OK, I know the media has been blamed for a lot lately, but don't blow me off until you read this.
What do the VT shooter and the Omaha mall shooter have in common (besides both shooting at places that don't allow guns for protection)?
They both wanted media attention, and they both got it. The VT shooter send a video diary to the media, knowing they would play it and knowing it would get him famous. This Omaha mall guy left a suicide note, happy that he would no be famous.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/06/mall.shooting/index.html
Can we (partly) blame the media for glorifying such acts? Would these people have at least thought twice about their actions, knowing that the tragedy would be no more than a 20 second blurb on the national news?
The secret is out now. All you have to do is kill a lot of people, and you'll be held in infamy forever.
If I was a family of a victim, I would sue the major media outlets. You probably won't win, but it would make them think about their actions.
2007-12-06
02:11:49
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32 answers
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asked by
Free Thinker A.R.T. †††
6
in
Law & Ethics