Late last week I learned about the tragic attack that occurred in Nice, France. Yet another bold surge of violence has shocked the world and left my heart feeling heavy. I am tired of all the hate, hurt and violence I have been seeing human beings carry out against other human beings. The violence seems to never be solved, but you can always count on it to be addressed either in newspaper articles or televised reports. The media loves to address violence because apparently "bad news sells." However, what is failed to be addressed is the way the media treats events of tragedy and it is something I have come to develop a major problem with.

I do not spend hours glued to the television. In all honesty, I watch television so little that I probably couldn't tell you which TV channel is for which station on my TV. I'll flick on the news every so often when I know something specific is being discussed, but for the most part, I resort to the Internet to keep myself updated.

I don't want to devote too much time to the news because let's face it, it's mostly all negative. However, I do not want to be totally ignorant to what is going on in the world. But whether I am watching live broadcasts of events or scrolling through images and video clips online, I find myself disgusted by the willingness and dare I say eagerness, to share such graphic images with the public with news outlets competing with one another by releasing "new exclusive footage and videos" that illustrate some horrible things. I know the media has to cover such large and tragic events, we do need to be informed, but what I find disheartening is the unnecessary amount of time dedicated towards rerunning the same clips at all hours (on every news outlet) of people being gunned down or fleeing for their lives.

I think back to the Brussels airport bombing that occurred earlier this year. I was watching one of many news segments that were showing a looped video of a man rummaging through the wreckage presumably looking for loved ones. All you can see is the ground of rubble and smoke, but what you can hear is the ghastly and agonizing yells of people in pain and despair in the background. That video revealed nothing. No new information was provided. It wasn't news. I didn't feel as though I learned anything from watching but I was instead left feeling guilty. I felt guilty because there I was in my living room, safe and unharmed, just watching and listening to someone's suffering on the worst day of their life. They became a spectacle for the public to watch as they searched desperately for a loved one.

Too many stories of tragedy and violence feed off the suffering and re-victimize the victims. Think back to Sandy Hook. This is the time period I remember becoming horrified with the media. I understand the need to cover such an event and with the information that was provided, one could certainly piece together what that day was like to those there. What was disgusting was the willingness of reporters to thrust microphones and cameras into the faces of elementary children like vultures swarming prey, asking them to share any horrific details from inside the school that they could. They were children, just robbed of their innocence and asked to relive the most traumatic and horrific moment imaginable in the name of a news story. Whether or not kids or parents agreed to it, it just didn't seem ethical for the media to do this.

I am exhausted at the re-victimization the media plays a role in. They spend hours of airtime showcasing injured victims and lost lives as though they are nothing more than a statistic, a single digit in a long line of casualties rather than actual individual human beings. Very rarely will I see images of victims remembered as they ought to be. Instead, individuals who meant so much to others and to their community are scanned over constantly on the same feed of live footage, covered with blankets and in body bags scattered throughout streets. Apparently, death isn't degrading enough that we need to torture their memory and their loved ones a bit more.

I am not a sheltered person and I am not asking to be. I can watch my fair share of crime procedurals like in "Criminal Minds" and not wince (naturally with some exceptions), but it is a different conversation when a network is receiving a ratings boost for their graphic display of real victims, real people. And I get it, we have the freedom of speech that the media has every right to. Censorship is certainly a hot topic and quite frankly, it's not something I care to get into. It isn't so much about censorship as it is ethics and just having a conscience. It's about human decency and respect. It is my conscience and empathy that make me turn away from the images of bloodshed and slain people.

If you want to talk about victims, then I want you to talk about them all as individuals and as if they are real people. The media spends enough time reporting unverified facts and reporting on the same bits of information that they can afford to do this. The only pictures that ought to be displayed are ones that show these people in the vibrant way they ought to be remembered. I want to be told about a contribution they made to the world, big or small. I want to know who they were to someone that loved them. I want to know about a talent they had or what they wished to do in life. I do not want to know that they were the fifth one killed along with the case description.

I have a lot of respect for journalism and the work that goes into good journalism. It is a challenging job no doubt. I know that for reporters, the media is a job and a business. What I wish to say to the media and news networks is that I know reporting is your job, but what you are doing goes beyond 'just reporting.' As far as I'm concerned, it does not separate you from being humane and demonstrating empathy. Display those attributes in your media coverage. Question what images you choose to show and why there is the need for such graphic content to be replayed constantly. (Answer: There's no need.) Teach the public to look at people as individuals and not a number in a larger statistic. You have a lot of power and you need to know when you are doing more harm than good.

My heart goes out to the victims of Nice, France and all victims of violence and tragedy. Your presence on this earth is sorely missed.