Morgan Freeman's brilliant take on what happened yesterday :
"You want to know why. This may sound cynical, but here's why.
It's because of the way the media reports it. Flip on the news and watch how we treat the Batman theater shooter and the Oregon mall shooter like celebrities. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris are household names, but do you know the name of a single *victim* of Columbine? Disturbed
people who would otherwise just off themselves in their basements see the news and want to top it by doing something worse, and going out in a memorable way. Why a grade school? Why children? Because he'll be remembered as a horrible monster, instead of a sad nobody.
CNN's article says that if the body count "holds up", this will rank as the second deadliest shooting behind Virginia Tech, as if statistics somehow make one shooting worse than another. Then they post a video interview of third-graders for all the details of what they saw and heard while the shootings were happening. Fox News has plastered the killer's face on all their reports for hours. Any articles or news stories yet that focus on the victims and ignore the killer's identity? None that I've seen yet. Because they don't sell. So congratulations, sensationalist media, you've just lit the fire for someone to top this and knock off a day care center or a maternity ward next.
You can help by forgetting you ever read this man's name, and remembering the name of at least one victim. You can help by donating to mental health research instead of pointing to gun control as the problem. You can help by turning off the news."
13 comments:
Stick to cheating on your wife.
I have heard this before from someone else. And it may be true.
We do need to stop 'glorifying' this type of senseless stupid acts.
There just may be another nut in the wings wanting to top this.
Heaven forbid. God Bless all the victims.
Obama promised change , how do you like the change?
This is crazy. No you cannot help by forgetting you ever read this man's name!
For a problem like this to stop, the root of the problem must be attacked. Why are young men engaging in this relatively new phenonomen of going to schools and shooting innocent human beings?
What has caused these young shooters to become so uncaring, unfeeling and so callous?
More gun control is not the answer. It is not going to stop the mental anguish these shooters are feeling nor their anger problems. It will manifest itself some other violent way.
I am a firm believer that the other relatively new phenonmen of drugging children into submission with mind altering drugs such as Ritalin plays a major role. Medication has been a common demoninator in almost all of these mass shooting by young men. It's time to stop ignoring this fact and face the reality.
mogan is right. all the media is doing is glorifying a low life scumbag killer. the media is looking to boost ratings and to open the door for some other waste of life to top what this loser did.
You will have the libs going after you now!
12:14, Freeman does have a point.
I'm surprised but pleased he's emphasized the mental health issue over gun control.
The crazies intent on killing will always find a gun.
This is exactly right.
A parallel is what you see in the middle east, with Palestinian protesters carrying signs mostly in English.
No cameras, no publicity-- no real effect.
This is a tragedy, but the focus on the shooter invites more of the same.
Morgan also came out in support of Obama just before the election. As an actor, I think he's one of the best. For his liberal and personal views I don't give a rats arss.
A long time ago people who were acting crazy were held for the good of the community and so that they would not hurt themselves. I'm not an advocate of locking people up against their will but there is absolutely NO RECOURSE for people who are known to be mentally ill. They now are beggers on the street in the cold or abused at the hands of a pimp unless they do something like this killer did. The metal health issue has been ignored in this country for far too many years. Yes, and I do believe that people are over medicated but huge numbers of people are unable to get help because they have no access to the health care system. Also I have begun to believe that mental health professionals are out of touch with peoples needs and have become pill pushers instead. Maybe the whole system is on overload...but one thing for certain...it isn't working. I don't have the answer but we are at crisis point and I think that everyone can agree on that. The difference between this killer and the guy begging outside the mall could just be a matter of weeks or the wrong medication.
2:50, my ex wife claimed Bipolar, and I worked 56 hours a week with topnotch insurance, and all she wanted to do is eat the pills and wash them down with alcohol, spend all the money twice and go to the funny farm twice a year for a month or so, leaving me to pay a nanny to take care of 3 kids. People do this crap on purpose. They are homeless on purpose. They kill people on purpose. You can't fix stupid.
The day the judge took her out of our house, the peace and quiet was deafening! That was 13 great years ago.
"They now are beggers on the street in the cold" 2:16 said, that is right, with the state run mental hospitals closed they are now out there on the street, I say round them up and use them for organ transplants, put their organs into good hardworking folks, there are far too little organs out there for transplant. This cleans up the street people and give them a purpose, plus helps good folks and gets rid of the garbage!
520 that will work until someone decides a cold, unsympathetic human being such as your self is also part of the garbage that needs to help out with the organ donations.
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