On June 17, 2015, nine people lost their lives after a mass shooting in Charleston, SC. I'll spare you the details…I'm sure that you already know quite a bit about it, and it's likely that the majority of articles you read this week will be about this event. But that's the underlying issue here, and it's the main reason why I won't delve into detail. Because frankly, I think that the over abundance of information is part of the problem.
The shooter (I refuse to cite him) has become an overnight celebrity. Yes, he is being shown in a negative light. Yes, he has became a nationally despised figure--but he has dominated the media in a way that even the biggest movie stars rarely come close to. His name, image, every detail of his life in fact, have been plastered on every news channel and will likely be the epicenter of the news for another week.
Why is this? I'll be the first to admit that I took time out of a vacation to turn on the TV to watch the killer be confronted by family members of the shooting's victims. I completely bought into the hype, staring at the TV, mouth agape, watching as his face filled the screen. And you can be sure that the kid's court hearing will be sensationalized even more. Soon this murderer will be a trending topic and the premium television icon for days. Think about it...Casey Anthony, George Zimmerman and Scott Peterson are all household names thanks to the insane amount of attention the media gave their crimes and subsequent court procedures. Casey Anthony's trial was practically a ritual for some--it was the thing to watch, tweet about, talk about and obsess over.
We, as a society, can get so caught up in the media frenzy and spectacle made over these people that we can forget to think about the implication of what we're doing. We're glorifying horrible people who do horrible things. I'm not saying that the media intends to put these killers and criminals on pedestals and I'm not saying that people who follow their cases closely support them in any way. But the fact is that in doing so, regardless of how much you vocally express your hate for these figures, every time you tune in to watch them or read through an article about them, you're feeding into the hype machine and giving them attention--attention that they probably covet.
I was only five years old when the Columbine massacre occurred, but I am familiar with the details (because, of course, it became a huge media story, the details of which crept into every home with a television set or Internet access); the motives of the two shooters were hinted at in journals that they had left behind, many of which lamented over their lack of attention or popularity at school. What was the purpose of their shooting rampage? Were they just evil people with evil plans? Or did they crave attention? Did they do it to finally be noticed, to leave their names on the map, make something of themselves? Nobody will ever know their true motives for sure, but if getting fame and media hype was indeed their goal, they achieved it--they're more well-known than any of the "popular" kids at Columbine High School in 1999. And they have the media and its audiences to thank for it.
The way I see it, the issue of gun control will never be resolved--the Constitution has always been the Holy Grail of this country and there will always be people who will disagree on the proper way to control violent gun crimes. But luckily, there's a simpler solution and it starts by changing the channel. Stop giving people who do terrible things so much screen time. Stop making any ordeal involving these people a television event. There seems to have been a surge in gun-related killings over the past few years--have people become crazier? I don't think so. I just think that crazy people now realize the power crime can have on an entire country. The lesson society is exuding in their handling of criminal cases is that murder will give you fame. And isn't getting fame the American dream? For some people with their head screwed on wrong, it very well may be.
I hope that this is the last thing you read about the Charleston shooter. We should be focused on the victims and praying for their grieving families (and being able to do so without having the murderer's face plastered everywhere we go). Leave the fame and attention for people who actually have talent or do great things; by giving news channels the ratings they want, the problem of sensationalizing killers will only be exacerbated. Looking forward, there may be a way to prevent crimes like this from happening that's at least worth a try. And that is a much more solve-able problem than gun control, because it's something you can fix starting now.
