Giving him the Power

With more and more details coming in about Virginia Tech shooter Cho
Seung-Hui, it seems the media can’t get enough.

NBC New York received a package from Cho yesterday that included a video manifesto and several photos.

According to NBC, the video was mailed in between the first and second shootings. In it, he blamed what he was about to do on “rich” kids. The photos were of him brandishing the very weapons police believe he used to carry out his killings.

"You forced me into a corner and gave me only one option" he said in the recordings. "You have blood on your hands that will never wash off."

Cho’s massacre of 32 people has gone down in history as one of the worst single-person shootings. But what NBC and other media outlets did with Cho’s manifesto is just as appalling.

As soon NBC received the package, it was on the air before police could even look at it. Not only that, but at a press conference, NBC told other media outlets that they would have to watch their newscast to see what the manifesto included.

It was here that the insensitivity of at least one media giant was exposed. NBC basically told parents, investigators and other media outlets that they would have learn the big question of “why?” on NBC’s terms.

But that was only the tip of the iceberg.

Once the other media outlets obtained the video and images, it was drilled into the heads of viewers and listeners with all of the insensitivity one would expect from big corporations trying to boost ratings.

NBC’s nightly news anchor Brian Williams even said “this was a sick business tonight, going on the air with this.”

It was not just NBC either. CBS and CNN were just as guilty. Ratings have turned our own media against us.

There was no need to broadcast the gun-brandishing images. There was also no need to broadcast Cho’s messages. By doing so, the media fell right into his trap.

All that was accomplished by broadcasting those images was strengthening Cho’s message. He effectively turned the media into his tool and they fell for it, hook, line and sinker. And by watching it, we gave him the power.

It’s already been established that Cho Seung-Hui was a sick and twisted individual. He even demonstrated the warning signs of someone who needed help.

But we ignored him and allowed him to grow into a merciless monster. And it’s only now that we listen.

And as I’ve said before, it is we who decide what appears on television. We made that monster and we gave power to his message. The only reason his pictures and words were aired is because we lend the media our ears.

We need to start listening in real life and stop listening to what corporations tell us we should hear. Then those corporations will be forced to pander to the real news.

Campus Crisis Boils Down to Negligence

It’s finally happened. Columbine? The University of Texas? They are nothing compared to what happened yesterday.

Thirty-three people dead, including the shooter, in two separate shootings at Virginia Tech. And for what?

That’s something that investigators will have to figure out.

But anyone who’s been a college student knows there are two possible reasons for a shooting of that caliber.

One is political protest. But given that the shooter was Asian and not of Arab or Muslim descent, that is unlikely. However, it can not be ruled out.

The second, and more common reason for violence of that magnitude, is classmate ridicule or injustice. The shooter was either mocked by fellow students or had some kind of discrepancy with the staff.

But in either case, this incident highlights the rather lax security on college campuses across the country, not just VA Tech.

The first shooting occurred shortly after 7 a.m. in a dorm and was considered to be a domestic dispute by officials.

The Virginia Tech campus was not put into lockdown until two hours after two people were killed in that shooting.

Then, 15 minutes after that email was sent out, the carnage erupted in Norris Hall across campus at 9:45 a.m.

For 30 minutes, the 6-foot tall Asian gunman walked calmly in an out of classrooms, leaving an uninterrupted trail of carnage. 30 people were killed before he took his own life. He even chained the exits to prevent escape, according to police.

As a former campus-dwelling student, I was horrified at the way the Virginia Tech staff responded to this travesty. And honestly, I believe the same lackluster police response would have happened on my campus at Central Connecticut State University as well as several other campuses across the country.

Warning students two hours after any kind of shooting is unacceptable; and the fact that the shooter was able to continue his rampage for a half an hour is absurd.

By waiting that amount of time, campus officials allowed the rest of that brutal rampage to take place. Their efforts to contain and handle the case themselves lead to the deaths of over 30 people.

What’s to stop this from happening at other colleges? Nothing. And believe me, most college campuses are ripe with disturbed students waiting for something to push them over the edge.

There is absolutely no security in many classroom buildings and few alternate exits, which makes those buildings a shooting gallery for any disturbed individual with a gun. This is generally because most classroom buildings are old and are low priority to campus revitalization efforts.

Thus more security measures need to be put in place there. But beyond that, the true resolution to a crisis like this resides within the student body.

I’ve seen students ridiculed by other students to the point of uncontrollable anger. Though none of them actually harmed anyone, the seeds of a potential disaster were there.

It seems officials look toward preventing extreme circumstances like a shooting, but never look to head the problem off at the source.

A couple of things can be done to aid avoid these circumstances.

