There's a statement online that's circulating on Facebook and Reddit stating an opinion on the shooting that happened Friday in Connecticut. The statement is being linked to a well known Hollywood actor, Morgan Freeman. The statement, in actuality, comes from a man by the name of Mark from Vancouver. Even though the statement doesn't come from a well respected Oscar winner, it still rings true. This is what Mark had to say about the shooting and why the news reports primarily focuses on the killer rather than the victims:
"You want to know why. This may sound cynical, but here's why.
It's because of the way the media reports it. Flip on the news and
watch how we treat the Batman theater shooter and the Oregon mall
shooter like celebrities. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris are household
names, but do you know the name of a single *victim* of Columbine?
Disturbed people who would otherwise just off themselves in their
basements see the news and want to top it by doing something worse, and
going out in a memorable way. Why a grade school? Why children? Because
he'll be remembered as a horrible monster, instead of a sad nobody.
CNN's article says that if the body count "holds up", this will rank as
the second deadliest shooting behind Virginia Tech, as if statistics
somehow make one shooting worse than another. Then they post a video
interview of third-graders for all the details of what they saw and
heard while the shootings were happening. Fox News has plastered the
killer's face on all their reports for hours. Any articles or news
stories yet that focus on the victims and ignore the killer's identity?
None that I've seen yet. Because they don't sell. So congratulations,
sensationalist media, you've just lit the fire for someone to top this
and knock off a day care center or a maternity ward next.
You
can help by forgetting you ever read this man's name, and remembering
the name of at least one victim. You can help by donating to mental
health research instead of pointing to gun control as the problem. You
can help by turning off the news.
Now isn't that advise that every news corespondent, anchor, and television station should take into consideration? I totally agree with his statement, and even though I know his advise will probably be overlooked, the majority of the public probably agrees with him as well.
If your wanting to know about the names of the victims and read about them individually, go to: http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/15/us/connecticut-shooting-victims/index.html
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