Why Do We Reward Negativity?

[lleeder]

Today in the paper there was a picture of every mass murderer over the last 20 years and how their crime stacked up to the VA Tech shooter. Today on every station there are tons of pictures of this guy that did the shooting. Why do we have pictures of these people all over the place. What purpose does it serve but to make other freaks think " Hey if I kill people, I'll be remembered forever". We need to not show these people or release there names when these things happen. Treat it like sports treats a bad fan that runs onto the field. They no longer show the guilty party. I understand if it is a criminal at large they need pictures and a description out there so they can be caught. When the guilty party is already dead I don't see the point in plastering there picture all over the place.

[TheMojoPin]

Yeah, history is dumb.

By this logic, we should never study Hitler and Nazi Germany...and yeah, that's right, I just used Hitler in an rgument!

[lleeder]

Yeah, history is dumb.

By this logic, we should never study Hitler and Nazi Germany...and yeah, that's right, I just used Hitler in an rgument!

I dont mean mentioning the past I mean showing pictures of all of these losers. I shouldn't know what the kids who shot up Columbine look like. There pictures don't have to be in the paper every time something like this happens.

[King Hippos Bandaid]

Three Words

Ratings Rating Ratings

:king:

[mikeyboy]

Until I saw what forum this was in, I assumed it was about this board.

[J.Clints]

Until I saw what forum this was in, I assumed it was about this board.

So did I until I read it.....

[TheMojoPin]

I dont mean mentioning the past I mean showing pictures of all of these losers. I shouldn't know what the kids who shot up Columbine look like. There pictures don't have to be in the paper every time something like this happens.

So you're saying that their pictures "inspire" copycats or glorify them? What, are we all suddenly blind and can't read the actual article or deaf and can't hear the news report? Do you not want their names never mentioned, either?

[reeshy]

There are some people that will follow this man's path.....Mojo, think about it ......there are always copycats!!!!!

[TheMojoPin]

There are some people that will follow this man's path.....Mojo, think about it ......there are always copycats!!!!!

What does this even mean? So because there might be copycats...which there could be of any crime...we don't show the suspect's photo? What's next, we don't mention his name in news reports? Guess we shouldn't report on the whole thing at all, y'know, since someone might decide to copy it.

I understand the emotional response towards douchebags like this, but expecting basic details like that to be ignored is absurd.

[FUNKMAN]

they should post their pictures but just blacken the teeth out with a pen...

[d-rock]

there's a huge difference between showing pictures of the criminals/reporting what happened, and oversaturating the public with details (whether their accurate or not) about what happened. these events need to be reported and learned from, but i think everybody is being needlessly bombarded with details.

[MikeB]

The showing of the pictures of these killers and talking about them is a right of ours just like going to a building without being searched for a gun everytime. If we stop showing and talking about people like Cho in an effort to prevent future crimes is ignoring the true issues, whatever they may be, that cause people to become killers.
I don't buy the fact that it promotes it. Look at the two columbine kids, no one could of predicted the media coverage of that event yet it was not even close to what the two of them wrote about in their letters (Movies about them and what not.)

[TheMojoPin]

there's a huge difference between showing pictures of the criminals/reporting what happened, and oversaturating the public with details (whether their accurate or not) about what happened. these events need to be reported and learned from, but i think everybody is being needlessly bombarded with details.

The media in this country goes nuts over some trivial crap, but can you really expect them not to go all out on something like this? It doesn't happen that often, and when it does, never on this scale.

[reeshy]

The communist has spoken!!!!!

[drjoek]

TV these days is nothing but a "Cesspool of Negativity"

[PapaBear]

they should post their pictures but just blacken the teeth out with a pen...
Someone has been on the internet too long (myself included).

[CofyCrakCocaine]

Me personally, I do not get angry at the media covering what happened simply because it's irresponsible to NOT report what happens...and withholding basic information is absolutely censorship.

I think in the coming weeks however, the reporters who remain at Virginia Tech will be revealed as vultures, utterly disrespectful of the students and families there who will eventually in the coming weeks want to slowly move on as best they can from the horror that we're fixating over right now.

A friend of mine went to school at Columbine, and she became infuriated with the ceaseless news coverage on her school (visiting her and driving by there 4 or 5 months after it happened, during summer break, I saw there was still a news van camping out in the school parking lot at night). They would not stop coming to the school just to tape every student moving around in the school. One time she grabbed a reporter's camera and smashed it down the front steps of the school and told the guy to fuck off when he yelled at her... no charges were pressed against her, or so she told me.

Because it kinda hits home for me in a distant sort of way, I hate to hear people talking about this incident. But that's their right, and I don't begrudge them that, so long as they don't make videogames glorifying/depicting in some fun way the horrible events. America likes this shit though. The one story my friend told me that stands out in my mind is where she noticed a car slowing down to stop in front of the school sign, and see a tourist lean out of his window to take a nice family photo of the school. It infuriated her to tears.

I have no doubt the same level of tourism/over-saturation will happen with VT, and that I find appalling.

While I think it's unnecessary and tasteless to publicly "publish" this kid's videos, plays, and so on, I won't get really mad until they make a movie about him. They haven't done this with Harris and Klebold yet (who bragged in a videotape 'I wonder which famous actor is gonna play us"), so I'm hoping good taste wins out over financial greed.

There is always a fine line between censorship and decency...it's tough not to cross those lines sometimes.