It’s customary for Caracas apartment buildings – with security at the entrance – to have bars on all the windows…

And on the front doors…

And although they try and use little designs to make them look less like bars…

In the end, they’re still bars…

The second night that we were in South Florida, I got the chance to sit down and watch the six o’clock news. I was curious to see which of the announcers were still there and how the studio changed (I notice things like that). Well, the studio did get snazzier with sparkly blue background and the announcers were still the same. What bothered me was what was coming out of their mouths.

First, there was the story of this young man who killed his adoptive mother. After he killed her, he called his aunt and said he didn’t know where his mom was and could she help him locate her. This is a woman who stood up for him recently in court because he was facing charges for theft. What is THAT?!

Then, there was the story of a a kid in high school who killed both his parents and then he kept their bodies in a room while he threw a party. Yes, a party. He made the mistake of confiding what he did to his best friend and thank goodness the best friend felt obliged to contact the authorities. Twisted!

What’s strange is that I don’t recall ever seeing similar stories here in Venezuela. I watch the local news in the morning and then CNN International the rest of the day, so it isn’t like I’m avoiding the news. Now, I don’t think that Venezuela doesn’t have its share of violence – it probably even has mentally unstable people like those two gentleman who woke up one day and decide to kill their loved ones. But, they choose not to show it on the news.

I think we have very little control over the information that we are given through mainstream media in general. For instance, I don’t think we see half the gang-related violence that goes on in American urban neighborhoods. So, why must we hear about every little piece of disturbing news out there. How will knowing a little girl who went missing 30 states away was found murdered enhance my knowledge? Or, why do I need to hear about a woman who cut off her husband’s penis and then put it through the garbage disposal? I guess it all depends on the reasons you watch the news, but my goal is to be more informed. These types of news stories only leave me feeling…well, disturbed.

I actually prefer the format of the news here in Venezuela. Yes, it can be biased and highly politicized. But, I don’t have to worry about coverage on the famine in the Horn of Africa being interrupted to announce that a celebrity couple is divorcing.

Am I making sense?