# Guns, guns, and more guns. What can America do to reduce mass shootings? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 12, 2019, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-guns-and-more-guns-what-can-america-do-to-reduce-mass-shootings/835418 "2019-06-12T10:41:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-guns-and-more-guns-what-can-america-do-to-reduce-mass-shootings/835418/161 "2019-06-19T18:07:38Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Like the names of rape victims? > > So, answer my question, if \*\*your \*\*preferred news venue wont name the mass killer, will **you** switch to another? > > I wouldnt care. I wouldn’t either…but I am not the targeted audience, so they wouldn’t give a shit about what I watch or don’t watch. You could take a poll on this board, and even if 75% of those polled here were in favor of restricting the information, and you presented this poll to any of the networks, there isn’t a network out there that would even look at it, let alone pay attention to it. Intense studies are made to find out what brings in viewers, and if there were any studies out there that showed that implementing such a policy would aid the bottom line, they would seriously consider it. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2019, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-guns-and-more-guns-what-can-america-do-to-reduce-mass-shootings/835418/162 "2019-06-20T01:59:50Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > Do you believe the [Werther effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copycat_suicide)is real and has analogues to mass shootings? The way information is reported can have an impact on the behaviors of those consuming the message. It’s not a panacea for sure, but changing the way that these events are reported has a real chance of reducing their occurrence. I’m up for anything that would lead to reduction in mass shootings. Not reporting on mass shootings when they happen is not a viable option though. I don’t know what else has to be tweaked in reporting style but, as I’ve yet to see any reporter comment positively on the mass shooters, I think this matter of how reports are made is of little consequence. Sometimes people see what they want to see --a hero or a villain. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2019, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-guns-and-more-guns-what-can-america-do-to-reduce-mass-shootings/835418/163 "2019-06-20T03:02:57Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > I’m up for anything that would lead to reduction in mass shootings. Not reporting on mass shootings when they happen is not a viable option though. I don’t know what else has to be tweaked in reporting style but, as I’ve yet to see any reporter comment positively on the mass shooters, I think this matter of how reports are made is of little consequence. Sometimes people see what they want to see --a hero or a villain. You dont mention his name and especially his motivations or agenda. People made heroes out of the Columbine shooters as they were “nerds striking back against bullies”. I dont even know that was true, but still… > **[At Last We Know Why the Columbine Killers Did It](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2004/04/at-last-we-know-why-the-columbine-killers-did-it.html)** > > Most Americans have reached one of two wrong conclusions. _The first conclusion is that the pair of supposed “Trench Coat Mafia outcasts” were taking revenge against the bullies who had made school miserable for them._ In reality, what they were after was fame- and they got it:_The climax would be captured on live television. It wasn’t just “fame” they were after—Agent Fuselier bristles at that trivializing term—they were gunning for devastating infamy on the historical scale of an Attila the Hun. Their vision was to create a nightmare so devastating and apocalyptic that the entire world would shudder at their power. Harris and Klebold would have been dismayed that Columbine was dubbed the “worst school shooting in American history.” They set their sights on eclipsing the world’s greatest mass murderers_ > **[Americans look to Columbine to better understand school shootings — but myths...](https://www.businessinsider.com/columbine-shooters-motives-2018-2)** > > The Columbine shooters' motives are still misunderstood as a result of false reporting in the first few days after the tragedy. \*One of the earliest misrepresentations was in profiling the two shooters and laying out their motives. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were initially reported as goths and loners who were part of the “Trench Coat Mafia.” The media said they were bullied by jocks and sought revenge on classmates who treated them as social outcasts. Twenty years later, that profile still persists. But it’s a myth.\* [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-guns-and-more-guns-what-can-america-do-to-reduce-mass-shootings/835418.md?page=8)