In honor of Boston Marathon; Do you suppose it's possible to stop publicizing the names and faces of murderers? Refer to assassins and murderers only by their initials or by the names of their victims. I wonder if doing so would send the message to would-be killers that no, you will not be remembered for this, your name will not go down in history, nobody will remember you, nobody will care who you are. You are Murderer, Evil, and you have no face, no name. *You don't really exist.* I just wonder if removing the prize of infamy would deter at least some lost souls from committing heinous crimes. I just wonder.
I think it's possible. I read the book "The Tipping Point" a while back and it had a really strongly backed theory that the publicity we give to murders, suicides, etc. actually causes more of the same. I think that's why we've seen such a rash of violence since Sandyhook. Because it's constantly in the news.
I think it could help. But are the medias would be willing to do that by themselves (like without any rules coming from gouvernment or something)? I don't think so.
It is sad, but telling the ''history'' of the killers is sometimes what people watching the news/reading the paper are looking for. People wants to know why they got there, in a really weird curious kinda creepy way...
I completely agree! We give these lunatics way too much attention and it breeds more lunatics. I think it has to do with this inherent "need to know everything" we've become as a society. Honestly, there are some things I really don't want to know.
When I was watching the local news a while back it was just one negative story after another. It got me thinking, what if for every negative story, the media had to report at least 2 positive stories. I wonder if it would make a difference.
I know it will never happen, but it's a nice thought.
Well I'm about at the point where I'm going on a news hiatus. I've had enough. Shootings, stabbings, suicides, threats of nuclear war, now a terrorist attack at a marathon. Gah. I can't take any more bad news.
It honestly depends on the killer. Depending on the criminological theory being applied, it could be said that if we do post their names, we go along with "shaming" which has been used to deter crime from happening for thousands of years. Ofcourse, you also have killers who do it to be remembered and have their "15 minutes of fame"
For this to work, you would really need to know what type of killer it is and the reasoning behind the murder. I'm 3 years into my B.A in Criminal Justice and this issue gets brought up at least once a semester. It honestly depends.
Well I'm about at the point where I'm going on a news hiatus. I've had enough. Shootings, stabbings, suicides, threats of nuclear war, now a terrorist attack at a marathon. Gah. I can't take any more bad news.
Actually Candeka has a point- we recently had a serial killer here in Anchorage that took his own life because he didn't want any more news about him that might reach his little daughter. He tried to trade information about his crimes in return for no news coverage and execution date. So he was a rare case of a killer who didn't do it for the fame.
That said, I think it's a safe bet that most of them get off on the attention and that not giving it to them would be best.
I was thinking about this Sum today too. Like, "Why the Boston marathon" What were they trying to prove? The sensationalism had to be part of it and well, they are getting it. So far I've said nothing on FB, but I don't want to come across as being unsympathetic, but I'm torn.
Candeka I am referring to modern day terrorists....
oOo. Sorry, I just assumed murderers since you said murderers and killers lol! Again though, depending on the type of crime and the reasoning behind it, it may not actually prevent further attacks. In fact, it could even cause such terrorist groups to escalate the violence to a point where they could not be ignored.
I have so often wondered this exact same thing. I'm curious how such an approach might affect the justice system? I can't even begin to understand, but I've frequently wished we could at least give the approach a test run!
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