In light of the tragic events in California this past week, it’s important that we all take a moment for prayer and reflection. Whatever your beliefs are, it’s important at this time to remember the victims and their families. It seems that when tragic events such as those that occurred in San Bernardino happen the media tends to focus on the suspects or the doers rather than the victims. As a society everyone searches for a reason, and many main stream media sources spend hours and hours talking about the suspects; they interview relatives or neighbors of the shooters and search for motives like they are police officers. In response to tragedy, the big news stations take more time giving attention to criminals and politics than the people who really matter in times of crisis: the victims and their families.
I have seen more news articles and more breaking news updates on the shooter’s potential motives or some politician turning this into an argument about gun control than I have about the victims. It shouldn’t be that way. No matter who perpetrated these horrific acts, they all want attention. They want the world’s eye on them, and when CNN, Fox, and MSNBC won’t stop covering the suspects, they give into their demands unknowingly. They are giving the shooters exactly what they want. Not only are they giving these shooters a way to become infamous, but they open the door for future people to commit these crimes. They show any terrorists who are planning these types of attacks that they too can be household names if all they do is commit an atrocity against innocent civilians.
It’s time we put a stop to it. It’s time we stop letting the victims be glossed over and forgotten. No longer can we allow people who fall prey to predators like the shooters in California to be nameless statistics. These are the names we should be praying for and rallying behind. We need to be supporting each other during times of crisis, not running around pointing fingers and passing blame. The amount of times I have heard politicians or presidential candidates use this tragedy as an excuse to bring up gun control is disgraceful. While I agree it is important to talk about policy and to talk about these issues, don’t stand on the memories of those lost to do it. Politicians have no right to use these victims or their families for their individual political agendas, and I for one am getting sick of how these crises are handled. It’s time we as a country stand up to the big media companies.
We need to turn our attention from the articles that put these criminals on a pedestal and put our focus on how we can help those affected by such tragedies. We have the ability to show the world that we are stronger than terror, and that we won’t be scared by fear mongering tactics. But we cannot do that by plastering the shooter’s picture all over national news; the only way to truly show the opposition that we are not afraid is to stand united with one another building each other and this country up. With all that being said, please don’t take this article as saying that we as citizens don’t deserve to be informed because we should. We should know what the cause of these attacks is, but we do not need to glorify it. A few brief minutes describing the circumstances surrounding the attacks can be used to keep Americans well-informed without propping the terrorists up. Instead, these news stations give terrorists free press and publicity, which is exactly what they want. I implore you, to please remember those who we have lost to mass shootings and gun violence these past few months and even years. Remember and pray for the families who must live on with their grief, but avoid, at all costs, the glorification of these terroristic acts both foreign and domestic.