College applications, like job applications, should be denied if a student has a criminal record or a history of psychological problems. True, this would prevent a perhaps redeeming education to certain problematic individuals. But how else are we to protect ourselves from the otherwise corrupt? How long before the next disgruntled student turns one of our educational institutions into a graveyard?

Granted not all problems are caught by a simple application screening; but it’s a start.

The other thing that needs to be done is an increased security presence, especially in classroom buildings. These are the most used buildings on the entire campus and virtually anyone from off the street could walk into them.

Though more security measures are unpopular with the student body and relatively seen as a restriction to rights and freedom, the only other alternative could be to end up in a body bag.

But perhaps the most important thing students could do themselves is think twice about relentlessly ridiculing students. That will never happen; but all it takes is a little kindness.

It could be all that stands between life and death.

A Victim of a Nation's Hypocrisy

An infamous radio talk show host was canned in a hypocritical frenzy of shameful finger pointing.

Don Imus, who has received more than his fair share of criticism and verbal abuse over this issue, was fired by CBS and MSNBC Thursday.

Imus referred to the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos" during his April 11 broadcast.

He met with Rutgers team members and their coach, Vivian Stringer, Thursday night at the Governor's mansion in Princeton, NJ.

After the meeting, Stringer told reporters that it was very productive and that "hopefully, we can put all of this behind us."

She did not say whether her team forgave Imus; but that statement implies it. She, like most people interviewed on the issue, feels that everyone makes mistakes and are entitled to forgiveness.

That is a sentiment that the gatekeepers of media are not willing to accept.

Imus said he was an "equal opportunity offender" and has proven that on more than one occasion.

So what was so different this time?

Somewhere along the line, someone all of the sudden decided to take offense. Just by chance, the wrong person was listening. And all it took was that one circumstantial listener to bring the legendary shock jock down.

It's unfortunate that all it takes is one individual or a small group to bring down a proud giant who has been doing the same thing for over two decades.

What he said was inexcusable, racist and just plain wrong.

But to oust the man over that particular issue is also wrong. One, because he's been saying similar, if not worse, things on the air during his long broadcast career. And two, other shock jocks like Howard Stern have said and done far worse, yet they are still on the air.

Granted, Stern made the move to Sirius Satellite radio to avoid such fiascos. But before that, his CBS radio programs featured naked women performing indecent acts, sexual and often offensive behavior and all sorts of discriminitory remarks in the name of humor.

Yet he remained on traditional radio for years, and still remains on the air with Sirius. Yes, the FCC has tried to bring him down. But he's still alive and kicking.

So how is it that someone like Don Imus, who has done far less offensive radio, gets brought down in course of week?

Because it's a hypocritical world where people are quick to point out other people's mistakes and not acknowledge their own.

Take the hypocrisy of the Reverend Al Sharpton. Last year, Sharpton said that the three Duke Lacrosse players were guilty of raping a stripper at a team party. He said there was no doubt in his mind that they did it.

But Thursday, the charges were dropped because there was no evidence to support the prosecution. North Carolina's attorney general stated in a public address that those players were innocent.

Where was Sharpton's apology to them?

He was quick to leap down Imus's throat at the blurting of three simple words. Yet he can't own up to his own mistake of publicly accusing three innocent college students.

Both Imus and the brave athletes from Duke University are victims of a hypocritical nation.

It's just a shame that ignorant people, especially those in the public eye, do not have the ability to see how their words can strip an individual of their life.

The truth is, we are all guilty of passing judgement where we should not. But it takes courage to admit when we are wrong.

Don Imus did that; and the Duke Lacrosse athletes have had their innocence proven. Yet people like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson continue to nail them to the cross in the name of racism.

It's easy for Sharpton and Jackson to blame flaws on racism because they can't see past the color of their own skin.

Who's to blame for Media Coverage?

If there's one thing there's been too much of in the news, it's Anna Nicole Smith.

Since her death on February 8, virtually every newscast, newspaper, and online publication has featured regular updates on the various debacles caused by the former playmate. It can't be avoided. Furthermore, it's not the media's fault.

First it was the anticipation leading up to the cause of her death, which was ruled an accidental overdose from sleeping pills. Story after story gave updates almost every second. If people did not like the story, like the weather in New England, all they had to do was wait a minute.

Then it was the inquest of her son Daniel's death. He died September 10, three days after Smith gave birth to baby Dannielynn. Officials say he died from a combination of methadone and antidepressants, but an inquest was launched to determine whether the death was accidental, a suicide or even a homicide.

