NBC ENDORSES KILLER'S MARKETING STRATEGY

DIGGING DEEPER
By Ivan G. Goldman

When someone commits random murders in order to be heard, the media have no obligation to help the murderer. In fact, they're obliged to do exactly the opposite. If the Virginia Tech killer were virtually certain no one would see his video manifestos, perhaps he’d have made different plans, maybe even seen a counselor.

But NBC, which received the package, went in the direction that, oddly enough, guaranteed NBC (a subsidiary of General Electric) bigger profits, and gave the murderer precisely what he craved. This killer wasn’t the first to commit crimes in order to be heard. In fact, quite a number of sick murderers in recent history have been failed writers who committed atrocities to get what their limited talents couldn’t get for them – a voice in the mass media.

In 1995 The Washington Post and New York Times published the rants of The Unabomber, who in fact was not just a hermit but also a failed academic no one paid attention to until he started blowing up people through the mail.

Diaries of the three demented lone gunmen who shot George Wallace, John Lennon, and Ronald Reagan were published in full. The shooters made absolutely sure they could be found after the deed, just in case they didn't survive (All three did). The shootings were part of their marketing strategy. Awful songs written by Charles Manson were recorded for mass distribution. Laws are now on the books to prevent these geeks from obtaining financial rewards for their deeds, but most of them aren’t looking for money anyway. It’s fame they’re after.

Lots of corporate media dig deeply into the lives of the shooters, claiming they want to know more about them so we can all prevent repeat instances. Actually they’re just pandering to the lowest common denominator while giving the criminals exactly the fame they craved. If these media were so determined to help society, why, for example, didn't they pay any attention to the hump on Bush's back while he debated Kerry? The New York Times had nailed down the facts behind Bush's cheating heart, necessitated by his undersized intelligence, but failed to print them. To this day no accredited White House reporter has ever raised the issue with Bush, even though a NASA scientist in charge of photographic imagery got to the bottom of the case. But I digress.

When you give twisted people exactly what they want, you’re going to get more twisted people committing more crimes so they can obtain exactly what they want. It's like paying for the return of hostages. You may get them back, but you'll also create more hostages. GE-NBC executives knew all that when they showed those videos, though you’ll never get them to admit it. Notice that I don’t publish the names of any of these pathetic failed writers-turned-killers. That’s precisely how to treat them.

We can’t ignore their crimes, but we can erase their names and messages even before they appear. We can promise to give them precisely the anonymity which sparked their ugly acts.
I’d promise to boycott NBC, except I don’t watch any of its crap anyway. What about you?