There's been a tragedy, it's all over the news, 24/7. the spectacle of grief, young lives cut short, an accident.
There's fundraising and in-depth profiles of the victims, pictures at the scene, interviews with spokespeople for the survivors, people that knew them, family, friends.
Commonplace utterances, things like "We'll miss them" and "They brightened our lives" and other such banalities, they shouldn't publish this, air it, but the news, they're in the business of tragedy, of grief, and this is great. The "human" angle, how ordinary people cope in the face of extraordinary adversity, imagine, it could be you, your loved ones, your family, wife, child, husband...
There's fundraising, because, well, because money mitigates grief, huge sums are raised, the community comes together, rallies, people from all around the world donate, exceeding all reasonable expectations, the survivors, they can afford the best of medical care, the fatalities, well, they can have statues built in their honour, the line between victim and hero is blurred, no longer are they victims, they're martyrs, heroes, inspirations to us all...
Now, on the news, darker tales emerging, people "exploiting" the tragedy, selling merchandise, twee sentiments and support emblazoned on Tee Shirts and Ball-Caps, without proper accreditation or generous charitable donation of royalties, the media is outraged, this tragedy, it was theirs alone, for the amusement of their viewers, their sponsorship, their paid adverts, the thought that anyone else might stick a finger in their pie, well, it's incomprehensible, villains, indignation, disgrace, scandalous, more news, more sponsorship, more ads sold, buy, buy, buy, life insurance, extended medical coverage, no one rejected...
There's been a tragedy. It's called The News.