Now the media paints the picture of a fierce battle waging in the Bahamas over the real father of baby Dannielynn. Howard K. Stern and Larry Birkhead have been facing off in court and the results of a DNA test could be revealed today.

And even after the results are released the media frenzy will continue as another battle wages over the proper guardian of Dannielynn.

While this circus continues, hundreds are dying in the Middle East, hundreds more are dying on the streets of our own cities from senseless gun violence, and the United States is in all sorts of economic trouble.

But what America can't get enough of is Anna Nicole Smith. The whorish lifestyle of the former playmate has mesmerized viewers and readers across the country.

And it's not the media's fault. News stations tend to pander more toward the popular topics among their audience in order to maintain that audience. In this case, people would rather hear about who had sex with an untalented southern hussy than the deaths of our sons and daughters in a foreign land.

The scapegoat for this coverage has always been the media. But the media only airs what people will watch or read.

So the next time you get fed up with the coverage on the 6:00 news, you don't have to look far to place blame. Just look in the mirror.

What We Call The News...

What We Call the News
JibJab.com

Letting Them Rest

The House of Representatives recently advanced a bill that would limit protesting at funerals. Protests would not be able to take place within 300 feet of the ceremony. Thirty-two states already have laws like these in place, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

But more needs to be done.

The bill was introduced after members of a Kansas-based Baptist Church protested several military funerals by dragging American flags on the ground and carrying signs saying "Thank God for I.E.D's." I.E.D's are the homemade bombs that frequently kill soldiers in Iraq.

As with most bills born after the beginning of the war in Iraq, this one swells with controversy. Families argue over their right to grieve in peace while protesters feel it's their First Amendment right to express their opinions at that particular time.

The Senate has already approved the bill. The House will continue its legislative process Friday.

It is very disconcerting that people who call themselves Americans have the audacity to disturb the final resting place of individuals who gave their lives for them. It's one thing to be against the war... but to bring those arguments to a funeral is not only distasteful, it's inhuman.

This bill has been called an infringement on the First Amendment's Freedom of Speech clause. But where is the line drawn? When does protesting become an invasion of privacy?

Defending such protests as Freedom of Speech is ridiculous. It's taking advantage of an overly generous law for the purpose of expressing extremist, chauvinistic opinions.

And being labeled as an extremist in this country is not a good thing. They are the kind of people who plot the destruction of the free world and plan for the deaths of millions of innocent people.

This legislation needs to be passed; but more steps need to be taken out of respect for the men and women who give their lives for this country. Protesting should be banned altogether from taking place anywhere near military funeral services.

No grieving family should have to deal with the scornful opinions of soulless protesters at a time when silence is needed most.

Iranians call ‘300’ an ‘obvious insult’

The Iranians have an obvious gripe over the adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel, 300.

In an associated press article, Javad Shamghadri, cultural adviser to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said the movie was an attempt by the United States to humiliate Iran. Shamghadri also said the U.S. was trying to “compensate for its wrongdoings in order to provoke American soldiers and warmongers” against Iran.

Some Iranians also say the Greeks-vs-Persians action flick insults their ancient culture and provokes animosity against Iran.

The movie itself raked in $70 million over it's first weekend and is based on the battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. In that battle, a force of 300 Spartans held off the massive invading armies of the Persian Empire at a mountain pass in Greece for three days.

The movie is as gruesome as Miller's other graphic novel-turned-movie, Sin City.

But this time it is not the violence that's drawing attention. It's the sexually flamboyant and almost homosexual depiction of the Persians that has the Iranians up in arms.

Director Zack Snyder has said he never intended to insult the Iranians or add to any hostility amongst the country and the United States.

But Iran suggests actions speak louder than words.

“It is a new effort to slander the Iranian people and civilization before world public opinion at a time of increasing American threats against Iran,” said the Ayende-No newspaper.

But do they have a right to be angry after the aggravation they've caused the world?

Plain and simple: The country is looking for scapegoat. They know most of the world is against their nuclear plans and they are looking for a way to pit other countries against the United States, the prime antagonist against Iran's program.

The movie is not likely to open there because of the government's restrictions on western films. So what's the big deal?

Western countries tolerate the harshly hypocritical and frequently advertised middle eastern views toward western civilization all the time. In fact, nearly 3,000 Americans died as a result of an extremist form of that view six years ago.

Hamshahri, another Iranian newspaper, has predicted that 300 will spark protests all over the world and that Iranians living in the U.S. and Europe will not be indifferent about this obvious insult.”

Good. Because The U.S. and Europe will not be indifferent to the building of nuclear weapons for genocidal reasons; not to mention the supplying of weapons to known terrorists.

I'll be owning this movie when it comes out on DVD.