"...you seem to think an innocent deserved to be shot for merely reporting the news."
I think the people on this thread are laughing more at the fool's inability to recognize or understand the nature of the threat against all of us. The terrorists don't care about a reporter's self-presumed "fairness". They want to KILL him, you, me, and every other infidel - period. The guy's own bias precludes him from seeing the obvious. The terrorists happily use western media to undermine the west - until it is their turn to die.
As far as compassion for the guy, I have very little - I'm sure he gets paid quite handsomely for what he does. I'm also sure his company (BBC, was it?) is quite happy to make lots of money off of his reporting. He knows the deal, just like any mercenary.
Put things in reverse. If that were you or I lying there on the ground shot, he would happily stand over our bleeding bodies offering up his "take" on the story, but his "journalistic ethics" would not allow him to get involved. He is no better than the people who stood around and watched him, except that he gets paid for it.
These reporters want to set themselves up as being above the rest of us - so be it, but why should anyone care overmuch when the natural result of their stupid choices happens?
"Put things in reverse. If that were you or I lying there on the ground shot, he would happily stand over our bleeding bodies offering up his "take" on the story, but his "journalistic ethics" would not allow him to get involved. He is no better than the people who stood around and watched him, except that he gets paid for it."
That's a good point, and we've seen a lot of this from the European journalists in the last few years in Iraq and Israel.
You sound like a character from "Team America". He was in Saudi Arabia, and if this means every Saudi Arabian is a terrorist it says little about the closeness that America has with this country. I hope all American journalists know that fellow Americans think that they are fair game if they do their job in Saudi. Does this go for the troops too?
As far as compassion for the guy, I have very little - I'm sure he gets paid quite handsomely for what he does. I'm also sure his company (BBC, was it?) is quite happy to make lots of money off of his reporting. He knows the deal, just like any mercenary.
So you have little compassion for an innocent man who was shot because he gets paid for his job? So an American journalist killed in reportage is nothing to you? Nice ethics. As for him being a mercenary, you mean anyone who gets paid money in Arab nations is a mercenary? Did you say the same when American contractors were brutally murdered as they get paid for their job too?
Put things in reverse. If that were you or I lying there on the ground shot, he would happily stand over our bleeding bodies offering up his "take" on the story, but his "journalistic ethics" would not allow him to get involved.
You do not know the man so how can you judge his ethics? You probably have never even seen his face yet you can see into his soul? I wish I had your special powers.
He is no better than the people who stood around and watched him, except that he gets paid for it.
This is the worst yet. So he is bad man because he went to speak to someone in a foreign country and ended up in a wheelchair?
These reporters want to set themselves up as being above the rest of us - so be it, but why should anyone care overmuch when the natural result of their stupid choices happens?
I think the quote "these reporters" sums it up. You know less than nothing about this human being but you will judge him quite un-christianlike because of the actions of other people. Also if it wasn't for reporters going into dangerous areas to find information we would not be informed of world events. It seems you would prefer that.