Should Nbc Have Posted Cho's Videos?

[sass_in_the_pants]

Most people seem to be on the side that says it was tasteless and vulgar. They say it's insulting to the victims and their families, promotes copycats, and validated Cho's actions.

The few that believe NBC was right say that the videos gave us a glimpse of a troubled young man we otherwise would not have been able to see. Opinions?

[sinmantyx]

Most people seem to be on the side that says it was tasteless and vulgar. They say it's insulting to the victims and their families, promotes copycats, and validated Cho's actions.

The few that believe NBC was right say that the videos gave us a glimpse of a troubled young man we otherwise would not have been able to see. Opinions?

I think I'm in the majority on this one and was unaware that they did that.

Just because it's news doesn't mean you have to share it. It's like they are giving Cho his final wish. However curious I am on some level; I don't need to see that.

[Gauge]

I think they couldve come up with a better way to let us into his troubled mind. . .now hes going to have a twisted following of kids who think that its ok to kill people because their of a higher status

[sinmantyx]

I think they couldve come up with a better way to let us into his troubled mind. . .now hes going to have a twisted following of kids who think that its ok to kill people because their of a higher status

I think we had that already...but yeah...this doesn't help.

[BrassFusion]

did they actually put that on tv? geez... that's what the internet's for

[JaneDead]

i don't watch the news because of the crap they always have on it - but i saw it OVER and OVER again on *commericals* for the news.

and i must say i was completely pissed off by that. i was with my kids and here are images of this guy, flashing some guns or whatever and then them saying what they would be showing about this guy on the news. that's fucked up.

i feel like i can't watch regular tv anymore around my kids because the news has to show clips of what i don't want to watch or want my kids to see at 5 p.m.

"a little girl was kidnapped and raped on the way to school today on detroit's east side today at 5..." shit you already said enough right there!

fuck the news. all local news channels suck.

i have my 5 year old asking me all the time now if she can watch the news. i say "why do you want to?" she says "i don't know, i just do"

i realized it is probably because i always hurry to turn it off if i am watching something like oprah at 4. they always start off RIGHT away with some tragic story that turns my stomach. if i can't turn it fast enough i mute it.

i'm too sensitive for that. if i WANT to see it i WILL watch it but i don't want it thrown in my face during commercial breaks while i am watching other things!

[Der Nister]

The more the news sensationalizes these killers the more psychos are going to kill more people and the cycle will continue.

If people would take the time (I know it would be a huge effort) to complain to these news channels and boycott their sponsors then the coverage on these tragedies would be kept to a minimum.

The reason nut cases continue to kill is to become "famous" (in their minds) - at least that's the impression I got when I found out this Cho guys heroes were the Columbine shooters.

I agree - the media makes these douche bags celebrities to those that really have very little grip on reality. And if these guys are so pissed off at society - what happened to old fashioned kick someone's ass for fucking with you? Now people want to solve their problems with guns and mass killings - I just don't understand it.

[Steven]

I understand that pain this causes the victim's families.

but - I think the legacy left behind by this young man deserves to be looked at with blunt honesty as a warning to us all. People are losing their minds, and losing their ability to deal, and basic human value has been drastically reduced.

this guy (to me) is a soon to be recurring symptom of a greater problem.

Sometimes we need to be disturbed....

[Steven]

The more the news sensationalizes these killers the more psychos are going to kill more people and the cycle will continue.

If people would take the time (I know it would be a huge effort) to complain to these news channels and boycott their sponsors then the coverage on these tragedies would be kept to a minimum.

The reason nut cases continue to kill is to become "famous" (in their minds) - at least that's the impression I got when I found out this Cho guys heroes were the Columbine shooters.

I agree - the media makes these douche bags celebrities to those that really have very little grip on reality. And if these guys are so pissed off at society - what happened to old fashioned kick someone's ass for fucking with you? Now people want to solve their problems with guns and mass killings - I just don't understand it.

Dude, this guy was not trying to be famous.

He was seeking validation. think about it.

[Steven]

I think they couldve come up with a better way to let us into his troubled mind. . .now hes going to have a twisted following of kids who think that its ok to kill people because their of a higher status

is it really that simple though?

just watch a psycho on TV and then your ready to join Team Wack Pack?

I think these things build up over time, and that these people are created by society in general.

Just blocking them from the airwaves is not a solution. Thats like a doctor not letting you read your medical chart but you allready know you have cancer and usually it kills.

