[thenightwriterblog] The Night Writer: Nothing to see here

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Posted by The Night Writer:
Nothing to see here
http://thenightwriterblog.powerblogs.com/posts/1189052554.shtml


   Driving to a dentist appointment and then to work this morning I heard
   two news reports on KFAN summarizing the weekend shootings in
   Colorado. Each time the report said that the shooter, Matthew Murray,
   died of a self-inflicted gunshot. No mention was made of the role New
   Life church member and volunteer security guard Jeanne Assam played in
   preventing further carnage by using her personal sidearm to wound and
   knock down Murray. On the one hand, it's probably a good thing for her
   that she has already drifted from the news (and that she take comfort
   in knowing she didn't kill anyone), given the [1]treatment she'd
   already experienced from her unintended notoriety.
   Later, going onto CNN.com and FOXnews.com, however, I discovered that
   not only had Ms. Assam disappeared from the front page, so had the
   entire story. A search of both sites turned up several stories from
   December 10 and 11 and one or two from the 12th but nothing posted
   today. Yes, time and the news march on and there's literally fresh
   meat every day, but it sure seems as if this story faded fast,
   especially when you think of the ongoing coverage that followed the
   recent Omaha mall shooting (there's still stories appearing this week)
   and the earlier Virginia Tech massacre. VT in particular brought many
   ongoing articles about the killer's background, the victims and the
   vulnerability of the public. Now it seems, for the most part, that the
   "public's right to know" is being under-served in comparison. That's a
   good thing if it means that the media has learned to tread more
   respectfully around the lives of people suddenly thrust into tragedy
   who now find their suffering part of the nation's entertainment menu.
   Or are there other reasons? Think of it, you've got a madman "loner",
   multiple guns, "assault rifles," revenge motives, dead white women
   (always good for two or three nights of headlines and at least one
   Special Report on Fox) and beautiful blondes -- you'd think Colorado
   would be covered with TV vans, news choppers and producers looking for
   anyone to sign away the movie rights. And all of this while there's a
   TV-writer's strike going on. Is the story being dismissed with a shrug
   because mass shootings are now so commonplace? That shouldn't be an
   issue this time because you've got the perfect "man bites dog" novelty
   angle -- an armed private citizen stopped the killer.
   Say, you don't think this has quickly faded because an armed private
   citizen ... nah, it can't be that.
   It's probably just as well. First, Jeanne Assam was mugged by the
   media and her former employer (isn't it funny how chatty the
   Minneapolis Police Department is getting on personnel matters and when
   slandering [2]innocent victims of crimes like [3]Mark Loesch) and then
   Youth With a Mission (YWAM) gets [4]called a cult in the most recent
   story on the Fox site:

     Several former missionaries have accused YWAM (generally pronounced
     "Why-Wam") of being a cult that uses brainwashing methods.
     Rick Ross, founder of the Ross Institute of New Jersey, which
     tracks cults, does not agree.
     "Youth With a Mission is not a cult," he said. "However, I have
     received very serious complaints about Youth With a Mission from
     former staffers, family members and also others concerned, such as
     Christian clergy."
     Rev. Jonathan Bonk, the director of the Overseas Ministries Study
     Center in New Haven, Conn., said that missions like those YWAM
     offers appeal to those looking for something other than the
     consumerist lifestyle.
     "They want to be attached to a cosmic project that gives their
     little lives some kind of sense of purpose or meaning," Bonk said.

   "They want to be attached to a cosmic project that gives their little
   lives some kind of sense of purpose or meaning." Great, first smear a
   hero, then sneer at the victims. Matthew Murray writes "You Christians
   have got it coming" and from the media pews comes a hearty "Amen."
   To give credit where it is due, the Denver Post has done a very good
   job of developing the story and bringing additional information to
   light, including a story that described how Murray [5]was able to get
   his weapons and included a report of an earlier incident he had had
   with staffers at New Life Church. The paper also reports on how one of
   the [6]staffers killed at YWAM had once been as spooky as Murray, and
   has a touching story about how the Christian families of the killer
   and the victims had [7]reached out to each other.
   Finally, I will refer you to the Anderson Cooper [8]interview with a
   wounded witness of the New Life shooting that also includes a very
   interesting discussion with Murray's one-time roommate at YWAM.

References

   1. http://thenightwriterblog.powerblogs.com/posts/1197432551.shtml
   2. http://www.startribune.com/local/11988011.html
   3. http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/11545356.html
   4. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,316371,00.html
   5. http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_7704989
   6. http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_7704966
   7. http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_7705430
   8. http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/11/colorado.shootings/index.html?iref=newssearch#cnnSTCVideo