North American media encourages copycat suidide killers

Suicide killers at universities and schools across North America and Canada are able to encourage copycat killers thanks to massive publicity by the media. Suicides who take no victims with them are not given coverage because society does not want to encourage repetitions of the disruptions (usually commuter and traffic) that they cause. However, potential suidide killers are encouraged by the guarantee of massive media coverage and the limited 'immortality' that this confers to take others with them in order to gain 'the front page.' It seems that the media is concerned about discouraging commuter disruptions but is happy to encourage copycat killings of students by killer suicides. Please, stop the coverage of the killers and let them know in advance that they will vanish from history when they die. Guaranteed anonymity might discourage suicide killers.

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News & Politics

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• searlesworld.com

[90210411]

There's no easy solution all around, though a "Mass murderer = DUMBASS" ad campaign might have some results. Not to downplay what's obviously a heartfelt appeal, but you can't rely on the media to affect moral choices entirely.

[MagicMan2475]

I bet you have a lot of friends

[radiozins]

i bet this man has lots of friends!

[eoguy]

While I don't support media sensationalism I don't think you can blame the media for a person's actions.

[RobinEdgar]

"The horror. . . the horror. . ." Is this Jeremy Searle's impersonation of Colonel Kurtz or something? It is quite revealing how Jeremy Searle advocates Pharaonic (aka Stalinistic. . .) censorship and suppression of news reports about newsworthy events in a misguided effort to dissuade "copycat suidide (sic) killers). Does Searle delusionally believe that censoring and suppressing news reports about suicide bombers would somehow bring an end to the use of such tactics.

[fpierre]

Good points, however, you are comparing apples and oranges. ONE person jumping off a bridge, media will ignore it. 33 people jumps off a bridge, the media will probably NOT ignore it. The university killing would not have made international news if he had killed one student and injured 2. The severity of the case made it impossible to ignore it.

But I do agree that the media has put too much attention on the Virginia Tech shooting.