April 19, 2007
Was a Movie to Blame for VTech Rampage?
I don't think this terribly disturbed young man needed a movie to spur him on to do the horrendous things he did; the film may have, at most, provided a "pose" for him in the commission of his crimes.
As for the debate over whether NBC should have shown the photographs and played the audiotapes mailed them by the shooter: No, they should have resisted this temptation. They have given him exactly what he wanted—infamy. And they gave themselves what they crave—ratings.
Now, will that—media immortality—spur others to commit equally heinous acts?
And God rest the souls of all the slain—and let us not forget the courage and self-sacrifice of a true hero, Liviu Librescu.
As for the debate over whether NBC should have shown the photographs and played the audiotapes mailed them by the shooter: No, they should have resisted this temptation. They have given him exactly what he wanted—infamy. And they gave themselves what they crave—ratings.
Now, will that—media immortality—spur others to commit equally heinous acts?
And God rest the souls of all the slain—and let us not forget the courage and self-sacrifice of a true hero, Liviu Librescu.
