Why is it that when a person is murdered it gets more attention then someone who dies in a war?

Question

If a person is killed by a mass murderer or serial killer it's in the news as a top story and sometimes appears for days, but when people are killed in wars the only coverage it gets is usually bottom line articles. If someone gets killed in a "postal" shooting it will be top story and in the news for days. When "30 people killed in helicopter bombing" it's always a low-down on news sites or just gets a paragraph or so in news papers.

So what is it that makes being murdered so much more traumatic and worse than dying in a war?

Actually with a war we don't know who is to blame. Should an entire country be blamed for the killing of a person in a war?
Like Vietnam, should the entire US be blamed for the killing on the many innocent people and children killed. Not everyone (American soldiers) were their by choice, a lot of them were drafted into the position.

"In a war you expect people to die. However, when someone is murdered it's unexpected. It also makes headlines because it's something that could potentially happen to anyone who is just walking along minding their own business. It's sensationalism. It's scary."

So if there is a black family living next door to a "proud white power" man, would it then come as a surprise if he decided one night to go kill the whole family in their sleep?

Just because you expect people to die does that mean they shouldn't get attention for it?
I've seen prostitutes that get more media coverage for being killed then a soldier at war.

So being killed in a war makes you a statistic but being one of, let's say Gacy's 33 victims doesn't? How about being one of the undetermined amount (at least 80) of Lucas's victims? Should that get you special news coverage?
A death is a death, one should not get treated with more attention than the other just because it wasn't expected.
People should expect death at any time, be that in your bed when you're 90 or at the knife or a lust-murdered when you're 14. Always expect the unexpected.

Answer 1

Well, I have been to war and I am a police officer so I think I may know the answer to this one, or at least what I think it is. First of all people are expected to die in a war. To hear that 30 soldiers or marines died due to enemy conduct, or that 30 civilians in Iraq died due to combat is expected to be heard. We have been at war a long time now remember, it has become old news. Also Thia country has not had a war on its own soil in centuries so anything that happens that is related to war is always, "over there".

A murder on the other hand happens right here at home. The vast majority of people in this country feel relatively safe walking down the street or sleeping i their bed, they don't expect to die. When we hear that one person has killed another here at home it is much easier to relate with the victim of the crime or even sometimes the killer. Most murders I have investigated have involved an innocent bystander being killed by being at the wrong place at the wrong time, or a desperate person snapping due to a bad relationship. Both are situations that most Americans can relate to and that is what makes it hit closer to home. You have been to that place or you have had a relationship or two that didn't go well. Most people in this country haven't been to war and thus don't understand or relate with that "story".

Answer 2

You really want to know why it's not given as much attention as a murder, because in a war there are always casualties and they are nothing more than a number for the statistics of the lives lost during that particular war, people are way more interested in the things that are happening around them and not what is happening a world away for them, another thing is that people assume that there are only military casualties during a war and let's face it military people sent off to war always have the possibility of getting killed, that's their job, that's what their paid for, does that make their deaths any less valuable than the civilian casualties during a war, i didn't think so, they are people just like everyone else and they have friends and family too and their lives are just as valuable as anyone else's and the media just isn't taking that into consideration.

Answer 3

In a war you expect people to die. However, when someone is murdered it's unexpected. It also makes headlines because it's something that could potentially happen to anyone who is just walking along minding their own business. It's sensationalism. It's scary.

Answer 4

I agree,what is even worse is that Anna Nicole Smith tied up CNN for weeks,and let other stories go by the wayside.
I would like to hear more about the soldiers lives and their struggles over there,and how their families are doing through all this terrible ordeal over in Iraq and Afghanistan right now.

Answer 5

I agree with the earlier answer. There's a mystery behind murders and people love a scandal. The sad thing is in our world there is only a small portion who still care about the people who die in war and so on.

Answer 6

Because anytime a person in society does a horrendous crime media stretches it out for days showing humanity to be evil that needs to be controlled by big goverment, while the troops who are sent to the human meat grinder by ******* criminals are just a byword in the news.

Answer 7

People feel safe from a war but not from a murder. It feels like they aren't safe any more which they never really were but they don't think about it until something happens.

Answer 8

Because when someone is murdered you wonder who is to blame but in the case of the war we already know who is to blame.