[JaneDead]

Sometimes we need to be disturbed....

i don't want to be disturbed though EVERY commercial break while i am watching oprah with my kids.

i am not left the option to censor it from them or myself.

one second they are showing a toy my kids are saying "can you get that for me mommy?" and the next thing i see is this guy with guns in his hand.

granted *I* understand better what they are showing/what is going on than my kids do but still. i don't want them to see it or hear it at ALL. not even for a minute.

{this is WAY off this topic but on topic of the news being inappropriate in my opinion: it makes me think of "9/11". my son was about 5 at the time and came home all the time asking me questions about it because school was exposing him to it and every time we went ANYWHERE- a store, the bank, in the car on the radio it was ALL you could hear for weeks and weeks. i could not escape it and i could not keep him from it (for some odd reason the store AND bank i went to at that time both had tv's in their locations so we would see it on their tv's. the bank and store i go to now don't have tv's but that is not why. )}

[odims_sphere]

I personally don't have any intrest in watching it, but there are those who want to and I feel it is the media's duty to report any news, good or bad. It's the public's responsibility to decide if watching it is for them or not.

[Steven]

i don't want to be disturbed though EVERY commercial break while i am watching oprah with my kids.

i am not left the option to censor it from them or myself.

one second they are showing a toy my kids are saying "can you get that for me mommy?" and the next thing i see is this guy with guns in his hand.

granted *I* understand better what they are showing/what is going on than my kids do but still. i don't want them to see it or hear it at ALL. not even for a minute.

{this is WAY off this topic but on topic of the news being inappropriate in my opinion: it makes me think of "9/11". my son was about 5 at the time and came home all the time asking me questions about it because school was exposing him to it and every time we went ANYWHERE- a store, the bank, in the car on the radio it was ALL you could hear for weeks and weeks. i could not escape it and i could not keep him from it (for some odd reason the store AND bank i went to at that time both had tv's in their locations so we would see it on their tv's. the bank and store i go to now don't have tv's but that is not why. )}

makes it a challenge to monitor - but its you job as a parent to do so. the world is - what it is.

[JaneDead]

makes it a challenge to monitor - but its you job as a parent to do so. the world is - what it is.

oh believe me as a parent i am right on it! when i watch tv with the kids i have the remote IN my hand and i mute or turn as needed. i just hate that i have to. it's primarily on channels 4 and 7. (nbc and abc) anything else i let them watch i don't have to censor like that.

but on the other hand i might just keep much more away from MY kids than other parents do with theirs. i don't try to shelter my kids or anything but i do protect their young minds from garbage.

[Gauge]

is it really that simple though?

just watch a psycho on TV and then your ready to join Team Wack Pack?

I think these things build up over time, and that these people are created by society in general.

Just blocking them from the airwaves is not a solution. Thats like a doctor not letting you read your medical chart but you allready know you have cancer and usually it kills.

i guess i shouldve been more specific. i dont think just seeing is going to turn the average kid into some wacko but i think that if a kid who is already pissed off because some jerk at his school is bullying him becaues hes not rich (or whatever the reason) and sees that news commercial, thats giving him a sick idea that its ok because other people have done it. while hes at hit he may as well kill himself to cause then mommy and daddy wont ground him. . .

and if i dont know ive got cancer i dont but thats a completely different thread

[sinmantyx]

did they actually put that on tv? geez... that's what the internet's for

Seriously...

My thoughts exactly.

However much certain people want to make parents responsible for absolutely everything, but then insist that parents don't bitch when things are made as difficult as possible, it makes sense to me to make the information available to those who wish to view it; while avoiding inadvertently subjecting people to it that do not wish to view it.

Television has become much more sensational: not neccesarily because the world has gotten more dangerous or bizarre: but because we have an innate primal desire to seek out information about sensational things, which (in this day and age of LOTS of channels) translates into rating.

The only way really to deal with this is for broadcasters to get together and decide on a "cease fire" which is actually something they did with the footage of the Twin Towers...the repetition of which was seriously messing with people's heads.

One commentator called the repetition of the images "pornographic" --- and I do believe that is an apt analogy. The images are emotionally engaging on a level that has little to do with our brains; and assaults us by illiciting involuntary instinctual responses.

...but what do I know. I have TiVo.

[Steven]

i guess i shouldve been more specific. i dont think just seeing is going to turn the average kid into some wacko but i think that if a kid who is already pissed off because some jerk at his school is bullying him becaues hes not rich (or whatever the reason) and sees that news commercial, thats giving him a sick idea that its ok because other people have done it. while hes at hit he may as well kill himself to cause then mommy and daddy wont ground him. . .

and if i dont know ive got cancer i dont but thats a completely different thread

I feel ya (feels good).

