After Tragedy Strikes: Why Claims of Trauma and Loss Promote Public Outrage and Encourage Political PolarizationWhile trauma and loss can occur anywhere, most suffering is experienced as personal tragedy. Yet some tragedies transcend everyday life's sad but inevitable traumas to become notorious public events: de facto "public" tragedies. In these crises, suffering is made publicly visible and lamentable. Such tragedies are defined by public accusations, social blame, outpourings of grief and anger, spontaneous memorialization, and collective action. These, in turn, generate a comparable set of political reactions, including denial, denunciation, counterclaims, blame avoidance, and a competition to control memories of the event. Disasters and crises are no more or less common today than in the past, but public tragedies now seem ubiquitous. After Tragedy Strikes argues that they are now epochal—public tragedies have become the day's definitive social and political events. Thomas D. Beamish deftly explores this phenomenon by developing the historical context within which these events occur and the role that political elites, the media, and an emergent ideology of victimhood have played in cultivating their ascendence. |
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accusations advocates aftermath Altheide American analysis associated attention avoid blame Beamish become publicly tragic blame avoidance Bovens Cambridge cause century chapter coded collective communication ecology contemporary conventionalized coverage credit claiming crises crisis events crisis response cultural trauma discourse emergence explain exposé journalism exposed failure fear federal government FEMA flood Floyd's death Floyd's murder focus focused gain George Floyd harm High School shooting horrific hurricane event Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Maria increasingly individual institutions involved issues and events Journal journalists Katrina killing media frames media logic modern narrative notoriety perpetrator Pew Research Center political conflict political elites political rhetoric politicized public officials public tragedies Puerto Rico reflects risk society role School shooting shape social and political social blame social media Social Movements storm suffering suggested surrogates Texas tion toxic tragic celebrity trauma and loss trauma script trustee U.S. federal University Press victimhood vulnerability York