Look for the Helpers

Started by Vekseid, October 02, 2015, 09:51:26 PM

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Vekseid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LGHtc_D328

What with CNN's blatant asshattery of going straight from a video with someone saying they weren't going to name the killer and why, to immediately naming the killer and displaying his reasons (because publicity), I feel this is relevant.

When you post something about a tragedy - here or elsewhere - you are playing a role, however small. Please keep this in mind when you do.

Thank you.

BCdan

Having potential for fantastic abuse if it were law, I do wish we had a culture of Damnatio memoriae when it came to people who do terrible things.  Its not just CNN, I think NPR did something similar, though not as blatant with the same events.


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Lustful Bride

Quote from: BCdan on October 04, 2015, 01:46:15 AM
Having potential for fantastic abuse if it were law, I do wish we had a culture of Damnatio memoriae when it came to people who do terrible things.  Its not just CNN, I think NPR did something similar, though not as blatant with the same events.

From what I have seen, its most news sources....oh pardon me I mean "Media" sources, they stopped being the News long ago.

Still I have to agree, we need to let the killer's fade to obscurity, treat them like Freddy Krueger and truly kill them by forgetting of them, and giving all our attention to the victims and their families.

gaggedLouise

#3
Around my neck of the woods (Sweden), the mainstream media mostly do stick to the rule of not giving out the name of someone who committed a violent crime (or who is being questioned over one) as long as the fellas in question haven't been found guilty in court, unless the person or the crime is really high-profile. And as long as it's not something that happened overseas, of course! They're not always keen on opening up about the name/s afterwards either, but with a multiple killing, or rape plus murder or the like, they certainly would, even during the course of the trial. -  This kind of general no-names policy is a nice rule, though its purpose of pulling the focus off the person and back to the crime (and of avoiding defamation of someone who is never even taken to court) has become a bit hollowed out when the names of people who are just being questioned over a high-profile killing or something are often going to leak out onto internet forums anyway...

If something like a major school shooting happened here and it was clear within days who had done it, most newspapers would have no problems naming those person/s. When there was a failed suicide bomber attack in Stockholm five years ago, the name of the guy who had only managed to blow himself up, but who had aimed to sweep lots of people with him, hit the news media the next morning.

Also, this practice leads to some strange "aliases" when all of the media are talking about a suspect but nobody is going to name them until the trial is over - so you get these people dubbed as "the 35-year old", "the nightclub profile", "the Gothenburg hairdresser". "the ex-convict". "the famous football player" etc.  ;)

Good girl but bad  -- Proud sister of the amazing, blackberry-sweet Violet Girl

Sometimes bound and cuntrolled, sometimes free and easy 

"I'm a pretty good cook, I'm sitting on my groceries.
Come up to my kitchen, I'll show you my best recipes"

Beguile's Mistress

We had a situation here in Pittsburgh (the hometown of the station Fred Rogers worked at) where a student went on a stabbing rampage through his high school.  The man turned eighteen this past week so was in the news again because he has been moved from juvenile detention to prison and his attorney is working to keep him out of the general population.

At the time the stabbings took place there was quite a bit of focus on the actions of students and adults who tried to intervene or who did save some of their classmates.  There was also followup on the students who ended up in the hospital, several in critical condition.  That part of the story has received more attention that I've seen at other times but I feel it deserves additional airing.

My thought is that if the victims, survivors and those who aided in rescue and recovery were talked about and giving the praise they deserve it would take the notoriety away from the criminal and would discourage others to follow that path. 

Nachtmahr

Here where I live the most horrendous forms of crime are very rare. We don't really have shootings or mass-murder the way some much larger countries do. When something awful does happen it's just the most shameful display you can imagine though. 2 days straight of media coverage talking about who did it, where they live, how they grew up, who their friends are, why they did it and all of that.

It's such a strange culture of actually giving the murderer a voice by broadcasting his message loud and clear for hours or even days. I mean, shouldn't we show that doing this sort of thing isn't going to get anywhere? Today we've got loads of people who do the sickest things for literally no other reason than the fact that they want to obtain some form of fame.

I have to side with the people who say that the News aren't the News anymore. In today's world it's all about viewers, making money and being the juiciest of the networks - There's hardly any public service left. It's no wonder that so many people are so paranoid, thinking that ISIS are invading because a Muslim down the street wants to set up a summer camp, or being unsure of whether a random strange in front of you is reaching for a phone or a gun.

I know that most people consider FOX a joke, but just look at the audience they have and the things they tell them: Anyone remember the whole "No-go zones"-debacle? The fact that it's not illegal for a large network to broadcast something completely made-up as though it were news.. I mean, where I live people get punished for that sort of thing, but then again, where I live politicians aren't allowed to take to the stage and spew out vile racist and sexist claims. Here it doesn't matter if you're the prime minister, you'll get taken to court for that.

There's value in sharing tragedies with the public and letting us know that something awful has happened. Disasters around the world where people might need our help need to be shown and explained, but we should never make reality-TV out of a murderer out to get his or her message across and nothing else.
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Beguile's Mistress

There is a famous, or I should say infamous, line used by the media that most of them follow religiously.

"If it bleeds, it leads."

Advertising dollars drive everything and the only way to change the way stories are aired is for all of us to keep track of who pays for the commercials and ads on the media sources we visit and let those companies know we don't approve of their support of the salacious presentation they are giving us.

Not clicking into their site is one thing but letting everyone know we aren't buying what they are selling is the strongest weapon in our arsenal to fight the mess news reporting has become.

Cycle

I read the subject line as "Look for the Herpes."  >.>

gaggedLouise

#8
My favourite "suspect media alias" - the way they are invented by the papers around here, see my earlier post - was "the world champion".  :D That was about ten years back when a guy who had formerly been a member of the national team in a team sport (I think it was bandy, which isn't something very many countries play on a pro level) that had scored big at the championships, had post-career become the ringleader of a gang who were planning to strike at a number of value transport vans. So the papers would write "the world champion and his league were busy preparing for their string of high-value transport robberies".

To make it even better, liga (for 'league' in Swedish) can mean both a top-flight sports league and "criminal band outfit".  :P

Good girl but bad  -- Proud sister of the amazing, blackberry-sweet Violet Girl

Sometimes bound and cuntrolled, sometimes free and easy 

"I'm a pretty good cook, I'm sitting on my groceries.
Come up to my kitchen, I'll show you my best recipes"

Oniya

In this vein, everybody should be sending out positive energy to this guy.

QuoteThe one to remember is 30-year-old Chris Mintz, the student and Army vet who was shot at least five times while charging straight at the gunman in an effort to save others.
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Beguile's Mistress

#10
Those are the stories that need to be told and told non-stop.  That talk needs to be loud and out-shouting all the talk about the gunman.

I'm recalling all the stories about the passengers on the train in Europe who took down a terrorist.  I don't remember one story about the shooter.  May have missed reading them but then again I didn't go looking either.

Thesunmaid

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