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| A photo I snapped of Seattle Pacific University in fall of 1987. |
Watching your coverage of the latest Washington State school shooting, I feel compelled to offer some timely advice.
Let's stop calling lone crazies "lone wolf." It's disparaging to the majestic and powerful wolves living in our forests. A former CIA official suggested "lone rat," and I couldn't agree more. (Some rat owners may disagree.) There's nothing about these sick individuals that should be looked upon as good.
On a similar topic, let's stop using words like "brazen" to refer to cowardly crimes against the innocent. Describe it for what it is--without the sensationalism. While you're at it, stop profiling and probing the killers' lives. Let's forget their names, faces, and their existence altogether. Instead, let's remember the names and lives of the innocent taken from us.
Because, mainstream media, I think you know that you're are a serious part of the problem here. Your reporting encourages copycat attacks, and it rewards the shooters with the fame and purpose they desired. This needs to stop; we must hold the media accountable.
May I suggest, without using the shooters' name or photo, that you consider exploring precisely how he came to get his hands on the gun, and what was the family situation. That information might truly help us get at the root of this societal illness, because the shooter is NOT a victim. Let's repeat that one more time, shall we? The school shooter is NOT a victim.
As for my fellow Christians, I suggest that these kind of tragedies are a direct result of the Culture of Death. We have devalued life at each and every turn and removed prayer from our schools; this is the logical result of moral relativism and the religion of self.
