@Michael7, the media issue is right in the middle of “what can we do?”
Because the media coverage is one of the key causes of the clusters of these events, one of the things we can do is put pressure on the media to stop with the 24/7 coverage, to NOT publish the shooter’s name, photo, manifesto, web page, letters, or anything else they produced, and to remove every bit of notoriety that can be removed.
One of the things these shooters want is attention - attention to their pain, their needs, how they’ve been wronged and who they’ve been wronged by. That need for attention, and in particular attention to their grievances and their revenge is already present, but when they see other shooters getting the attention they desire, it lights the fuse in them.
By not giving any shooter that public forum, we avoid lighting the fuse on the latent shooters.
That may allow more time for someone in the system or in their lives to intercept them. Or it may allow time for the crisis in their life to pass and they may become no longer a danger.
In any case, the media coverage sets these folks off, and if the coverage were minimized and the shooters garnered no fame from it, there would be fewer shootings.
I have noticed in AZ where they have constitutional carry only a small percentage of people are armed in public. At least in the Tucson/Phoenix/Scottsdale area. Strange. Probably more today after El Paso and Dayton.
Your logic is good. Ignoring the tantrums of a child is a technique that extinguishes the behavior. The media makes $ off of ratings, so I doubt they will be receptive to anything that puts their revenue stream in danger. FOX is running 24/7 coverage. I don’t watch any other outlets but I’m sure they are wall to wall with it also. I’ve written to FOX expressing my thoughts. Others need to do the same.
^^^ that’s the thing, right there.
The stations want the drama, but if there is sufficient outrage, and especially when there’s data to demonstrate that the media is part of the cause, things can change. When they’re the ones in the spotlight as the culprit, they do tend to shift course.
There are links in the Be extra careful: Mass shootings are contagious thread that point squarely to media as part of the problem, and call out what they could do differently.
I don’t watch any media, but I took the time to email FOX as well.
Part of what frustrates me is that we’re on here, talking about this, but that talk doesn’t have much impact on the outside world. It’s just us talking. There are things we can do in the areas we can influence. Some individually, some collectively.
If you’re feeling the need to do something, here’s something to do. This is a letter I’m sending to the news outlets - feel free to adopt any part of it, or write your own, and send it to the media outlets you use. Take Action: Stopping the contagion of Mass Shootings
“The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” ― Albert Einstein
You may not think it will matter, and you may not see the result, but nonetheless, you can choose to do something.
Michael, I retired in 1993, after 35 years in elementary education. My last 21 years was as a K-6 principal. In my world, you hit the nail pretty squarely, but also consider state % federal meddling, as well as school boards scared of law suits. The kids doing the shooting are ultimately most guilty, but feckless leadership, lawmakers, etc. share a significant part. Maybe some REAL punishment, early on would make a difference. 24/7 talking heads share in the confusion, as well. Good luck to our Constitutional Republic as the PC cult grows.
Jerry I just wish the general public could see and know what we’ve witnessed. Zee made an excellent point about the media. Her comments and link are worth reading.
Anyone seen the first person shooter games out? If you were to make a simulator, there it is. 4k resolution on a 75" tv… I grew up playing mario. Kids left hours a day to play that with no structure in there life. That’s 1 little piece I haven’t seen mentioned yet.
Encourage more people to get trained and carry so that there’s a higher likelihood someone can intercede.
We also kneed to demand from our leaders that the online “homes” these losers frequent to support, encourage, and drive each other to commit such crimes are heavily monitored and that they start interdicting them in the same way we have interdicted hundreds of terrorist incidents since 9-11.
It wasn’t a “gun free zone”. It was however in a heavily leftwing county/city politically where carry is heavily frowned upon by a large percentage of the population.
This may touch a nerve but one thing about this group is that when the situation arises we can respectfully disagree.
I come from an earlier generation where there were consequences to your actions when you were growing up. If I mouthed off to my parents, there were consequences. And they weren’t pleasant. I learned respect. If I did well in sports, you were rewarded for your hard work with a trophy. Now you get a “participation trophy” just for showing up. If I was in a restaurant, I wasn’t allowed to run around disrupting all the other patrons under that guise that “kids will be kids”. Kids were to be seen and not heard.
Parenting changed somewhere along the way and now, rather than having a generation of young adults, we have a generation of entitled brats who believe that everything should be given to them without having to work for it. And when they feel slighted they lash out. Sometimes in absolutely horrific ways.
I know that’s a broad brush and I also know that it doesn’t apply to everyone. But if the shoe fits…
Lot’s of truth there. Somewhere along the lines over the last 40 years it seems most parents decided they’d rather be their kid’s friend rather than assume the actual responsibility of shaping their lives, teaching them responsibility, and disciplining them when necessary.
Don’t blame the video games while no doubt they play a part. While there is common linkage between most of these young mass shooters and video games there are more than a hundred million young people in this country alone who regularly play them and don’t shoot up the country.
Look deeper and compare past to present and see what changed.
The biggest change is the growth of the internet and “internet communities”.
Prior to the mid 90’s most of these lifeless losers were alone, they didn’t have a place to congregate with others who would feed their hate, push them to act on it and eventually drive some of them over the edge.
Today the net provides a near endless list of online communities where these anti social/pshychotic/sociopaths are “normal” and get all the support and encouragement necessary.
Then add the way the media turns these into political events where literally we have calls for new draconian anti gun legislation while people are still bleeding in the streets.
Then we have what is essentially their glorification in the media like we haven’t seen since the gangster era of the 20’s and 30’s here in the US.
Next we look at the motivation. Racial hatred and animus is driving many of these young people and it is fomented largely by our political leaders on the left who are demonizing white people for every ill in the country, pushing measures to allow the flooding of the country with immigrants in order to rapidly change the social and political climate for their own benefit and who make many of these young people believe they have no real hope for the future.
The mayor of the city and the owner of the shopping center may or may not be openly opposed to American 2nd Amendment Right to keep and bear arms, however, the pertinent information needed in this Wal-Mart mass murder case is “Does Wal-Mart expressly prohibit the possession of firearms, specifically concealed handguns, on this specific property in El Paso?”
My cut and paste response to all who are calling for gun control.
How many times do we have to see defenseless people die before we realize that being defenseless isnt the answer?
You want common sense gun laws, let’s bring back the gun enhancement, say an automatic 25+ years (you pick the number), for using a firearm in the commission of a crime, ANY CRIME!
Mass shooting, automatic death penalty enhancement.
In CA we have a gun enhancement for using a gun in commission of a crime.
Until 2018, individuals who used a gun to commit certain crimes were subject to mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment under the 10-20-Life sentencing enhancement law. The 2018 change in the law gives judges the discretion to remove the sentencing enhancement in certain situations. The gun enhancement hasn’t been used since.