One round started with Christina Grimmie. In the weeks that followed her murder in Orlando we saw several sensationalized murders. Thanks to the news media, and America’s sometimes disturbing infatuation with murder, murders are often sensationalized. If anyone famous is killed, commits suicide, some form of mass murder, and or critical incident occur, the media pours all resources and attention into the incident for days and weeks.
The compound danger of this sensationalization is when there is one publicized mass murder the likely hood of a secondary event goes through the roof! I told my wife that we can expect to see another incident very soon, just hours before the Pulse Orlando Shooting. Mass murder, assassinations, stalkers upping the ante, and so on all cause a ripple effect. It emboldens those planning a similar attack. It shows them that such attacks can be successful, that there are others out there doing the same thing, and that they will be “insta-famous”.
When people are looking at or planning an attack, they may be deterred by security, police, or threat of punishment. However, when one person carries out a successful attack it proves to the person that, up to this point has been hesitant to carry out any fantasies, it can be done after all. So, in an effort to ride the media frenzy started by the other person the next murder is ready to move forward.
In mass murder cases, these psychopaths are striving to break the previous body count record. They will be famous and everyone will know their name if they kill the most. Their names will go down in history as carrying out this act. Without digressing into another topic about the psychology of a mass murderer, suffice it to say, they need to be seen and heard, even if it is their last act on earth.
The same concept is applied with group mentality. A group is far more dangerous than an individual; because the individual in the group will do more that he/she would ever do on their own. All it takes is one person to start the train moving, then we have an explosion of incidents. Just a week after Christina Grimmie’s murder, we saw another Voice competitor killed.
The American people by in large have an extremely short attention span and can only focus on one thing at a time. So, when the media decides to dump all of its resources into sensationalizing a particular event, everybody will hear about it, in turn, the murder becomes famous and a house hold name. If I was willing to spread the names of those murders (which I will not do unless necessary) you would likely have heard all of their names before.
When one crazed man with a gun shoots up a mall the chance of other events, similar in nature increases. So, what does this mean for you and protection of yourself? A few things. You need to keep your eyes and ears open, look for pre-attack indicators, take threats seriously, and be prepared to run, hide, or fight. You have to have a plan for every place you go. When you go to a restaurant, know all of the exits, look for cover and concealment. When you go to the “game” be very aware of what is going on in common areas, report abandon bags and suspicious people. Above all, trust your gut. We are designed with this amazing thing called intuition, learn to trust it and embrace it.
What can we learn?
- The media causes a lot of problems. They create problems that don’t even exist.
- Mass murderers want to be famous, and stalkers want to “be with” their victims.
- There is compounding danger in sensationalizing murders.
- It only takes one killer to be successful to ignite an explosion of incidents.
- Be engaged in your environment and pay attention.
- Trust your gut, if something does not feel right or look right, trust yourself.
Stay Sharp,
Adam