Adrift at Sea —Dan’s blog on dankim.com

Why give in to the criminals? Why give in to the terrorists?

A while back, I wrote about one of the more sane responses to terrorism—you can read that post here. Why should we help the criminals and the terrorists achieve their goals? I think the media in this country has to re-think its approach to covering the attacks of deranged individuals, like Mr. Cho. I think the media has to re-think their approach to how they treat terrorist attacks as well.

How different do you think the attitude of the criminals would be, if they knew that their message would not be repeated—not be broadcasted—not be made public. Many of the individuals behind similar attacks are doing so for the publicity they can generate. Wouldn’t removing this publicity would greatly weaken their reasons for doing so.

Cho, the perpetrator of Virginia Tech massacre, sent a package to NBC. Exactly what news value was there in airing and publicizing the irrational ramblings of a sociopath? Why should the media help accomplish what this very disturbed individual wanted to do? How much would it affect the quality of the news media coverage be if they left Cho’s video unaired?

Likewise, how much would it affect the general news coverage, if they left out the “terror” aspects of terrorist attacks? This isn’t to say that we shouldn’t do everything in our power to prevent incidents like that of this past April 16th, or that of September 11, 2001. But we should not reliquish control over how the events are reported and give in to the desires of those committing such heinous actions.

We should refuse to be terrorized. Our media and our government shouldn’t aid the terrorists in their efforts either. We don’t need to let the bad guys win. Live your life fully and try to minimize the effects of these terrible events on your life as much as possible, or you’re letting them win.