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Admiration for JU, Scorn for the Media

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Admiration for JU, Scorn for the Media

from JoeUser Forums

By now, we have all heard about the senseless tragedy that occurred at Va. Tech (or VPISU if you want the official name).  For most of us here on JU, it was something that the 24 hour news services had to play over and over and over again, even when there was nothing new to report.  That is not new (or news) as we have come to expect it, and most at JU could escape it by simply turning off the 24 hour News Channels.

Not so in the Old Dominion, where we are subject to that coverage not only on all the regular news media outlets (CNN, Fox, MSNBC), but our local TV and Radio stations as well.  Tech is the largest school in Virginia, and there is hardly anyone in the state that does not know someone, or is related to someone, who goes there, myself included.

Several articles have been posted on JU about it, and with almost no exceptions, all have been reverent and respectful of those who lost their lives, and the families that lost loved ones.  There is a lot of anger in those articles, no doubt about that.  But that anger is directed towards the media and the blame game that started up almost before the shooting ended.  An anger that is, IMHO, justified at the vultures of the media.

It seems that the MSM has redefined its job.  Not just to report the news, but to assign itself the role of Nation conscious, and watchdog.  Along with Judge, Jury and Executioner.  They long ago stopped reporting the tragedy, and have sunk into a morass of finger pointing, blame flaming, and cries of outrage that "Someone" or "something" was not done to prevent this from occurring.  When sane, rational people can only feel sorrow and empathy for the victims of this event.

I was discussing this with a friend this morning.  And in that, I remarked that I was so glad my son and daughter were not at Tech (one goes to the other University in Virginia - the other wont be there for 4 months).  He stated it could have happened anywhere.  Yes it could have, but that was not my point.  It did happen at Tech, and I was not one of the 25,000 families that could not function yesterday worrying about if their loved one was among the victims.

It could have happened anywhere.  And sadly, probably will at some time in the future happen somewhere else.  And that is the real lesson that we are learning from this tragedy.  It has happened elsewhere, both in the USA and in other countries.  As we have seen and heard, no place is safe from demented people with a mission.  And nothing can be done to stop such people in a society that is open and free.

But when it does happen, we can act like the vultures of the press - looking for a body to blame and descend upon. Or we can act like the people of JU.  Mourning the loss, and offering moral support and comfort to the victims and their families.

The latter is what I am proud of at JU today (and yesterday).  The former is why I have no respect for what constitutes the Mainstream Media today.

6,176 views 34 replies
Reply #26 from JoeUser Forums Top
But again, I am not going to crucify them because they failed to recognize something they had no experience with. Indeed, no one had the experience to recognize what was to come.


ya, it's really easy to play Monday morning quarterbacks here but in all reality this is NOT a common occurrance and one they had never encountered before. I'm sure they are all saying they would have done things differently no matter what they did.

I just got back from Liberty University in VA. My son is a journalist major. He was supposed to go to a mandatory mock Press Conference that was scheduled for May 3. This Press Conference was to be attended not only by the journalist majors but also the Professionals were coming in as well. During this time some sort of tragedy was supposed to happen. My son just found out that the tragedy was going to be a school shooting. This had been planned months in advanced with everyone involved having a bit part to play to make this as realistic as possible.

They canceled this event in lieu of what happened to their sister college. The students had no idea themselves what tragedy was going to take place. It was supposed to be a surprise to see how they handled the pressure and put into action the skills they had been taught over the last couple of years.

While I was down there, I noticed many articles from the V-Tech students themselves. They had faith in their administrators and stood behind them. I did not see the finger pointing that I see from those of us on the outside.



Reply #27 from JoeUser Forums Top
While I was down there, I noticed many articles from the V-Tech students themselves. They had faith in their administrators and stood behind them. I did not see the finger pointing that I see from those of us on the outside.


It is sad about the exercise that your son was to participate in, but understandable. I think most would not want to - at this point at least - be a second guesser to something so fresh and close.

As for the students, yes they are. But in the end, a hand full (out of the 25,000) will start the lawsuit dance. In these situations, it is never the majority, but a very public and loud minority, that gets played up big time by a muck raking press. I expect those lawsuits to start by mid-summer, with the belly achers complaining not about actual injuries, but of PST and other intangible maladies.
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Reply #28 from JoeUser Forums Top
Explaining? Sure. There are too many inconsistencies with that diagnosis. But again after the fact. The sad fact is that campus Police are not Columbos. In many cases they are not much better than keystone cops (as anyone who has been on a college campus will attest). So in the initial perusal, they blew the call. And many would like to know why and how. But again, I am not going to crucify them because they failed to recognize something they had no experience with. Indeed, no one had the experience to recognize what was to come.


