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Another American Gun Massacre. After the Shooter, Blame the Media.
By now many of you will have heard of the abomination in Oregon. I send my prayers and thoughts to both the victims and the families. I can’t imagine what it must be like for the victims’ and survivors families right now as they try to come to terms with their whole world falling apart. There is an old Irish phrase at times like these: you never know the day nor the hour. It is very apt as a warning after an event or tragedy like the above, but before — silent; as people make life choices with little thought to the afterlife. After all why should he, why should she? They are not going to their maker today, right?
I have never experienced anything like this in Ireland, and I hope to God I never will. My parents’ generation and some of my friends have, but me, no, thank God. The Troubles up North ended when I was a child, so thankfully I never knew the bombings and murders of the paramilitaries. Sadly I assume many of you on Ricochet in America know or have come into contact with evil like above. I can only imagine it is horrible. I pray for you too.
What can be said about the killer? Nothing, nor should any words or sentences be wasted on him. Another sad loser seeking attention or infamy for himself through mass murder. Sadly, by tomorrow we will be guaranteed to know his name, while his victims’ names and those of their loved ones will be drowned out in the media coverage. Which brings me to the video above, and my point.
First, there will never be a cure for human evil. It is sadly something many liberals both in America and in Europe seem to forget constantly, and perhaps because they deny evil exists so frequently. One is always amazed when such tragedies happen that in Great Britain a smug satisfactory know-it-all approach emerges within the commentariat about dumb Americans, guns, and gun control, personified in one Piers Morgan. It is, however, widespread there and here too. Unfortunately British (and Irish) people should remember that the Provisional IRA were able to murder thousands of people with guns and bombs in the UK and Ireland, which had extremely tough gun laws. Gun control will not stop an evil person killing someone. It may make it more difficult, but it won’t stop it. No law in heaven and earth can stop a man committing a crime, if he wants too.
Second, the media always benefit from this violence, and in doing so they are guaranteeing that another nut will act in the same manner sometime in the future. There will be wall-to-wall coverage over the next few days. Every cable news show’s ratings will be higher tonight because of this. Every news station will be able to push their agenda, both pro- and anti-gun at the viewers, and politicians who would not normally appear before TV channels so easily will be out and front spouting their points. Every media site or company makes a killing off these events, financially.
The fourth estate’s work (aside from the journalists who have to cover the traumatized families and see the violence and its aftermath up close) is relatively easy. Every show or paper will have an in-depth profile of the nut job and his whole life story. There will be politicians using his name, psychologists examining his life story, police looking through his past, journalists writing books about him. And that’s the problem.
By covering a murderer in this way they are turning him into not only into the story, but its main driver. He will be talked about. His actions will be, by accident, glorified in the worst possible manner. He will seem an anti-hero in the minds of those who are already disturbed. His whole infamy will be a demonstration to the disturbed, lonely, pathetic, nihilism- drenched people who inhabit this earth of what they should or could do if they want attention, too — all given an invitation by the media’s woeful coverage.
In a year’s time, who will be remembered in the media? The victims or the killer? Sadly, we all know the answer to that. Its origin lies not just in the actions of this day, but the following ones of this week and more. It will be another American horror story, repeated verbatim. While it is true that such tragedies can never fully be eradicated as long as humans have free will and a profoundly corrupt nature, the ability to glamorize or mass coverage of such events can be limited. Yet despite repeated warnings about their coverage, the media will not listen. And so it will be repeated. Until we stop the cycle. But sadly, it won’t be.
Published in Domestic Policy, General, Guns
I have a feeling the shooter was a Muslim.
I recall the day I joined the NRA.
We had suffered yet another gun massacre- 17 dead in Atlanta, if I recall. I got home from work- and every channel was covering it, nonstop. This was just after the Columbine massacre, and I thought here we go, another push for gun-banning. So I called the NRA and joined by phone, somehow.
Then it turned out that the shooter had beat a murder wrap. It was like flipping a switch- the coverage just stopped, dead. My guess is that the guy had evaded a long prison term by some unpopular technicality, which made his case a poor example for the gun control advocates that comprise what is laughably described as the “press.”
So now, having become a hard and bitter old man, what really angers me about this event isn’t even the despicable behavior of the media, or the killer. It’s that experience has taught me that I can’t even expect the party supposedly opposed to gun-banning to have anything to say about it. So Barry will go on TV with the usual nonsense- and the entire Republican party will be hiding under a desk, cowering.
Perhaps some spokesman will express sympathy for the murdered, but the party won’t attempt any sort of political advocacy against gun-free zones or anything like that, which may potentially prevent future murders.
Nope. The party will just cower, irrelevantly.
As usual.