I just think somethings we need to take a hard look at.

and I beleive this sort of thing will escelate, and not because of TV, but because the system is broken.

[Marblez]

Think of the numerous people out that that may have the capacity of doing the same thing. Perhaps by showing this guy's videos, someone will recognize something in the next creepy guy they run into to remind them of that person.

My mother saw my sons eyes when he was 2 weeks old she had a flashback to me when I was a baby. We didn't know he was sick but she insisted that we get him to the doctor. It was his eyes. His eyes looked like mine before I was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery. Turned out, he had the same condition and we caught it early.

Of course these are completely different scenarios, but the more everyone knows about this guy...the easier it can be to avoid another like him in the future.

[sass_in_the_pants]

I think it was in extremely poor taste for NBC to show his videos.

Maybe it's because I feel like Cho, who felt discarded by society is now being used by it.

I should mention my biases up front. I have little to no faith in our media, particularly television media, to report news. They are, however, quite adept at providing entertainment. They want to get people to watch, and people don't want to watch facts, they want to watch things that make them FEEL something, it doesn't matter what, just something. So they show things to scare you, and anger you. Not necessarily the things you SHOULD know about, but the things that you will react to.

And I think that is what they were doing with Cho's videos. They released them because everyone likes to watch a train wreck, and NBC would be very pleased if you watched the train wreck on their channel. And they want some kudos for not releasing all of it. Of course they're not releasing all of it, they're no fools. Their other execs are hard at work making their exclusive footage into a docu-drama. Bet.

The police are saying the release of these videos is glorifying Cho, and the bomb threats that schools are being inundated with seem to be proving this out, and releasing information that puts the public at greater risk of harm to me seems very irresponsible.

Now, is it NBC's fault that there are crazy kids out there who don't know where to place their rage? No, of course not, but it IS their fault if they fan the flames of those kids' fire.

[c0pper]

Someone may have already stated this, but here goes my opinion:

1.) The people that were killed should be honored and not the killer. Let the professionals view the tape and try to figure out where he went wrong...not us...that should be evidence and not even allowed to be public at this point.

2.) The photos he took of himself with the guns are waaaaay to hollywood. Someone who has issues may see these and think 'wow, he looks cool' (Because honestly, if none of this ever happened, those are really powerful pictures). If they want to show him for what he was, they need to post the pic of his freaking body, face blown off with a 9mm hollow point.

[Steven]

Think of the numerous people out that that may have the capacity of doing the same thing. Perhaps by showing this guy's videos, someone will recognize something in the next creepy guy they run into to remind them of that person.

My mother saw my sons eyes when he was 2 weeks old she had a flashback to me when I was a baby. We didn't know he was sick but she insisted that we get him to the doctor. It was his eyes. His eyes looked like mine before I was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery. Turned out, he had the same condition and we caught it early.

Of course these are completely different scenarios, but the more everyone knows about this guy...the easier it can be to avoid another like him in the future.

this one (post) I liked.

I do beleive we need to learn to recognize predator tendancies and basic "something's wrong here isms".

we dont like to acknowledge what we're breeding. but were breeding it nonetheless.

[Scary Guy]

All information should be available and the public should be smart enough to figure out what is crap themselves.

*SHOULD*

[c0pper]

All information should be available and the public should be smart enough to figure out what is crap themselves.

*SHOULD*

But seeing as people aren't smart enough to realize what's ok and not ok to do, i.e killing a bunch of innocents....what do you think about the release of the video?

[BrassFusion]

All information should be available and the public should be smart enough to figure out what is crap themselves.

*SHOULD*

Internet = available.

Network TV News = captive audience, oftentimes.

[Scary Guy]

But seeing as people aren't smart enough to realize what's ok and not ok to do, i.e killing a bunch of innocents....what do you think about the release of the video?

I think that "news sources" are nothing but entertainment these days and if you want real news look at it from an outside news source (BBC, CBC, etc...) because these days it's just a big ratings grab and even the outside sources are yellow and tainted with their own viewpoints sometimes.

But hey, if a kid does grab a gun and go nuts, lets just call it Darwinisim. Joe dies because he can't run as fast as Jane or hide as well as Tom or dodge as well as bill.

I like to look at the positive aspects of things