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Pastimes : WHY?? Littleton Colorado -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bob Ebel who wrote (11)	4/21/1999 2:48:00 PM
From: Fred Ragan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 368

Littleton is indeed a tragedy. It is also a lesson. Those of a liberal and politically correct persuasion will misconstrue this tragedy and misrepresent it as a pro gun control exhibit. It is not. The events in Littleton represent a massive failure of personal responsibility. The failure of the young men who did this terrible thing to find a constructive solution to their problems, the failure of their parents to understand and guide their children and if necessary to refer them for guidance and treatment, the failure of their school to recognize deviant and destructive behavior and to take effective remedial action, and the failure of the entire community to hold these young men to an acceptable standard of behavior. April 20th was a sad day for which many innocents paid with there lives. Will the lesson be learned? Not likely. We would rather point the finger elsewhere.

To: Bob Ebel who wrote (11)	4/21/1999 3:56:00 PM
From: DenverTechie	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 368

Sick indeed. But the sad and scary part is that, according to my son and school officials, these young people have been dressing this way on a regular basis for some time now at his school (which is not Columbine). In other words,THE TRENCH COAT MAFIA IS NOT AN ISOLATED GROUP TO THAT PARTICULAR HIGH SCHOOL in the Denver area. Might even go state wide, or wider. But back to the original question of why the media over hypes events like this. On MSNBC alone, I've counted 4 distinct articles, with upteen updates occurring about every half hour. Why? It's simple supply and demand. People want to understand, and they want answers. If people did not scoop it up, the media would not dish it out. No demand, no supply. As long as we keep looking, they'll keep showing. The part that gets offensive in my mind is the "journalist" who wants to interview the parent who's child is most likely dead inside the building and asking them how they feel at that moment. I really didn't see too much of that on this coverage, mainly parents being re-united. But the interviews with the surviving kids was also too much. The interview will just add to their trauma, I'm afraid. The one girl who saw her friend get shot in the face right in front of her and then had to describe it to the media was particularly disturbing. She was practically hysterical. Enough already!! Journalism and sensationalism are not the same. The media has got to show some discretion here. Report the facts, but leave the kids alone. They've been through enough already, enduring senseless violence that they will have to deal with the rest of their lives. Anybody else have any ideas about how the media treated this "event"?