And so another heart-breaking tragedy with the start of the school year. Umpqua Community College has a mass-casualty shooting. As bleak as it always is, there is a significant ray of hope. The sheriff of Douglas County refused to speak the name of the shooter, making clear that media attention to the perpetrator is a major factor in perpetuating these events. My jaw dropped as he spoke these words on television. So! A glimmer of sanity.
I am preparing what would be needed to generate great numbers of emails to major media networks and outlets immediately following the next school/college shootings. We need to pressure them to stop highlighting of the shooter and, instead, provide the stories of compassion and the courageous steps toward recovery communities make in the aftermath of these events.
There is great positive potential if media coverage ignores shooters. It is so worth the effort that I am contacting several groups so we might work together to encourage our many constituents to overwhelm specific media outlets with messages insisting that they recognize their contribution to the continued escalation of school shootings.
I’m hoping to be prepared to send emails to those in the CMI database in the immediate aftermath of the next shooting with perhaps five links to chosen major media management. I want it to be easy for those of you who are interested in supporting this effort. Think how it could change the phenomenon if shooters gained no notoriety! I hope when we begin this effort, you’ll take a quick moment to join us in generating a loud and clear message to media to take responsibility for their part in this deadly phenomenon.