"I don't know of a reputable news organization in this country that, upon receipt of that package, would have ... slipped it in a drawer and not shared its contents. It is beyond disturbing. It is beyond horrifying. It is also news, and news is our role, however unpleasant the stories are at times." -Brian Williams
Except the killer got exactly what he wanted. And NBC gave it to him. He made a video for Christ's sake. And sent it to a news station. Now he is immortilaized. Like he said he would be....just like jesus. I have a problem more with this than people saying now there are going to be "copycat killings". You don't need the video to get the point. This kid was fucked up. The news could have given us all the material anyone would need to do this again. Because that's what the media does in this country: beat a story to death so the only thing you know is what they tell you.
Bullshit. This VT kid would have cited columbine if we HADN'T known about those kids' motives.
What angers me is the blame game. "It was the media's fault that there are more threats to college campuses now because they showed the video". "It was the parents". "It was the gun laws in Virginia". That's not the point. This kid was messed up. He didn't do it because he saw columbine happen and thought "what a great idea". He didn't do it because the gun laws are "weak" in Virginia (how hard is it to get a gun ANYWHERE? It's not, illegally or legally, this kid was on a mission). Same goes for less gun control. People would have died if everyone carried guns on campus. Maybe more, maybe less. Probably more. What's to stop a kid from getting angry at another kid for some stupid college drama?
The point is: NBC shouldn't have shown the video strictly because it was poor judgement. People need to know news, not see it.
1 comment:
Hey there. Don't you think by showing it, the media wants to create awareness to everyone that views it and of course, on the other hand, I believe that people are intelligent enough to select what they want to see. The dissident viewers can just grab the remote and change the station, can't they? I think this is considered as an ethical issue and we clearly have an ethical doctrine called the principal of Utilitarianism and for me, NBC had made the right choice. Once again, it's just my thought. Oh yea, I found your blog interesting, I've added link it to my blog, do tell me if you're not okay with it :) Have a nice day!
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