Apparently, I wasn't very clear, or else you missed the big IF in my statement.

I find the idea that they even thought it was a murder suicide to be suspect. It doesn't seem to be consistent with the other actions that they were taking that day (ie, interviewing the boyfriend) nor with any of the immediate reports that I heard that morning.

However, IF they did say this, then then should explain. But, I don't think that they did. Furthermore, for what they thought happened (an isolated domestic violence situation), I think they took an acceptable course of action.
Reply #29 from JoeUser Forums Top
I don't believe they thought that at all. It was an oversight not to inform the campus and have the buildings secured and people out looking for trouble. To cover it, they came up with some bull about domestic violence. Now, people are too PC to even question the bull.
Reply #30 from JoeUser Forums Top
To cover it, they came up with some bull about domestic violence. Now, people are too PC to even question the bull.


I dont see a coverup, and indeed, it is the antipathy of PC to NOT question the bull. The PC of the modern press is not to understand that events beyond our experiences are often met with indecision and wrong moves, but to immediately start in on the monday morning QBing and call for the cruxifiction of anyone who was not blessed with omniscience and therefore must be to blame for the events that happened. Absolving of course the animal(s) that actually did the deed.
Reply #31 from JoeUser Forums Top
Political correctness is the act of stifling something in order to appease the sensibilities of other people.
Reply #32 from JoeUser Forums Top
Political correctness is the act of stifling something in order to appease the sensibilities of other people.


Only if they are in a recognized group of victims.
Reply #33 from JoeUser Forums Top
Everything is black or white with you, isn't it? It isn't just blame the killer OR blame the police. If that were the case you'd not have locks on your doors, after all if something happens it won't be your fault. I have a feeling if it were one of your kids who sat in class oblivious to the fact a killer was on campus you'd feel a tad different.

This is just a PC way of shaming people, a lot of them families and students, for asking very valid questions. I don't blame the victims here. I'm not calling the students 'little eichmanns', etc., so your same old crap kind of falls flat. I'm asking why the people who were paid to protect the students didn't do everything within their power to do so. One thing I REFUSE to do is liken the victims, who want answers, to someone looking for a quick buck through an ambulance chaser.

Only a short time before, when there was an escaped criminal on campus, they did. When they start finding bodies later, they don't. If, and granted it is an if, someone told them not to blow things out of proportion the next time, then that person should be held accountable FOR THE RESPONSE. Not the killings. No one is absolving the killer.

If it is the Clinton administration and 9/11, you have no problem talking about how they didn't do everything that could be done. You understand that while bin Laden was to blame they slacked up, and you aren't to PC to say it. Methinks you are as much a tool of the media in this one as the people you are talking about. You just want to be perceived as taking the "high road".

No one is saying "she shouldn't have worn the dress", doc, but if she was paying someone to protect her and they didn't do all they could...
Reply #34 from JoeUser Forums Top
Everything is black or white with you, isn't it? It isn't just blame the killer OR blame the police. If that were the case you'd not have locks on your doors, after all if something happens it won't be your fault. I have a feeling if it were one of your kids who sat in class oblivious to the fact a killer was on campus you'd feel a tad different.


You have been on your horse now for quite some time, but then that is what blogging is all about. However in your quest for windmills, you like to pigeon hole everyone into your own prejudices so that you can then rail against them. That is poor debating if you ask me, but I doubt you will, or that it will change your tactics.

I never said OR. I never said all was done that could be done. I am not victimizing the victims. And as I stated (if you even bothered to read the article, which your first response and this one seems to indicate you did not), I, unlike you, had a closer stake in this tragedy.

Does that change my opinions? No. Do I want to blame the campus police for NOT knowing all that is knowable? No. Did I say they did everything right? No.

So now that we have established that I think the Campus police are human, and in hindsight blew a call, and that locking down a campus of 25k when over 40% live off campus is unfeasable (and readily admit that if the killer last fall had taken a mind to, could have put a few more notches on his belt regardless of the lockdown), we can now crucify them and ruin their lives. Which I am sure will bring back the 30 students and faculty killed after the initial 2.

You accuse me of living in a black and white world? Well, mr. Pot, take a look in the mirror. You cant see any opinions other than those you agree with, and those you do not. There is no third choice for you. Which is a shame since that means most of your efforts are directed against windmills, instead of the real villians.