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Why does the media need to plaster the faces of mass murderers all over?


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I can't help but think that photos of 1) the mass murderer and 2) gory scenes are attractive to the kind of people who might do the same thing, thus perpetuating constant spin-offs.

 

So far, we haven't read that the current killer was bullied at least, and from what others have said, I'm betting on mental illness. But having worked with schizophrenics for a number of years, I'm very aware that their minds take real things from the environment and those get processed through a distorted filter. And certainly, there are those who have done these types of things who don't have distorting mood or thought disorders. I think the profile of a killer may be of public benefit, but I really wish that the media would reach an agreement that they will not post the photos all over their news. (They have an agreement not to publish names of rape victims, for instance.)

 

You know whose photo I'd like to see plastered all over the news? The guy who died saving his girlfriend.

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You know whose photo I'd like to see plastered all over the news? The guy who died saving his girlfriend.

:iagree:

And the teenager who was wounded while helping to save an injured woman with a baby and a toddler, after her boyfriend dumped their baby on the floor and took off without them. :glare:

 

Jackie

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i couldn't agree more with you.

 

I didn't know about the guy who died saving his girlfriend. How tragic. I am having a hard time processing this nightmare so have purposefully not watched the news much. When I saw the story of that poor girl who recently escaped another shooting, it just made me cry. Seeing the dad crying and holding up a picture of his son made me relive the 911 nightmare all over again, and 9/11 is personal for me. When I woke up today and saw the man's son was killed, I just couldn't handle anymore. I don't know....... All these horrid stories are getting sensationalized but they are getting harder for me to absorb.

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i couldn't agree more with you.

 

I didn't know about the guy who died saving his girlfriend. How tragic.

 

There are two young men, both in their 20's, who are being credited by their girlfriends has having saved their lives by shielding them with their bodies.

 

http://www.9news.com/news/photo-gallery.aspx?storyid=278897

 

This gives a picture and a little information about some of the victims.

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There are two young men, both in their 20's, who are being credited by their girlfriends has having saved their lives by shielding them with their bodies.

 

http://www.9news.com/news/photo-gallery.aspx?storyid=278897

 

This gives a picture and a little information about some of the victims.

 

So many were SO young! Totally heartbreaking.

 

I just wish we could get a handle on mental illness. I really do think the "fame" feeds into it.

 

I have only found a story about one boyfriend shielding his girlfriend, but really, I'd like to see heroes' faces all over the news--every single detail of their lives--something for others to emulate. For people who get the urge to be famous--ya know?

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So many were SO young! Totally heartbreaking.

 

I just wish we could get a handle on mental illness. I really do think the "fame" feeds into it.

 

I have only found a story about one boyfriend shielding his girlfriend, but really, I'd like to see heroes' faces all over the news--every single detail of their lives--something for others to emulate. For people who get the urge to be famous--ya know?

 

 

I agree, this man intended to go out and gain infamy. Yesterday we seemed to have had non stop coverage most of the day. I kept the TV off today.

 

 

For the boyfriend stories,

Jon Blunk

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/21/12875584-shooting-survivor-boyfriend-took-a-bullet-for-me?lite

 

Matt McQuinn

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_21129616/colorado-shooting-victims-matt-mcquinn-27-died-protecting

 

I saw the stories on the my local news originally, but can't find the links.

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I can't help but think that photos of 1) the mass murderer and 2) gory scenes are attractive to the kind of people who might do the same thing, thus perpetuating constant spin-offs.

 

Possibly, yes. But there is also our society that seems to be drawn to, fascinated and entertained by violence. :(
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I can't help but think that photos of 1) the mass murderer and 2) gory scenes are attractive to the kind of people who might do the same thing, thus perpetuating constant spin-offs.

 

So far, we haven't read that the current killer was bullied at least, and from what others have said, I'm betting on mental illness. But having worked with schizophrenics for a number of years, I'm very aware that their minds take real things from the environment and those get processed through a distorted filter. And certainly, there are those who have done these types of things who don't have distorting mood or thought disorders. I think the profile of a killer may be of public benefit, but I really wish that the media would reach an agreement that they will not post the photos all over their news. (They have an agreement not to publish names of rape victims, for instance.)

 

You know whose photo I'd like to see plastered all over the news? The guy who died saving his girlfriend.

 

I agree with you. It's really been bothering me to see that dude's face plastered all over the media. It almost seems to glorify the act.

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This is nothing new. It is because people are curious. The Bath School Disaster was all over the paper until Lucky made his flight across the Atlantic. I have a book of "front pages" for the 20th century, and Mr. Kehoe was intently studied, and this was the 1920s.

 

Hasn't the media long striven to "give the people what they want"?

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Ratings, plus pictures of these guys are shocking. He looks so nice and normal. :(

so did ted bundy.

 

eta: just from what I've caught - not looking - is this guy seemed to think he really was the joker, and batmen was real. not just pretending for the thrill, but that he thought this is who he was. nuts.

 

I've been on a UK paper site and they had the victims on top, some of the hero stories from the tragedy, and further down and smaller a picture of the guy and about him. and the father of the 6yo who died (I hadn't known the 6yo died -unless there were more than one there) NOT being allowed into the hospital where his ex-wife was because he said he hoped the shooter wouldn't live very long.

Edited by gardenmom5
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. and the father of the 6yo who died (I hadn't known the 6yo died -unless there were more than one there) NOT being allowed into the hospital where his ex-wife was because he said he hoped the shooter wouldn't live very long.

 

You have got to be kidding me. How ridiculous! We've lost our minds in some ways. That is such a totally normal thing to say--actually kind of a mild thing to say if your child has been shot by someone.

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This is nothing new. It is because people are curious. The Bath School Disaster was all over the paper until Lucky made his flight across the Atlantic. I have a book of "front pages" for the 20th century, and Mr. Kehoe was intently studied, and this was the 1920s.

 

Hasn't the media long striven to "give the people what they want"?

 

People also wanted names of rape victims and eventually, in acknowledgment of what was morally right, most media stopped printing them.

 

I would like to see this happen with respect to these mass shootings--that the media would agree to minimize aggrandizement of the killer. They can report on the event all they want--from the victim's point of view, the heroes, etc. Just not the PHOTO of the killer and not gory pictures. And not wondering aloud or researching how often he'd been bullied, as if the killer was the victim. I think that the "bullied" angle on the Columbine story, plus their photos plastered all over, has been what has driven some of the copy-catting since.

 

Littleton is only a short distance from Aurora. I feel for that whole area of CO--not to mention that the state is recovering from dreadful fires.

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