As a result, the media that cover these events dictate what and how they are shared. However, it only helps to feed our sense of fear towards terrorism as well as fuel the Muslim stereotype. In fact, according to a study on deconstructing the terrorism- news media relationship, “terrorists use media as a tool to gain increased coverage and communicate their message,” but sometimes the news does it for them (Ross). For example, in the UCLA shooting, where two men were killed in a murder-suicide, the news’ portrayal of the situation led many to believe that there were multiple attackers instead of just the one. While this may not directly convey terrorists’ message, it helps to spread unnecessary fear of terrorism in our communities. However, if we were to instead reach out to local mediums, like the news or paper, and spread basic information about Islam, it would possibly have the reverse effect and be a faster more effective way in changing the general public’s perception of Muslim Americans to be more
Adam Lankford, a criminal justice professor at the University of Alabama, sheds new light on the issue of public mass shootings. Using quantitative data from American and international reports of 171 countries between the years 1966-2012, Lankford concluded that the rate of public mass shootings is greatly dependent on the civilian ownership rate of a country.
In his book, The Culture of Fear, Barry Glassner covers the methods and shortcomings of the television and print media and their motives when reporting crimes. Glassner respects our basic understanding that specific crimes are often sensationalized. He explains how the murder of a young Gulf War combat veteran upon returning home was used to turn the public’s attention towards violent crime in America. Unfortunately the young veterans’ death was actually a planned murder for insurance money, which the media neglected to mention. Glassner indicates that workplace violence and murders are portrayed as something akin to a disgruntled worker syndrome, but the reality is that 90% of workplace murders are committed by those intending to rob (Glassner
Using loaded diction, the author drives in his point that explicit media coverage is harmful. He claims that the “public glorification” that comes after the mass shooting, encourages others that may want to do the same because they receive attention from millions of people. The use of the phrase “public glorification” suggests that these criminals have an unwavering desire for attention and a narcissistic mentality. Thompson claims that mass shootings have “inherent and unambiguous value” and that it would be “absurd” to not report on it. Claiming that the mass shootings have been permanently placed in news broadcasting, and also that it would be wrong or impossible to ask the reporters to disregard them suggests that there is no way to stop the spread of mass
The impact the news has on people’s emotions is very strong and can cause a lot of problems. “He asked the clerk to call a local television station. He wanted cameras there to film his rampage” (Whisenhunt). Michael Brandon Hill wanted people there that can get the information out faster because he knew the effect it would have on the people hearing about it. People commit these acts because it is “a desperate act committed by a deeply troubled individual who wants to die and feel validated in the process” (Whisenhunt). Whether it’s just trying to get the information out there or trying to prevent these situations, news reporters make society uneasy because of the information they are putting out into the world
Mental illness significantly affects many around the world. In fact, about four-hundred and fifty million people worldwide suffer from one or more of the different known mental illnesses. That is one in every four people. Severe mental health issues such as severe anxiety disorder, antisocial personality disorder, schizophrenia, or sensory perception disorder are illnesses which are common among the people responsible for the numerous mass shootings in America. Many believe the possession of firearms in the hands of the mentally ill are the real cause of mass shootings. I agree with this statement. However, I do not solely blame the criminal for their actions due to their mental illness. Creating stricter gun laws, expanding mental health awareness
Gun violence is an unquestionable issue in America, with the United States ranking as one of the worst with both homicides and suicides using guns. That being said, we outnumber Mexico in gun related deaths and among first-world countries we rank far above others in the number of gun deaths, such as England and Australia. Consequently, we live in one of the only first world countries that does not have extensive gun laws and restrictions to gun access. Aside from the countless homicides and suicides by firearm in this country, one particular issue within this predicament is mass shootings, with the most recent mass shooting occurring on February 14th, 2018 at a high school in Parkland, Florida where 17 people were killed. Although, it may seem like an easy fix to just implement gun control laws into our society to eliminate gun violence, but it is important to note that Americans own nearly half of all firearms globally, which is roughly 325 million guns; when