After watching President Obama’s comments on this shooting I can only respond based upon my experiences a street officer. The false premise is that laws are written to prevent something from happening. That is not the case. Individuals that plan mass killings whether with bullets or bombs have moved beyond preventative measures. it is like sin. The sin is contemplated and then planning begins. Once that happens rational thought is beyond their understanding as well as ours. As an American of Scots descent whose parents were Catholic converts I have no sympathy for the IRA. Murder becomes murder for murders sake. It is an adrenaline rush. The political implications are an excuse to satisfy the urge to kill. In some cases it becomes a sexual release. It is sick and in a very real sense we are at the mercy of narcissists and psychopaths.
This one, I imagine.
That’s the one. Thank you for correcting my hazy memory, especially because the actual death toll was lower than I recalled.
Who knows. I don’t think we should jump to any conclusions. All previous campus shootings are various forms of regular crazy. Strange, lonerish, white dudes, with serious problems. Didn’t the Columbine guys also ask “are you Christian”?
How many serial killers have been featured in movies? How many TV shows in the past decade have relished extravagantly vile crimes and investigators who are always one step behind?
You’re right, Paddy. We give evil too much time in the limelight. The best souls hope to keep their charitable acts hidden. The worst souls love a show, and we oblige.
http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/powerful-photos-released-from-aurora-theater-shooting/28/
Please note the lack of ugly girls in the attached.
Mass murder = get hot chicks
If CNN is to be believed, a cell phone found near the shooter featured some woman hating websites and chat rooms; apparently, the shooter made his plans known beforehand and some anonymous people on the internet were egging him on while others were trying to talk him out of it; at least one person called the FBI tip line.
A black dude out to kill Christians. How much play will those aspects receive?
Virtually ALL of these killers are schizophrenic men in their twenties. We need to have better mental health care and to keep nuts away from guns. How does one keep nuts away from guns? Make the license age to carry 35?
I know the usual chorus of righteousness is to condemn the wall to wall coverage of the killers. “We won’t even say his name!” is a common cry.
But what else should we expect? People are fascinated by the macabre. Serial killers, big explosions, savage violence. It is a primal fascination. People want to know why sociopaths and fanatics do what they do.
So I’m not distressed when it’s splashed on the news. Yes the event is horrifying, but not the fact that it is so meticulously covered.
What I hate is that the media focus’ on the gun aspect and not the psycology or ideology of the murderer. Oh and they call them shooters and not murderers which is another problem. It’s as if the gun possessed his brain to kill all of these people, and he has bo culpability.
It drives me crazy. There has always been lots of gun in this country but these mass shootings do seem to be on the rise. Why now? Why not 50 years ago? when there were still lots and lots of guns around. What is different about these people who are doing these things today, as opposed to 50 years ago? But we never hear that.
Mate De – because it is a different world – we have lost the ability to live by what our country was founded on – we have embraced the anything goes culture – it was not always like that – you could tell the US was different – far from perfect – but decent – our culture has evolved where we have replaced decency with vulgarity, common sense with mind-numbing distractions, disregard for authority, we no longer protect the most vulnerable – that includes the unborn, children, the sick and elderly – a doctor would come to your house if needed, churches and synagogues were filled and displaying a Christmas tree or a candy cane in a classroom was normal – 50 years ago people believed in what the US stood for – kids were taught to respect and to love their country, and learn its history – we were not consumed with stuff – debt was a bad word – if you misbehaved there were consequences – sacrifice had meaning over personal gratification – hardships were shared and overcome – neighbors knew one another and looked out for you – teachers were not the front lines, parents were – you could go to bed doors unlocked, TV was funny and clean, families ate together, kids socialized in person and played outside, families saved greens stamps to get a free toaster – sewed holes in socks – conserved and recycled before it was a trend – talk to any elderly person, especially if they fought overseas, what is different about people now than 50 years ago? A lot.
Yes I totally agree with what you said entirely. I understand that but many people my age don’t. The left likes to blow up institutions and traditions and never stops to think about the consequences. The media likes the easy answer that it’s guns because having to face the real answers will destroy their utopian worldview.
This a thousand times, the killer flat out wrote in his ravings that the fame and coverage from massacres such as this was a valid reason for committing one.
All such vile wretches are motivated by such:
The wall to wall media coverage only motivates the next in killer in training, stop him before he starts:
etc.
Everyone needs to stop giving these monsters the infamy they so thirst for.
The site I visit that gives expert perspective on the gun aspects of these events, refuses to use the name of the killers. Instead, they are referred to generically as “the shooter.” When quoting others who use the name of the shooter the author inserts “[The gunman]” or hides the name by reducing it to a single beginning letter – “M_____.” The following footnote is used when this is done:
Instead of the shooter’s, these are the nine names we should know after the shooting:
Lucero Alcaraz, 19
Quinn Glen Cooper, 18
Kim Saltmarsh Dietz, 59
Lucas Eibel, 18
Jason Dale Johnson, 33
Lawrence Levine, 67
Sarena Dawn Moore, 44
Treven Taylor Anspach, 20
Rebecka Ann Carnes, 18