Posted on 11/28/2013 4:58:25 AM PST by marktwain
Investigators in Connecticut released a report yesterday concerning the December 2011 murders in Newtown. It says the shooter was "obsessed" with mass murders.
From the Wall Street Journal:
During their search of the (redacted) home, law-enforcement officials found a spreadsheet that tracked mass murders over the years, including the names of the assailants and information about each incident. They also found a "large amount of materials relating to Columbine shootings" as well as a "computer game titled 'School Shooting' where the player controls a character who enters a school and shoots at students" and "commercial movies depicting mass shootings," the report said.Stephen Sedensky III, state's attorney for the Judicial District of Danbury, CT, who led the investigation said they may never conclusively know the killer's motivation "despite the collection of extensive background information on the shooter through a multitude of interviews and other sources."
Related: Media: Stop Shouting Fire! in Crowded Schools
December 2011?
I’ve said it over and over again. Glorifying and sensationalizing mass murderers inspires other would-be mass murderers. Huge picture all over the front of every paper in the country for days. Cable news show never ending footage. Murderer’s first, middle and last name announced millions of times so the whole country knows. Murderer’s manifesto printed and repeated endlessly.
And every time it’s the same script. Murderer had scrapbook of mass murderers. Police can’t find a motive.
I’ve given up expecting the media to show some responsibility. They know the score and continue doing what they do.
Hi marktwain, I hope you are well. Was there another shooting in 2011? Sandy Hook was on December 14, 2012. The blogger loses credibility with me because of lack of attention to detail.
Your article is valid, and on the target. Pardon the pun.
Gwjack
I think you would find a correlation between the rise of mass shootings and the rise of 24 hour national news saturation. There have always been mass killings but prior to the news saturation it took a pretty major event to grab national headlines. (I’m watching the news about a guy holding his wife and kid hostage in California and that’s not really worthy of national coverage)
I also agree that news saturation is probably a major factor in driving marginal people over the line along with a myriad of other societal factors.
I think you would find a correlation between the rise of mass shootings and the rise of 24 hour national news saturation.
...and even if you don’t who gets off listening to the manure that passes as “news” for hours on end. Only a crazy person IMHO. It is why all of them had to go to interim programming with something besides “news” or no news at all ala PMSNBC.
No doubt the mass killings bring serious attention to the shooters. That said, I still believe there is more to the Sandy Hook shootings than was or is being offered. Do I wear a “tin hat”?, no, just my gut feelings.
Day 1 the locals would know about.
one week later, the county would know about it.
One month later, the entire state or territory would know about it.
Three months later, the nation's capitol would know about it.
Now, almost immediately, you have cops on the scene, news helicopters over head, instant real time news on TV, and almost instantly The Brady Bunch comes out to do their blood dance, and the public, in a panic, screams to the government,...”DO SOMETHING NOW!”
Instantaneous news, needing instantaneous solutions. Sort of the instantaneous gratification generation.
That such wackos are attracted to such information means little. For every one of them, there are ten of thousands of others who are attracted to such information, but then do nothing about it.
The FBI regularly examines such cases looking for commonality, and they have found only one, that even the killers themselves could not explain. Far too often, without knowing anything about the killers at all, the victims of such killers seem to be attracted to them.
So ironically, the only useful psychological profile that can possibly ever be developed is one of the victims, not the killers. About the only way this could happen was if a killer was about to go on a rampage, but what unexpectedly thwarted. They might be able to profile the almost victims.
You do not need to identify the killers before the events to greatly reduce the number of events.
We only need to stop glorifying them with the intense news coverage that they get.
It may not be possible to do with the first amendment. Perhaps these mass killings are a price we pay for having freedom of the press.
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