Posted on 05/25/2022 8:02:22 AM PDT by Behind Liberal Lines
While not naming mass shooters may seem, at least on the surface, to be a moral or ethical decision, the reality is that it has become a practical one. Perpetrators of these heinous attacks are telling us that they are committing these acts in such a public manner in order to gain fame and notoriety. The Parkland shooter, for example, stated in his video made before going into the school that the body count he planned to amass was going to put him on the news and make him a household name. The shooter at a mall in Omaha, NE in 2007 noted that he was going to be famous in his suicide notes left behind. Even 20 years ago, the Columbine perpetrators had predicted the media frenzy that would surround their attack, musing whether it would be Steven Spielberg or Quentin Tarantino who would ultimately tell their story. Therefore, removing their identity from the coverage of the story serves to remove the rewards the killers seek to receive.
At the same time, limiting the attention given to the perpetrators of mass shootings also can serve to limit the incentives for other like-minded individuals. A number of research studies, including one by Sherry Towers and colleagues, have found that mass shootings are contagious events, such that the occurrence of one – coupled with the media coverage it receives – can lead to an increase in copycat attacks in the first two weeks following. One study after the Parkland shooting found that threats of similar violence in schools increased 300% in the 30 days after the shooting, with the majority of incidents captured in the first two weeks after the attack. These same two weeks also is when the coverage of such events typically is the highest. Even 20 years later, perpetrators who were not even born when Columbine happened are referencing the two attackers due to the infamy they received (and continue to receive). Thus, by highlighting mass shootings perpetrators, it signals to like-minded individuals – many of whom study previous attackers – that if they commit similar acts of violence, they too will receive comparable media attention.
Two common pushbacks to not naming the shooters centers on the First Amendment protections of freedom of speech and of the press, as well as the public’s right to know. Regarding the First Amendment, it is not the position of myself or other advocates to limit the media in covering these events. Instead, we simply call for a more responsible form of reporting that seeks to deny these killers the attention and fame they crave and refocus the conversation on the victims, survivors, and heroes. Too often, these legacies fall by the wayside and the true loss of these crimes are never realized.
Jaclyn Schildkraut is Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at the State University of New York at Oswego and a nationally- and internationally-recognized expert on school and mass shootings. She is the author of several books, including Columbine, 20 Years Later and Beyond: Lessons from Tragedy (with Glenn Muschert), as well as numerous research articles and briefs. Jaclyn serves on the advisory board of the Center for Mass Violence Response Studies and also regularly consults with school districts on safety practices and protocols, including for lockdown scenarios. She is a former resident of the Parkland and Orlando communities that each have experienced their own mass shooting.
A cursory look at the headlines from the MSM this morning many call this a “mass shooting” rather than a “school shooting” as the perp being a mentally ill sex pervert does not fit their narrative.
Lt. Col. Dave Grossman (retired) has long advocated in his lectures that we should NEVER name the perpetrators but ALWAYS remember and repeat the names of the victims.
For example, with Columbine I do not name D**** and H***** but Cassie Bagnall and Dave Sanders.
The Truth shall set you free.
I know that this is an older article, but not allowing the publication of names is most likely along the same lines as not publishing the race of perpetrators.
What does the name “Salvador Ramos” imply about the shooter’s ethnic origin even before you even see a picture? And is this group disproportionally represented when it comes to violent crime coming from across our wide-open Southern border?
Name them and have a public hanging for all to see.
We didn’t learn this lesson with Columbine and almost thirty years later see the same attention seeking mass shootings.
These stories get worldwide attention. The name implies he’s likely the same ethnicity of many of the student victims I saw in published reports. The press is very selective in their coverage and will amplify events that follow certain narratives like FoxNews watching or Trump support as motives even if it’s clear from documents left behind the killer is not accurately described that way.
Refusing to release the names of mass shooters will lend fuel to the conspiracy theorists.
The shooter was a member of a protected ethnic group, and a member of a protected mental illness group. Both of these facts are currently being actively suppressed by the media. Encouraging a form of mental illness to the point that millions of young people are now trying to emulate the behavior is going to lead to more bad outcomes.
Agreed. Not naming them is a terrible idea. It will most definitely be abused by government
Public humiliation (including death) is the greatest disincentive to crime there is.
The push to NOT name mass shooters will be applied when the shooter is:
1. Ethnic
2. Muslim
3. Gay
The push will not be applied in other cases.
Hiding the name also hides any police or mental illness records from the public. Pretty soon it is just whitewashed into “person with a gun” as the only information allowed.
BS If it was John Smith it would be mentioned endlessly!
White Supremacist thing ya know:-)
Censorship/manipulating/minimizing/suppressing and ignoring acts of violence is evil and very dangerous to innocent people living where the violence occurred.
Just look at the lasting damage, the censorship and lies about the Gulf of Tonkin, created.
What damage to America has the censorship/suppressing/ minimizing/marginalizing to blocking the news of violence done by the BLM thugs and their white Antifa buddies.
You didn’t read the article, did you? You just read the headline, skimmed a few parts and then jumped right here to voice your conclusion of what the article was about.
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