Is this legitimate "outrage" or are media outlets jumping to lazy conclusions?
It's easy to get caught in headlines that read something to the effect of "stirring outrage" or "sparks controversy" — but is a distinction like that always necessary? Let's take some of the recent headlines stemming from a public service video released last week:
"'First Aid Ladies Make First Aid Sexy' Viral Video Sparks Outrage" – NBC News
"Viral video sparks controversy for featuring scantily clad models as first-aid workers" – Dallas Morning News
"German charity provokes online storm with 'sexy' first aid video" – Independent.co.uk
"VIDEO: Are these German 'First Aid Ladies' too sexy?" – thelocal.de
and on, and on, and on …
Maybe we're missing the point entirely, but most of the "outrage" media outlets are using as examples are just comments on the video thread. There's an ample amount of concern towards the degradation of women, but the organization is quick to point out that wasn't the intention — in fact the entire premise is to teach people how easy a first response can be, as Germany boasts a miserable 17 percent rate of people coming to the aid of someone suffering a heart attack compared with much higher percentages in neighboring countries.
"Only 17 percent of Germans start chest compression when a person suffers heart failure in a public place, compared with 65 percent in neighboring Holland," says Samaritan Workers Federation spokeswoman Alexandra Valentino.
In trying to gain visibility of the effort, the organization did little more than rip off a few popular songs and change the lyrics to something more thematically appropriate.
Which is a strange place for society to be in right now, on the one hand a group innocently attempting to bring attention to a cause with something that sells quite well: sex; and on the other, a fraction of the public being rightfully upset because the video doesn't align with their own personal values. Who's wrong? Nobody. But what's a people to do when the focus is placed entirely on a vocal minority because they so happen to be the ones who speak up? Should organizations retract and dismiss all campaigns with a hint of sexuality attached to them to assure they're never in a situation like this, or does it help the cause even though the headlines are negative?
Welcome to the new normal …
First Aid Ladies zeigen, wie sexy Erste Hilfe sein kann
In Deutschland leisten vergleichsweise wenige Menschen Erste Hilfe. Dem wollen wir abhelfen und haben einen ganz neuen Weg gewählt, um lebensrettende Botschaften möglichst weit zu verbreiten. Die "First Aid Ladies" zeigen euch, wie ihr im Fall der Fälle helfen könnt. Schaut rein!
Posted by Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund on Thursday, February 25, 2016
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