Does anyone else think the Boy Scout story is over-hyped?

I've been in that park and it's really not that rugged or isolated. The one thing I don't get is why folks wander off trails. If they just stay on the trails they'll eventually cross a road or run into other hikers.

What does the Lounge think?

n/t

Sorry thought that should be mentioned

If that was the rule then only rich people could afford to enjoy the wilderness.

I also don't know exactly how you tell the difference between an accident and reckless, stupid behavior. Maybe I'm biased because I'm a generally poor person who occasionally does reckless stupid things in natural areas, but so far I've never had to be rescued. :)

so if its on all of your news channels , its definitely on all the channels down here. No offense but my mom would have whipped my butt if I wandered away from the other troop just because I did'nt want to go on the hike. He did'nt want to be a part of the group so he did his own thing - supposedly he was trying to get to a road to hitchhike back to Greensboro NC - in a way I am glad that he did not find a road because some crazy idiot could have picked him up.

:sarcasm:

and then I turned to MsNBC and they were rescueing another kid from under a block of concrete . . . so maybe not - also, there's the Anna Nicole's baby thing and B. Spears, ...

also, as to him wandering off trails, dude's a 12-year-old with ADD who was homesick. So, he tried to walk home. Makes since from a certain, twisted-logic point of view.

After that, then yes, the story is overhyped.

Glad the boy was found, but the whores really couldn't get enough. Wish they could get 1/10th as worked up over the misdeeds of the Bush Crime Family.

Every thing on the media is overhyped. But rugged or not, a child was lost without food and water. Scary.

The *only* thing I've ever seen about it is a xeroxed flyer.

Now, how come it isn't all over the front page of every web outlet and TeeVee Scroller available?

These stories are chosen diversions or the kid had some sort of connections.

attention. It is weird how they pick and choose, but this is nothing new. And again they run all stories into the ground. But, I am sure the parents were thankful to have all the support that they had created by the media.

The whole story was preposterous.

I enjoy those parks but I've never really felt like I was out in the wilderness. I was almost always within hearing range of other people.

I realize it was the biggest story in the world to the boy's family and scout troop. I do not discount that.

HOWEVER :evilgrin: . . . as a survivor of three years working for a TV news station, I can say without a doubt that the producers picking the stories are just. not. that. bright. And as such, they tend to glom onto a story like this--simple black-and-white plot (child goes missing!!!!) which is simpler to explain and reiterate (over and OVER and OVER) than those complex doings over in Washington. Plus, a lost kid story tugs at the heartstrings of the viewers. And that means RATINGS. And that's all the logic they use: "Oooh bright sparkly thingie..."

And on another note, :wtf: is up with a 12-year-old Boy Scout wandering off from the campsite? Scouts are trained to follow certain rules when camping--heck, I learned 'em even as a Camp Fire Girl--stay with your buddy and never wander off alone, no matter what, ADD or no ADD. A Cub Scout I could see forgetting the rules and wandering off. But a 12-year-old scout? If he were my kid, after showering him with affection and buckets of tears of relief, I'd give him a dope slap upside the head (figuratively speaking of course--no, I don't beat my son. :hi: )

said he didn't want to go on any more Boy Scout camping trips.

Some 8 year olds have a better handle on things than some 16 year olds I know. I can see the split already in my third grade class. A 12 year old can be anything form a big kid to a little adult, IMO.

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...oh, sorry. I was channeling the news media and some Senate Democrats.

Yeah, it's overhyped.

AND they are members of my old church.
I am very glad he is alive. Now leave him and everyone connected ALONE.

it's local news, not national.

I admit to some bias when it comes to missing children, and I get so heartsick with the stories ending up that they were sexually abused, kidnapped and/or murdered.

I am just glad that it had a happy ending.

I am a Scoutmaster for my son's troop. The older boys can always find their way or survive a few days in the woods but the younger ones 11-13 usually don't have a good grasp. Something was wrong with the leadership if he was allowed to wander off.

It's the media, they keep nothing in perspective. I'm glad the kid was found, I'm glad he's safe, I'm so glad for the parents I almost trembled when they found him. I understand why the public wants more of the story, to see what happened, to see what will happen, to have a slow climbdown from the tension and emotion of the story. Just the way it is.

This individual story may be overhyped, but in general, it's representative of a story repeated constantly. The media can't cover every story, so they pick one every couple of weeks to hype. Keeps the problem on the front page, gives people an idea of what can happen, what to do about it, etc. These media stories have taken the place of fairy tales as educational tools for society.

There's a line in "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" that goes something like, "By making a person relive an event, everything is illuminated." (The last three words are also the title of a book and movie). By hyping these stories as they happen, the media keeps the public aware of what it means to lose a kid, of the dangers of wandering off in the woods, of the terror a family goes through, of the heroics of those searching for the kids, etc. Everything is illuminated. People understand, and that makes them care more, and that makes them help more. The media could just read stats every day: Today, eighteen kids were lost. Four were found dead. The total of missing kids in the nation now stands at 'x.'" People would drift away, not bother caring anymore. The full story makes people care.

It's not a perfect way. It's just a way. Sure, the story of this one kid is overhyped. Most stories are. But this is still how most people learn about the world around them. I don't get the animosity over stories like this, or the missing Aruba woman, or any other story. If none of these stories got covered, the world would be a bit less compassionate, in my opinion.

I have more a problem with what the media doesn't cover than what they do, usually.

If you're within half a mile of a paved road then you're not in the "wilderness". That's my opinion and I could be wrong.

It helps me keep things in proper perspective.

Wandering off the trails is dumb. But, if you live near the smoky mountains or Cherokee national forest you hear about one or two hikers a year getting lost and not coming back alive. It happens more than you might think.