Well isn’t this headline “Ancient Mayan ruins in Mexico cut off due to drug cartel violence” from Sky News pretty glass half-empty? Sure, you could say these violent maniacs are harming the local economy by blocking access to the sites and – well, yeah it’s not good either if the place is such a lawless hellhole that criminals are operating with such impunity that they can openly rule the roads.
But come on though. Why do you need to be such a Debbie Downer? This is great for those interested in preserving the rich heritage of important Mesoamerican historical sites. Every day those places aren’t being trampled by Crocs-wearing tourists with selfie sticks is another day future generations of archaeologists with enough funding to pay the cartels exorbitant protection fees can conduct field research and make important new discoveries about places like the Yaxchilan ruin and the Lagartero pyramid complex in the Chiapas region. That’s gotta count for something here, right?
Christ, how about a little positivity for once? Everyone complains how the new is always so depressing and here we are with a perfect example of why: Media people are pessimistic toads who, for all their collective experience, don’t get that just a little bit of spin can turn frowns upside down.