Comments on: A Tale of Two Mass Shootings

By: suzy blah blah

suzy blah blah — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 06:14:57 +0000

-thanks tra. In the big picture, the question of what causes the cultural disease these incidents are symptoms of, i think has to do with separation and alienation. And suzy believes the antidote is (at the risk of sounding like a cross between a woowoo hippie and Pat Robertson) –love.

By: tra

tra — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 03:39:11 +0000

I think Suzy’s nailed it, on both counts.

By: suzy blah blah

suzy blah blah — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 03:19:07 +0000

- Marilyn Manson in Michael Moor's Bowling for Columbine .

By: Daevasongh

Daevasongh — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 03:14:56 +0000

Anyone remember how the MSMedia shut down international news in the wake of 9/11 and the war on Iraq as part of the usual practice of demonizing the “enemy”? Can’t have an informed, discerning, or compassionate populace when a country is going to war.
There is a meditation center in central Oregon led by a man from northern India with the regionally popular last name of Singh. A number of posters with pictures of the soon to visit from India meditation teacher papered the local towns. As is normal with this and the Sikh religion, his picture showed the usual white attire and turban. This was in 2002 or 2003. When I shopped at the nearby little mom and pops country store, the proprietor was still laughing over an out of the area electrician who had had a repair at the meditation center and afterwards arrived at the country store pale and shaking with fear. He claimed that pictures of Osama Bin Laden were everwhere and this was a terrorist group. The teacher looked nothing like OBL but in the eyes of this man the association was made. The very straight store owner set him straight about the benign nature of the group and wrong ID of the man in the picture. As has been mentioned in the press, after 9/11 many turbaned Sikhs were attacked by Americans, as white racial prejudices were stirred by a press intent on demonizing, not educating Americans about Muslims.
Would there be more coverage if the church was a Catholic cathedral or a Jewish synagogue. You betcha!

I feel so sorry for the many victims of these crimes and their families

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 01:45:13 +0000

There is a total difference of attitude. The media can’t handle racial issues.

By: eddenson

eddenson — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 00:26:16 +0000

Alley, you are right. It is Brian Williams we are watching. Peter Jennings died in 2005, it says on the internet.

Eric – read the article. and it doesn’t seem to have been worth starting a discussion about. Quotes like this are just silly “But you can bet some observers will also surmise that the setting of the shooting — a worship space used by followers of a religion that may seem foreign to many American viewers — makes the story less “relatable,” in industry parlance. And while no one would dare admit to similar thinking about victims like Amardeep Kaleka, son of the temple’s president, such charges will undoubtedly be forthcoming from some quarters.” I did like the images of the newspapers, for some factual support for his premise that there is less coverage. But I attribute it to nothing more sinister than less bizarre elements in the story of the Temple than the Theater. And, perhaps, that the theater shootings are so random. Not even any hatred behind them, if that makes sense. We all could be targets of random shooters even if we changed our politics or our religion. Anyway, much ado about nothing I think.

By: alley

alley — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 21:25:18 +0000

To Ed: You watched Peter Jennings? I believe that good man died a few years back. Are you sure you saw him?

Rachel Maddow led with the story of the Temple last night, but I really do believe that there is far less intense coverage of this murderous crime than there was of the Colorado killings.

And yes, Eric, flags are at half mast.

By: Eric Kirk

Eric Kirk — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 19:45:28 +0000

suzy – That’s actually a good point. Another difference is the fact that the Aurora killer is still alive, and his motive is still a mystery.

By: suzy blah blah

suzy blah blah — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 18:32:20 +0000

-the main difference besides the the number of victims is the randomness of the Aurora killings. That’s what makes it seem more terrifying to your average American. It could be me or you sitting in a theater whereas the Oak Creek killings were planned out and done to a select group of Sikhs in
their temple. You can imagine it happening to you or your friends in the case of Aurora, but the Oak Creek scene doesn’t seem as personally threatening.

But as to the larger social significance, i don’t know, the Oak Creek killings could be seen as being even more terrifying because of their ethnic violence and the history of that. As Dave pointed out, we may be seeing more of this. And what could that lead to?

By: Eric Kirk

Eric Kirk — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 18:30:56 +0000

Ed and Dave – Don’t know if you’ve hit the first link yet, but it’s what inspired the post.