If you’ve tuned into any sort of national print, television or online news in the past week, you have heard the name Jared Loughner. This name belongs to the troubled young man who fired into a crowd of innocent people at a rally for Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Twelve people were shot, and six people died. While such a tragedy should never go unnoticed or unanalyzed, the media circus surrounding the event is nurturing a dangerous climate, ripe for repeat incidents. If we, the consumers of the sensationalized media, do not support a different approach to reporting, we can only assume a similar tragedy will follow.
The headlines surrounding Loughner are numerous and at times ridiculous: “Loughner photographed himself wearing g-string, holding gun”, “Jared Lee Loughner’s secret online life on Earth Empires”, “Psychic told Loughner to get help” are a few that came up in a search. Regardless of Loughner‘s condition, everyone can take away that he is clearly a troubled young man. Sadly, American culture is often quick to jump to the conclusion that someone who might be in need of psychological help is just out-of-line and in need of discipline. When this happens, it is not uncommon to find young people, who are filled with confusion and dramatic emotion, in need of serious help. This cry for help or attention can often come in the form of regrettable actions.
In the words of our eloquent former commander in chief, “We want to seek out the evil doers and bring them to justice.” While justice in the wake of such tragedies must be considered, what should not be considered is what Loughner had for breakfast the morning of the shooting, what videos he gave a thumbs-up to on YouTube and what brand of deodorant he was wearing at the scene of the crime. By analyzing every aspect of Loughner‘s being, the news media is portraying him to be a sophisticated, deliberate individual whose actions were all living metaphors to a greater disturbed vision. Meanwhile, it is almost guaranteed that some other troubled young person is taking note of how to finally get noticed.
If the news media was actually interested in helping to prevent a future tragedy along the lines of this one, they would stop obsessing over the killer and focus more on the victims and heroes. Let the police and the psychologists decide the fate of Loughner. What’s done is done and the best anyone can hope is a full recovery for those injured in the attack and not having to endure a similar event in the future.
