Mall Shooting

[SydneyK]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

I guarantee you if I was a Christian who has protested at abortion rallies or something, my faith would be on the front page when I shot up a mall.

Not necessarily. If there were abortion-clinic patrons at the mall, and they were the target of your rampage, then it most definitely would be newsworthy. But, as far as we know, this man's faith has nothing to do with the incident at hand.

It'd be like the media saying, "He drove a red car to the mall. Obviously, all people who drive red cars are threatening to mall-goers." There's no obvious connection.

[shinerbock]

Sydney, I think what you said is the way it should be, but I don't think thats the way it is. When someone commits an random act of mass violence, your life gets examined. Considering the history of radical christian violence in this country, the fact that you were a rabid anti-abortion protester would be discussed in the media. Now, I'm not saying that the same should be done for this guy, I'm simply pointing out a double standard.

There is also a difference in contemplating whether his faith had anything to do with the act, and mentioning the simple fact. It would obviously inappropriate to make him being a muslim the story. However, when there is a very violent act committed by a Muslim from a war-torn homeland, I don't see the reasoning behind trying to avoid mention of his religion.

I do agree that media can make it a bigger deal than anything else, and I think that would be very irresponsible. On the other end of the spectrum I think many news outlets are doing the work of the Muslim faith, trying to paint it as a religion of peace. I'm not saying it isn't that, but I don't see protecting a faith's reputation as something a news media organization should become involved in.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

When someone commits an random act of mass violence, your life gets examined. Considering the history of radical christian violence in this country, the fact that you were a rabid anti-abortion protester would be discussed in the media.

It certainly was for Eric Rudolph after he was identified as the prime suspect in the Atlanta Olympic bombing. It's all part of trying to answer the obvious question: "Why would he do something like this?".