Indiana

Point of Personal Privilege

By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz

After nearly 20 something years in the news/media related business there are rare occasions when my personal feelings about a matter really start to cloud my thinking and the way I approach a subject or story.   Usually I will have some reaction to whatever I’m covering, but then I go back and put relatively objective-analytical hat and go from there.   Unfortunately, I’m had a hard time doing that this week.

As I watched the story about the Carmel “hazing” incident unfold, I was extremely agitated at what we were learning.  However, what really did it for me was watching the parents up close and personal at Wednesday’s news conference.  Watching their pain, agony and suffering was a lot to bear.  To see a grown man choke up and nearly come to tears over what happened to his son and to see a mother try to keep her composure after learning what she did was a lot to take in.

To be honest, for a lot of the initial  interview all I could really think about was what I do if my wife and I were in that situation and how would we deal with it.  The only thing I could tell myself was if someone did to my child what the Carmel teens are accused of doing, the perpetrator wouldn’t be the only one facing criminal charges.

As I drove back from the news conference to my office to review my notes, I slowly put my reporter/media analyst hat back on and wrote what I needed to write.  It wasn’t easy and those parents have my deepest sympathy.

Hopefully, justice will be done.

Full post as published by Indiana Barrister on May 21, 2010 (boomark / email).