Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

A Major Newspaper Is Refusing to Describe the Austin Mass Shooting Suspect [Because it could be harmful in perpetuating stereotypes]
Red State ^ | 06/12/2021 | Nick Arama

Posted on 06/12/2021 8:13:18 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

My colleague Jennifer Oliver O’Connell reported earlier on a mass shooting in Austin, Texas, late Friday night.

Fourteen people were wounded, with at least two critically-injured during a shooting in downtown Austin.

Two men are suspected of being involved in the shooting, according to the initial reports; although the police later said the number was unclear, but there was a description of one of the suspect.

But it’s what the Austin American-Statesman said about that suspect that is causing a lot of talk today.

At the bottom of its article on the shooting, the paper included the following.

Editor’s note: Police have only released a vague description of the suspected shooter as of Saturday morning. The Austin American-Statesman is not including the description as it is too vague at this time to be useful in identifying the shooter and such publication could be harmful in perpetuating stereotypes. If more detailed information is released, we will update our reporting.

They also tweeted this:

As part of our public safety reporting policy @statesman does not publish vague descriptions of possible suspects.

At this time, information provided by police of a possible shooter falls into this category and could perpetuate stereotypes and put innocent individuals at risk.

— Austin Statesman (@statesman) June 12, 2021

So in other words, let’s not actually report the news, our alleged job. Let’s not provide people with what information that we may have to protect the public or by which they might be able to identify the suspect. Let’s play some kind of woke game, because we don’t want to say what the race of the shooter is. Um, guys? Not giving the description can risk innocent lives.

We’ve seen some pretty bad, liberal ideas, but this one may just take the cake.

Now, the police weren’t so reticent; they put out a description of that suspect, and it wasn’t as “vague” as the paper claimed.

So, we can see below what the paper didn’t want to say.

The suspect(s) remains at-large. It is unknown if there is one, or multiple suspects involved. There is one suspect described as a black male, with dread locks, wearing a black shirt and a skinny build. The area will be closed for an extended amount of time to process the crime scene. Investigators are collecting and reviewing camera footage and surveillance video.

Now, of course, this description also went out on television, so I’m not sure what the Austin Statesman thought they were hiding with their effort. It basically just made them look ridiculous and untrustworthy as a news source. What information would be necessary for them to actually cover the news? The guy’s name and address?

Fourteen people have been shot, and they’re concerned about “perpetuating stereotypes”? Maybe, just maybe, that shouldn’t be what they’re thinking about? And reporting truth isn’t “perpetuating stereotypes.” But, this is where going over the slide with crazy thinking has brought us — and it’s a dangerous place.



TOPICS: Conspiracy; Society
KEYWORDS: austin; banglist; massshooting; media; msm; newspaper; texas
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-29 next last

1 posted on 06/12/2021 8:13:18 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

It’s the damned Amish again.


2 posted on 06/12/2021 8:18:29 PM PDT by MercyFlush (A wise man once said nothing. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Compost. Is Wokestan.


3 posted on 06/12/2021 8:19:04 PM PDT by sauropod (Chance favors the prepared mind.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: bagster
There is one suspect described as a black male, with dread locks, wearing a black shirt and a skinny build.

Bob Marley done it!

Him and him alive and blastin up da crackers in Austin, mon!

4 posted on 06/12/2021 8:19:13 PM PDT by humblegunner
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Applying a stereotype to an individual because of a shared characteristic is unfair and wrong. However, when an individual behaves consistently with a stereotype, one might, if they’re intellectually lazy, assume that the stereotype has been validated. Is that what the newspaper is afraid of? Are they saying their readers are stupid? And since when is it the job of a newspaper to critique or validate stereotypes? How about just reporting the news?


5 posted on 06/12/2021 8:21:42 PM PDT by Spok (There are many more things that frighten us than can cause us harm.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Now on to our next story about how all white people are inherently racist.


6 posted on 06/12/2021 8:23:02 PM PDT by Steely Tom ([Voter Fraud] == [Civil War])
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: humblegunner

I shoot two whites in the morning
I shoot two whites at night
I shoot two whites in the afternoon
Cuz it makes me feel alright


7 posted on 06/12/2021 8:29:31 PM PDT by Disambiguator
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

It appears to me that the Poolice are looking for one of those deeply tanned white supremist.


8 posted on 06/12/2021 8:31:14 PM PDT by Tupelo (Old, Tired, Cranky and Disgusted)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Racial “equity” aka black privilege.


9 posted on 06/12/2021 8:33:09 PM PDT by Crim (Palin / West '16)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

I thought the stereotype of a mass shooter was a white guy. A black dude would be going against that stereotype no?


10 posted on 06/12/2021 8:35:13 PM PDT by xp38
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Disambiguator

lolol...about right.


11 posted on 06/12/2021 8:36:06 PM PDT by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin (Freedom is the freedom to discipline yourself so others don't have to do it for you.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

The white supremacist narrative is quickly proving to me Bull Shiite.


12 posted on 06/12/2021 8:39:11 PM PDT by JerseyDvl (During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Back in the 1980s in Minneapolis, the Star Tribune did something very similar. There was a long series of about 25 home invasions where 4 or 5 individuals would enter a home tie up the man and gang-rape the woman. The Star Tribune always said that the descriptions given were “too vague” to be of any use. However, the local neighborhood paper that was always tossed on our doorstep did give the descriptions. They gave an estimate of height, weight, age, clothing, hairstyles of 4 men with the notation that the 4 were sometimes accompanied by a 5th man who was an American Indian with long braided hair, followed by his height, weight, and age estimates. Naturally, the other 4 men were all black. Within a matter of days after our neighborhood newspaper released the description all 5 were rounded up, and their reign of terror ended. If the Star Tribune had done the same thing weeks earlier they could have save a lot of misery. Essentially, they would rather see people brutalized over a prolonged period than bring the terror to an end.


13 posted on 06/12/2021 8:39:40 PM PDT by euram
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

In trying to avoid perpetuating a stereotype, the Austin American-Statesman succeeds in perpetuating the stereotype that MSM outlets are more interested in perpetuating the Leftist narrative than in reporting the basic facts.


14 posted on 06/12/2021 8:41:37 PM PDT by cockroach_magoo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Who in the world would consider the Austin American-Statesman a newspaper?


15 posted on 06/12/2021 9:00:50 PM PDT by EastTexasTraveler
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind; All
Violence-prone, chubby white Methodist person with a crew cut.

Well, I can see where that description could cause some people to see the suspect in a stereotypical fashion.

There's that....

16 posted on 06/12/2021 9:21:32 PM PDT by HotHunt
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind
At this time, information provided by police of a possible shooter falls into this category and could perpetuate stereotypes and put innocent individuals at risk.

The idiots don’t realize that by saying this, they are perpetuating the very stereotype they claim they want to avoid doing.

17 posted on 06/12/2021 10:08:11 PM PDT by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: xp38

There you go, making sense again.


18 posted on 06/12/2021 10:09:04 PM PDT by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: MercyFlush

Those damned Aye-mish!!


19 posted on 06/12/2021 11:18:32 PM PDT by DigitalVideoDude (It's amazing what you can accomplish when you don't care who gets the credit. -Ronald Reagan)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: DigitalVideoDude

20 posted on 06/12/2021 11:20:23 PM PDT by DigitalVideoDude (It's amazing what you can accomplish when you don't care who gets the credit. -Ronald Reagan)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-29 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson