Because as much as the media love to pivot the conversation after a mass school shooting to gun control, the pen is still mightier than the sword. These kids aren’t being inspired by an innate hunk of plastic and metal laying on a table, they’re inspired by the infamous glory of past shooters who they relate to … and no entity on the planet does a better job whether directly or indirectly, of glorifying these killers, and thereby providing the inspiration for the next one … than our mainstream media.
You may hate guns and want to ban every single one of them, but even you know what I just said is true.
Attention seeking in this country is at an all time high and if social media has proven one thing, it’s that there are people out there willing to do anything for attention, even if it means slaughtering classmates they hate but letting the ones they like live so that they can tell their story to every mainstream media news outlet who are itching like fiends to be the FIRST to do a deep sea dive into the killers’ background.
As they see it, they get to leave a legacy of carnage, and the higher the body count the better—and we all know Wolf-Blitzer will be right there with the death toll counter keeping score.
While they’re doing all of that, the next mass shooter is quietly watching in envy as the guy who was just like him gets his name etched into the history books as he’s showered with attention and even love letters from women who would otherwise never acknowledge his existence. And this kid will be inspired to not only do the same thing, but to outdo the last kid and get as one high school student once said to me, “a higher score.”
It’s time to put an end to this glorification of carnage in pursuit of ratings, because it is killing our kids. It’s time for Congress to step up and pass legislation putting common sense limitations on our mainstream media’s ability to report on these school shootings.
There’s no need to cover these shootings for two weeks straight plastering the kids’ face over and over and over again. Pass a law stopping the media from reporting the killer’s name or showing his face.
You can still report on the shootings … we just need reasonable laws that place limitations on the glory and fame you give to these killers and their twisted motivations…
You know that feeling of anxiety that shot through your body when I said the government should pass laws to limit the media’s ability to exercise their First Amendment right.
That’s the same feeling gun owners get when they hear people say the same thing about the Second Amendment. Hearing me advocate for the government’s ability to limit anyone’s First Amendment rights, including the media, should anger all of you watching this video, the same way it should anger you when anyone tries to use the same limitations on the Second Amendment.
Here’s the thing. I do believe our mainstream media news outlets should hold themselves accountable in the way they cover school shootings. They should take into account how over reporting on school shootings inspires other shooters.
I honestly believe ignoring shooters and not giving them any attention will do more to stop school shootings than any gun control measure ever will.
However, I vehemently disagree with the government infringing on the media’s First Amendment rights the same way I don’t believe the government should infringe on anyone’s Second Amendment rights.
The solution to the problem we all want to solve will only come with a firm commitment to all of our rights—not just the ones you think are important.
