Worse mass shooting in contemporary American history

If there is one thing we can be sure of, when the worse mass shooting in contemporary American history occurs, it will be news.

In reviewing how this horrible event is being covered by the media, we see some pretty typical and predictable elements in their stories. For example, there are tributes to the "naive and innocent victims."

And there are stories about the "heroes" that helped save the day.

CNN has a minute by minute account. And a look into the gunman's perch.

Fox has a story featuring the victims and this: Stories of heroism emerge following deadly Vegas shooting. And of course, they use this to attack a Democrat (duh): Hillary Clinton shamelessly politicizes Las Vegas massacre.

And of course, both have lots of video where you can watch the shooting happen. How sick is that?

I wonder how long it will take to face the reality of what is undeniably behind this--the presence of far too many guns in our society. Consider this, from the Washington Post:

Investigators find arsenal fit for a commando team in retiree’s hotel room

 

Don't believe it has to do with the guns? Read this and tell me why!?!?!?! Gun violence in America, explained in 17 maps and charts

 

Yes, it has begun, the media questioning of why Congress does nothing. This from the New York Times: 477 Days. 521 Mass Shootings. Zero Action From Congress.

 

We just have to accept that, we simply don't care. I personally knew this was true when 20 six and seven year olds had their heads and faces blown off in an elementary school in 2012. Even that didn't cause us to do anything. And so this just keeps happening, over and over and over and over and ...

 

 

The news media respond to yet another mass shooting

Sometimes a clip from Jon Stewart is all you need to begin to understand an issue.

Like how and why the news media respond to mass shootings in the US. Masterful, as usual.

Independent media starting to ask tough questions ...

... in the wake of the mass shooting in Colorado.

So here is an example:

Friday's horrific shooting in Aurora, Colo.—one of the deadliest in U.S. history—has reignited the debate over gun control in America. Just how bad is the problem? Through media reports, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, a nonprofit lobbying group, has compiled a list of 431 shootings with more than one victim since 2005. On average, according to the organization, a multiple-victim shooting happens every 5.9 days in the United States. The deadliest city in this period, according to the data, is Chicago, with 17 shootings since 2005—totaling 72 people wounded and 30 deaths. Thirteen of those shootings were in a public place. New Orleans, Kansas City, and Philadelphia were tied for second bloodiest, with nine shootings in this seven-year period. Plus, James Warren on why the Colorado shooting is tragically unsurprising.

Be sure to check out the interactive map for state-by-state comparisons.

Note: They tend to happen in the places where there are more people (e.g., the South!, California), AND the places with the death penalty. Interesting!

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/24/interactive-map-the-us-shooting-epidemic.html