The relationship between mass murderers and the media is a long and controversial one. The decision by NBC to broadcast images supplied by the Virginia Tech assassin is considered by some to enable his horrific actions, understanding as he did that he would get a global forum for such egregious sociopathy.
In this sense, is NBC an accessory-after-the fact for these crimes or future ones of similar ghastly consequence? This regrettable symbiosis cannot be denied, but it begs that much greater wisdom, judgment and common sense be exercised by our media decision-makers. Running these images is bad enough, but NBC's decision to integrate them with its Nightly News musical score, endless promotion, and Brian Williams' breathless intonation illustrate a media today that has truly lost its way.
Isn't it time for the broadcast and cable media to turn down the volume? Enough already! Let the Virgina Tech community grieve. Let the true heroes be honored. Let the true healers speak as credible experts and enough with uninformed pundits, politicians and advocates using the situation to cast blame and to advance their own interests.
One such hero is the remarkable Dr. Liviu Librescu. A Holocaust survivor, this professor of aeronautical engineering actually blocked the classroom door with his body to give his students time to escape. The madman killed Librescu by shooting through the door. How would any one of us have reacted in the same split-second situation? Dr. Librescu served on Mahmood Tabaddor's dissertation committee. The latter describes him on a CNN blog as a "humble and gentle" man whose "courage was constant." Yes, the humble, gentle ones often emerge as heroes amidst the bluster and bombast of people merely pretending to be heroic.
One such healer is Dr. Richard Kadison, Chief of Mental Health Services at Harvard University. Dr. Kadison co-authored the 2004 book, College of the Overwhelmed: A Campus Mental Health Crisis And What To Do About It. On the subject of campus violence, Dr. Kadison wrote, "every time there is a campus tragedy like these, the ripple effect touches thousands of college students and makes them feel insecure and vulnerable, even if only momentarily. They suddenly see the frailty of life and the random nature of death. This realization that the college campus is not protected from life's horrors adds to their already heavy burden of maturation." (p. 79)
Heroes and healers help us try to make sense of the utterly senseless. Drs. Librescu and Kadison show us the way.
In this sense, is NBC an accessory-after-the fact for these crimes or future ones of similar ghastly consequence? This regrettable symbiosis cannot be denied, but it begs that much greater wisdom, judgment and common sense be exercised by our media decision-makers. Running these images is bad enough, but NBC's decision to integrate them with its Nightly News musical score, endless promotion, and Brian Williams' breathless intonation illustrate a media today that has truly lost its way.
Isn't it time for the broadcast and cable media to turn down the volume? Enough already! Let the Virgina Tech community grieve. Let the true heroes be honored. Let the true healers speak as credible experts and enough with uninformed pundits, politicians and advocates using the situation to cast blame and to advance their own interests.
One such hero is the remarkable Dr. Liviu Librescu. A Holocaust survivor, this professor of aeronautical engineering actually blocked the classroom door with his body to give his students time to escape. The madman killed Librescu by shooting through the door. How would any one of us have reacted in the same split-second situation? Dr. Librescu served on Mahmood Tabaddor's dissertation committee. The latter describes him on a CNN blog as a "humble and gentle" man whose "courage was constant." Yes, the humble, gentle ones often emerge as heroes amidst the bluster and bombast of people merely pretending to be heroic.
One such healer is Dr. Richard Kadison, Chief of Mental Health Services at Harvard University. Dr. Kadison co-authored the 2004 book, College of the Overwhelmed: A Campus Mental Health Crisis And What To Do About It. On the subject of campus violence, Dr. Kadison wrote, "every time there is a campus tragedy like these, the ripple effect touches thousands of college students and makes them feel insecure and vulnerable, even if only momentarily. They suddenly see the frailty of life and the random nature of death. This realization that the college campus is not protected from life's horrors adds to their already heavy burden of maturation." (p. 79)
Heroes and healers help us try to make sense of the utterly senseless. Drs. Librescu and Kadison show us the way.