extremely worrying.
How many of us have ever sat down and seriously thought about the number of lives that could have been saved if persons would forget about the camera and dial a number? I remember this one video that made its round around to platforms of a young man taking his last breath and the individual happily recording and narrating. What if he had called 911, would this person be here today?
I know that last two gruesome photos have etched a ghastly image in our minds but for the rest of the year, lets try to be our brothers' keepers.