Well, it's been two days since the Arvada Colorado shooting, and the media trucks have left my neighborhood. The only sign that they were here are the deep ruts they left by hurridly parking in wet, muddy ground along the main road. Like migratory vultures, their trucks and satellite dishes and blow-dried reporters have moved south, to more fertile feeding grounds.
One group of reporters is hovering in Englewood, home of the gunman, interviewing family and friends and collecting every possible scrap of information about this sick nut.
Another group is camped out in Colorado Springs, where they are broadcasting damn-nearly-hourly "special reports" that are focusing on the sick psychopath who gunned down innocent people in an effort to emulate other sick psychopaths.
I do think that the MSM bears a great deal of responsibility for this shooting, for the last shooting in Omaha, and for the one that is going to come next week or next month, guaranteed..
Why? Simple. Because it helps their ratings and serves their purpose, they are operating a terrific posthumous publicity firm for psychopaths.
The media has been CRAWLING all over this state.
The local Denver TV stations and newspapers are running endless coverage of the gunman: his website rantings, his background, `friends, etc. It's been less than 48 hours since he killed four innocent bystanders in cold blood, and now EVERY detail of his sad, sick, pathetic life is being broadcast in his hometown nonstop.
The latest angry white gunman quoted the Columbine killers repeatedly in his Web postings. Copied their clothes and weaponry when he attacked both religious centers. Wonder where he got all that information from, eh?
I have no doubt that the media's aggrandizement of these sick psychopaths feeds into their mental illnesses. These nuts know by now that they're going to get a "platform" if they commit a horrible crime - that their grievances, real or imagined, are going to be broadcast endlessly, even if posthumously.
Now, don't get me wrong: I am not suggesting that we completely censor all coverage of such events. I love, respect, and firmly believe that the First Amendment is the most important cornerstone to our free society. We DO need the vital information about these mass murderers -their ages, hometowns, and whether or not they are part of some homegrown terrorist movement. Anything more than that? No.
For example, WHY couldn't the media have simply reported:
"A 24-year-old white male from Englewood, Colorado committed this crime. He has not been affiliated with any terrorist organizations. He has a history of mental instability. We will NOT be publishing any further details about the criminal, and will instead be focusing on the victims of his crime. Period."
What is it going to take for this craziness, this insanity, to stop? This is a self-perpetuating phenomenon - where the attention paid to one psycho with a gun encourages and enables yet another, and then the uptick in ratings encourages even MORE attention paid to the new psycho, and on and on endlessly.
Right now there is some pissed-off, violent 18-to-34 year old white American guy in a basement cranking out a plan to kill off a bunch of kids in a school or a mall or a restaurant. He's seeing the same coverage I am, and it's fueling his desire for fame, for notoriety and to have his message 'heard.' Guaranteed.
I don't see the media acting responsibly and calling a halt to this out of common decency and guilt. Instead, I think this will end when the victims' relatives and surviving bystanders sue the living daylights our of the media outlets that are perpetuating this sensationalism - and win a multi-, multi-million dollar judgement.
Hit 'em in the pocketbook, where it counts. Isn't that the American way?
Diarist's Note: I am not, not, not going to mention the scum of the earth's name who thought it was a good idea to kill four human beings and cause their families endless pain. I am not going to diary about him, except in passing and, quite frankly, in the most pejorative of terms - the legacy I firmly believe he deserves.
I would ask that if anyone comments here, that they keep his name out of this diary. If you want to use his name, please write your own diary and do it yourself. I don't want to add one single footnote to what will no doubt be a thorough, lengthy biography of his selfish, sick life published by the oh-so-willing MSM.