This article by Wondemaghen analyzes the theory of claims-making in school shootings and how this leads to the creation of ‘social’ problems. He asserts that these social problems often become the main focus of public attention, omitting objective subjects found in mass shootings. I will try to renovate this theory to show that this distortion of societal problems occurs as a result of social media’s platform of ‘death drive’, which frames only the violent details of school shootings, inevitably leading to arbitrary
What decision-making methods were utilized in the case? According to Charles E. Lindblom, there are two types of decision-making methods: the root method and the branch method. The root method, which he also calls he rational-comprehensive method, is an approach to decision-making where an individual chooses an objective and ranks all the relevant values in obtaining the objective. The person making the decision must “formulate many possible alternatives to achieve the stated objective.” This type of method is heavily based upon theory. In addition, the second type of method Linblom talked about is the branch method, which he also called the successive limited comparisons method. This method involves the decision-maker selecting “among the
America is a nation blossomed with prosperity, yet it is notorious for the proliferation of appalling violence and homicides. By focusing on the Columbine High School massacre, Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine explores the environment/causes that lead to shooting tragedies and exposes the culture of fear that governs the unstable American society. On April 20, 1999, two senior students, Erik Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 12 students and severely wounded 21 others with a 9mm carbine and a 12-gauge shotgun at Columbine High School. The bloodbath is directly related to the extensive accessibility of ammunitions. Through an investigation, Moore shockingly discovers that a Michigan local bank rewards free guns to customers who open new
Mass Shootings have been pretty common in the U.S. In the past 30 years or so. According to the Congressional Research Service, there have been 78 mass shootings in the United States since 1983. The shootings have resulted in 547 deaths and 1,023 casualties. Mass shootings are only responsible for a very small percentage of deaths in the United States, but mass shootings are happening more often than ever, a mass shooting happens on average one time a month. Most of the suspects of mass shootings are young males who usually commit the crime on their own with careful planning of the event. Most perpetrators have a fascination with weapons and the shootings usually occur in broad daylight in public places (Frances).
In the last 52 years there has been 150 mass shootings in the U.S. In the 50 years before that, their were just 25. In those 52 years 1,077 people were killed. In the year 2017 alone, 112 people were killed. The rise of mass shootings is no longer going unnoticed and many people are fighting for change. This first Major Mass Shooting took place in Austin, Texas on August 1st, 1966. An architectural engineering student named Charles Whitman, took the elevator up to the 27th floor observation deck in the clock tower at the University of Texas. He then proceeded to kill 13 people and wound 31. This introduced America to the Mass shooting. On July 18th, 1984 James Huberty shot up a McDonalds in San
Various preventable high profile violent crimes involving the use of firearms have increasingly occurred numerous times in recent years. The events from Virginia Tech, Charleston Church, Colorado Movie Theater, Sandy Hook shootings along with others are clear messages displaying why the United States should implement greater gun control laws. The mass shootings are only increasing with time as little is done to take preventative measures on gun possession. According to Mona Chalabi from The Guardian, “An analysis from the Harvard School of Public Health and Northeastern University last year found that between 1982 and 2011 mass shootings occurred every 200 days on average. Between 2011 and 2014, they occurred every 64 days” (Chalabi, 2015,
The millennials generation have witnessed 65 mass shootings since 1990. The number of victims? 936(Mass shootings in America, Follman; 2015). The first mass shooting of the generation occurring on September 14th, 1990 when 47 year old Joseph Wessbecker entered his former workplace and gunned down 9 people, and injuring 12 others before committing suicide. The most recent mass shooting happened on October 1st, 2015 when 26 year old Chris Harper Mercer opened fire at Umpqua Community College in which he killed 9 people and injured 9 others. Wessbecker and Mercer had one thing in common, They both suffered from mental health problems. Out of the 65 shootings, over 50% of them were caused by people has prior signs of mental illness. But, there
In recent years, the American public has been continually plagued by mass shootings; events where an individual, or individuals, with access to firearms, open fire on people, committing seemingly nonsensical acts of violence. Compared to other developed countries the United States holds the highest rates of gun violence and mass shootings, both of which are complex issue that affects American regardless of socioeconomic status. Although the definition of a mass shooting varies depending on the organization, the most widely recognized definition is one used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); as defined by FBI a mass shooting is an incident where at least four persons are killed or injured with a firearm in a random act with little