You can't forget their name because the media does all it can to stomp it into our memory.
I think that if the media stopped sensationalizing these killing sprees it would help. It really would. I've said before, for people twisted enough to even consider mass murder, seeing someone become infamous for it could be very appealing...go out with a legacy instead of just taking their own life. I truly believe that is a big part of why you are seeing so many of these now....just kill the person that upset them (a parent or whatever the case may be) let's take out as many as we can and make the national (and international for that matter) media. No one ever forgets their name then right?
What if the national media quit sensationalizing this violence? What if the media started sensationalizing amazing people doing truly amazing things.... people who actually make a difference in the world?
The world is full of the "warm and fuzzy" things that happen, but they seldom get any attention, and if they do it is one mention and then...poooof, gone.
I actually made reference to this, in CE...
The fact that it appears that Americans are only interested if 5+ people get killed. Anything less than that, isn't NEWSWORTHY.
That said, is it Americans, or is it the MEDIA???
You are correct. It has everything to do with what is happening in these peoples heads, but we're further away from addressing that. It's a lot more complicated than banning assault weapons or high capacity magazines.
Some of the anti gun people have already come out with the argument that "it is too difficult to monitor everyone's mental health" which detracts from the issue. (Mental health should be up near the front of this issue and it keeps getting pushed further back.) If no more high capacity magazines are made and all manufacturing of assault weapons is ceased, there are still people who are going to use guns in heinous crimes. A crate of fully loaded AR 15's with another crate of fully loaded high capacity magazines cannot do a thing.....
And when it comes to a knife attack and comparing it to these shootings, go ahead and compare the two and tell the person who was carved up with a knife that their situation is lesser than someone who got shot.... go ahead and do that. "You sir don't matter because you were cut with a knife, or were shot with a cross bow... its just not as serious as a gun issue."
Whether you were carved up in a knife attack, shot with a cross bow, beat senseless with a bat or shot.... the one common element is the human element and it is not at the front of the argument.
See, I feel like we are hearing extremes from both sides, at least here. The gun debate in the US is big news on our media right now, and here its both sides screaming about the issue from extreme perspectives. Id love to hear more nonbiased media reporting on the issue. The facts perhaps would be a good start. But all I hear is opinion...not a great way to decide such an important issue.
I still think it comes down to what is happening in these peoples heads. That is where the primary focus should lie. Maybe then there could be the beginning of some sort of prevention.
Knives are certainly dangerous, and the thought of being attacked by a knife wielding assailant is truly frightening. But one person with a knife can attack only one person at a time, whereas a person with an assault weapon with a high capacity magazine can mow down an entire first grade in very short order. Neither of these scenarios is a good thing, its just a matter of degree. At least it is as I see it.
Some people are more comfortable with the idea of knives because we use them every day. At one time or another, they may have cut themselves and lived... so its lesser. Those same people might not have ever been around guns. Have had absolutely no education on the matter and trust our media blindly. "GUNS ARE BAD!! GUNS KILL KIDS!!" That all you hear on the news.
I'd have to agree with you. One of the above comments noted the "up close and personal" nature of a knife attack. I just think the media likes sensationalism, and shooting sprees with lots of victims grab their attention. I personally think that kind of attention is one of the reasons you are seeing an increase in those types of crimes. Maybe it's good the media doesn't focus so much on this type of thing....less people to come out thinking it's a good way to get your name in the papers.
Personally, I don't know if I would find anything more violent than a brutal slashing knife attack. That's just me though.
I seriously think it is mostly to do with media in general and the need to sensationalize. Mere stabbings or other forms with less then 10 victims? Not even worth reporting to them it seems. Media doesn't report anymore...it story tells. It's the same thing here.
I too heard it on the news, very briefly. No doubt the mass casualty shootings versus mass killings by other means get more attention.
For whatever the reason behind the lack of reporting thesde other stories, it's a tad disrespectful to the victims of the non-gun related crimes. They are victims too, and should be afforded similar attention.
National news had it on 1 time here.... story over. I live less than 200 miles from the killing.
I heard about the Wyoming shooting. It was all over the news here in the northeast.
Hm, strange. I also wonder what else was going on at the time in the news. Some stories hit the mainstream press but are overshadowed by other events I suspect. ???
I agree, it took place just 3 months after the Aurora theater shooting however there wasn't anyone one killed with guns so I guess it isn't national news worthy.
My most recent comment applies to your post too. (If an AR 15 was used, it would have been all over the news.)
Of course murders happen every day. And maybe it wasn't large enough, but had this guy used a gun.... say something like the dreaded AR 15.... yeah, we would have heard about it.
Here is another that didn't get much media attention
A coroner's finding that all five people killed in Fero's Bar and Grill in October were stabbed helps define the killer or killers, authorities say.
"From the offender's point of view, it takes a different kind of pathology to kill someone up close and personal," said Gregg McCrary, a former FBI profiler from Virginia. "It's different than killing someone with a gun from a distance. The victim is pleading, crying, coughing, yelling. It's bloody. It's awful."
On Oct. 17, Daria M. Pohl, 22; Kellene Fallon, 45; Young Suk Fero, 63; Ross Richter, 29; and Tereasa Beesley, 45, were fatally stabbed inside the bar at 351 S. Colorado Blvd., according to a coroner's report.
McCrary doesn't have specifics of the Fero's case, but if police are correct that three killers were involved, some victims clearly had to wait their turn.
Each victim suffered multiple stab wounds, Denver coroner's spokeswoman Michelle Weiss-Samaras said.
Dexter Lewis, 22; Joseph Hill, 27; and his brother, Lynell Hill, 24, have been charged with murder, robbery and arson in the cases.
The victims were discovered after a fire broke out in the bar.
Weiss-Samaras said it took nearly two months to complete the autopsies because the coroner wanted to know if the fire contributed in any way to the deaths of the victims. It did not.
Or....perhaps in light of the large mass killings taking place, it wasn't large enough? Murders happen everyday. I suspect this one was large enough, or sensational enough to garner national attention. Just my opinion. A killing is a killing, regardless of how it was done.
You are very correct. This happened in my state and got 0 time in the national media. It doesn't fit their agenda.