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YouTube has become an unbelievably popular phenomenon, securing the attention of anyone who has ever used the Internet. After all, who hasn’t procrastinated by watching a new, hilarious video posted by an amateur actor or caught up on sports news by watching recently posted highlights?
A recent situation that has been plastered all over video sites, including YouTube, brings into question if it is ethical for any and everything to be posted online.
Issues regarding personal tragedies or revealing painful interactions should not be available for everyone to see, but such videos are easily accessible online.
In September, Carol A. Gotbaum was found dead in a holding cell at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport after she was arrested for making a scene in one of the terminals. Gotbaum, who was on her way to an alcoholism treatment center in Tucson, Ariz., missed the connecting flight that would take her to her destination. She was apparently suffering from emotional stress and had a mental break-down when she learned that she had missed her flight.
Gotbaum’s family members are now contemplating filing a lawsuit against the guards, claiming she was mistreated and, because of her mental condition, she should never have been left alone in the first place.
The story is a tragic one. Perhaps even sadder, though, is the footage that is readily found online that documents Gotbaum as she freaked out in one of Phoenix’s terminals. Viewers are able to see her running around the terminal, flailing her hands and arms about and, finally, being restrained and brought to the ground by airport security guards.
One has to wonder if that sort of video is necessary for the credibility and enhancement of the story. The story itself is sure to, and clearly already has, make headlines. But not everyone needs to witness the chaos of Gotbaum’s situation that eventually led to her death. Those last moments of her life were obviously filled with pain and anguish and it’s not necessary for viewers to observe what she was going through.
It’s also insensitive to the Gotbaum family to post the video footage online. Gotbaum was a wife and the mother of three young children, and it’s sad to think that, while in the midst of personal tragedy, videos of their loved one’s breakdown are circulating all over the internet for anyone to see.
The issue is one about privacy, not about content regulation. Laws made to prevent certain videos from being shown would restrict First Amendment rights and, ultimately, serve only to make people mad. The Gotbaum situation highlights privacy, of protecting situations that people involved would rather forget.
Take into consideration the situation of former elementary school teacher Keri McIntyre. At a fifth grade graduation ceremony in Charlotte, N.C., in August, an anonymous student taped McIntyre as she gave a speech, zooming in on her rear as she spoke. The video, accompanied by Van Halen’s “Hot for Teacher,” was posted on YouTube and earned a whopping 200,000 hits within minutes.
McIntyre was furious because she felt, rightfully so, that her privacy was violated. The images concerned no one but her and should not have been posted online.
This brings into question if any videos should be shown that could be deemed controversial by viewers. Some may have thought footage from September 11 should not have been shown repeatedly on news reports. The difference between that example and Gotbaum and McIntyre’s cases is that the September 11 attacks directly affected every citizen of this country since each one was a target of the terrorists’ plots. It was citizens’ right to know what happened because it concerned them.
Gotbaum’s situation is different. It does not directly affect the entire U.S. population. It’s simply a sad story about a series of miscommunications that led to a troubled woman’s death. It is not U.S. citizens’ business to witness Gotbaum’s last moments on earth because it most likely will not change or affect their lives.
The videos do not add anything to the story; rather, they serve to sensationalize the story and most likely are incredibly hurtful to Gotbaum’s surviving family members. People must have more senstivitiy when deciding what to post, considering who will be affected and how. People must use better discretion when choosing, keeping in mind the feelings of those who are affected.
Submitted 11-15-2007
MALIBU, CA
