The crime itself was (is) elaborate. This is a talking point, I get it, but this brings me to an element of the reportage that has been bothering me. It always bothers me, in fact.
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I find it counterproductive to publicly examine and diagnose the shooter, to the point that he becomes a big news story in of himself. There's still a crisis going on, as they are not sure what's going to happen in that rigged apartment. And yet, I have seen more news regarding this guy's personality and motive.I am of the opinion that psychopath is not debatable in a case such as this--it's obvious--and further, by posting his back-story, his family and neighbor interviews, and talking about his history in academia, we are giving this guy exactly what he wants. I really wish that the news didn't shine the spotlight so bright on these guys so early. Why do we indulge murderers by doing profiles on them and trying to collectively diagnose after the crime? What good does it do?
When you think about how these stories usually go, they're useless and predictable.
Case A: "He was such a charming man, the life of the party, and he was so, so brilliant. I can't imagine him doing such a thing..."
Case B: "He was very quiet, to himself, and a little strange. Still, I can't imagine him doing such a thing..."
What does this diagnostic quest accomplish? It doesn't take a psychologist to understand, given the costume, the gas, the mass shooting, that this guy wanted exactly what he's getting. I say, let us focus on the clean up, the victims, and take the greatest prevention by not giving these guys the spotlight that they crave.
Same story on my side of the fence, too. At the same time, makes psychology folks like myself curious about the motive, if any. Hard to know at this point, and this tends to happen with each incident of this nature. Sad, but true.
ReplyDeleteBeen forever since I last visited. Glad to have rediscovered your blog! :)
Thank you for visiting, David! I agree. I know, logically, that it's human nature to try to figure out a motive and it's a part of reportage... I just hate that it seems to be exactly what this guy wanted. I do hope that people devote some amount of their energy to the victims and the clean up, rather than trying to learn his story. Infamy seemed his goal, and sadly, he'll be remembered in wider circles than most of those victims.
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