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 · 32 answers · asked by Free Thinker A.R.T. ††† 6 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Hey it worked.
Die for your country in Iraq you are in other news
Shoot up a mall or college, front page
I bet all the anti gun crowd is sure glad that no one else had a gun to stop that guy.
Don't shoot up my mall because I'm packing.
2007-12-06 02:23:21 · answer #1 · answered by MP US Army 7 · 4⤊ 4⤋
A few years ago where I live, a guy went to our mall and opened fire the day before Valentine's Day. He couldn't handle depression and he was obviously troubled with of personal problems and unrequited love. He opened fire in the mall and was eventually tackled by some bystanders and held until the cops moved in on him, and the cops put the mall and parking lot on lockdown for 3 hours - Nobody could enter OR exit there. I think the media plays a smaller role in these things. The main cause of these things is the nature of people, their ability to cope with problems, how others treat them, upbringing, and their environment....People do not commit these crimes because they feel enticed by the media. If people can't handle their mental problems and are made to feel and believe they are worthless or unimprtant and ridiculed or mistreated, they will believe it, and become violent, sociopathic people. People write suicide letters boasting of being famous or rememered only because they felt unloved and unimportant, and they figure that even a horrible exit will change that. But you cannot give ALL the blame to the media. The media is nothing more than an outlet. You cannot blame the guns. A weapon is not as dangerous as the shooter. Take away guns and we still have troubled, dangerous people who will find other means of killing. The REAL problem is how human beings treat each other and the mentality of some of those who get stepped on. When people stop treating human beings so callously, we might just have less of these rampages....Since there is no actual evidence that the media had motivated him to commit the crime, a lawsuit against the media would not be possible. If you tried doing that, you'd also have to go after those who helped to create the killer....Being famous is not really what these people wanted - they wanted to feel loved and wanted. When they didn't get that, they tried grabbing at being infamous....I wish I could have talked to him and let him know his life was worth something. I feel bad for him as well as those victims.
2007-12-06 04:31:23 · answer #2 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1st off I want to pray for the victims of both these incidents.
I live in Nebraska and am a college student, and I have my degree in broadcasting, but never pursued it after college and am now back getting my teaching endorsement.
There are so many people out there blaming gun laws for this incident in Omaha. The gun did not walk into the store and shoot the 13 inocent people yesterday, and with every other case also. There has to be someone that holds it and pulls the trigger.
As for the person that did the shooting yesterday you have to blame him and him alone. There are plenty of people that watch the news and don't go killing other people just to be famous. As the mayor of Omaha said today this kid wanted to be famous and he took the cowardly way of doing so. This kid was sick in the head, plain and simple. As much as everyone wants to put a blame on things such as video gagmes, the media, gun laws, etc. IT WAS THE KID WHO DID IT, there are plenty of people who are depressed that don't go on a shooting rampage. That is why a simple smile to someone might go a long way!
2007-12-06 06:03:32 · answer #3 · answered by ashieannie 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I live just a ways from Omaha, so I was glued to the TV myself awaiting word who was shot, praying none of my family. So of course the thoughts go through your head, "Who is to blame?" It really is a long line and boils down to a neglected child who wanted attention and never being taught you don't have to use extremes to get it. Very sad. And I feel whether the media was involved or not, he would have done it. Extreme circumstances call for drastic measures; and that is what he did. My prayers go out for all the victims and their families!
2007-12-06 13:33:42 · answer #4 · answered by dawnUSA 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Every time this is mentioned... the kid gets his way.
We're doing what he wants by talking about it.
I don't know his name on purpose.
I feel sorry for the death of innocent people and their families... but no more so than if they were killed in a bus accident. It's just Terrible!
I feel sorry for the parents of the kid who, I know didn't raise their son to do such a crime. I'm sure they did their best to guide him through his rebellious teens despite the laws against punishing your child.
We are all victims of our circumstances from birth to death and it's up to us to take what we've been taught and survive in spite of the hurdles that people put in front of us.
Don't immortalize this kid.
Fix the problem.
Stop being the cause.
Blame the media.
Blame the laws.
Blame Social Services.
Blame Yourselves.
2007-12-07 03:57:29 · answer #5 · answered by cherokee_jack 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, just this once I think you are wrong.
The forces at work in these guys heads would have found power in anyone knowing what they were about to do/had done.
For goodness sake they could have used a bull horn rigged to the public address system as they pulled the trigger!
The media could keep quiet about it, yes;but what good would that do?
If the issue does not come to light is there ever going to be a change in public opinion over gun laws?
The continuous coverage and rehashing gets tedious and is unbearable for the family; but if you are in need of information knowing it will be on again again a minute is comforting.
Don't shoot the messenger, reserve your anger for the troubled person who takes others out with him and for the forces that got him to that point.
2007-12-06 02:25:23 · answer #6 · answered by Christine H 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I think the media is partially to blame and personally all this crap makes me paranoid so the less I hear about it the better off I am. As a mom of 3 , I'm paranoid to let my kids walk home from the bus stop,or go to the mall,or let them stay at a friends house! These days ya never know!
2007-12-06 02:16:54 · answer #7 · answered by Al 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
i agree 100000 percent. The media is more concerned with ratings than responsible journalism and ethics. You can report on the tragedy without glorifying or even recognizing the pyschotic cowards who are depraived enough to commit these acts. If there were no recognition there would not be this thirst for being held in infamy. It started with Columbine and every one of these lunatics reference those kids. The worst was the VT shooter. There was no journalistic value or knowledge to be gained from playing those videos. They did it for ratings.
2007-12-06 02:16:53 · answer #8 · answered by Michael F 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Personally I think that the media should label such cowards and lunatics as heinous and stupid. Sure they'll open themselves up for lawsuits, but by promoting the agenda that the perp had, they are only asking for more participation by other people with the same idea.
Why doesn't the media blast the oil companies, government?
Because they don't have the balls to!
2007-12-06 02:21:32 · answer #9 · answered by John W 3 · 4⤊ 0⤋
How are you going to blame the media for a kid's personal decision. It's not like the brought this kid in and said, "Hey- were tired of talking about the Iraq war and the election that is still a year away, would you mind doing some killing for us- we promise huge headlines."
But the media certainly does not help by providing the big headlines. But others factors play a more substantial part.
2007-12-06 02:17:58 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
no you can not blame the media people commit these crimes without the threat of complications or implications because they simply have medical conditions with a lot of emotional distress on top.we as people never want to tell people we are thinking about suicide, because this is what that kid wanted .he no longer felt that things were not going his way so acted just as a child would. unfortunately he didint get the help he needed and people were hurt needlessy which is the saddest thing of all.
2007-12-06 02:19:59 · answer #11 · answered by heather c 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