After the Houston tragedy became the breaking news, I then turned to my local news and they were reporting of local news events. One of the most remarkable stories was of a little girl who was abducted in front of her own home. She used the tools she had learned in school. She screamed all the way as this man that abducted her sped off. As reported by Eyewitness News (An ABC affiliate in NYC) she gave the abductor a headache and he released her. So, the training she received saved her life. She was also able to give law enforcement a description of her abductor which can save the lives of many more. That is when I feel the news is at its best.
But, getting back to NBC’s airing of Cho Seung-Hui’s words, it is almost a double edge sword. While it let us into the world of a deranged killer which caused a backlash against NBC; could that lend others to mimic his behavior and actions? While the other cable news stations were blasting NBC for airing that tape; what were they doing? They were airing it as well. Did we really need to see his video tape? At this point, I do not know. It used to be when I was growing up; we did not witness such words of rage coming into our living rooms from a killer.
The ones that I care more of are the victims as they viewed this broadcast in which some relived that moment in time. They have their own minds that will replay the events of that day for years to come. Will the tape act as a trigger to relive that event? In a feed called Why We Fight you will hear from a man who lost his son in the Twin Towers. He angrily called up NBC saying, why must you keep showing the towers falling over and over? Is the release of Cho’s tape similar to the events of that horrific day? Does viewing this real-life violence better us? I am beginning to wonder that. I feel it desensitizes us if viewed over and over.
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