Herostratic fame of Mass Murders

I’m not expert on suicide. My life has been touched by it only vaguely (though I do have one direct encounter with a person who later committed suicide). I do know suicide happens all the time.  People seek this path for various reasons. Given this is a touchy subject; I will focus my comments on the fame seekers, particularly those who commit mass killings and then take their own life.

As morbid as it is, there are people who seek posthumous fame. Sometimes this happens by copycats in certain social circles (such as schools) after the suicide of one person gets a lot of attention. Other times there is an act to get back at society for some perceived wrong. These people seek herostratic fame (fame by doing something horror).

The first great example recorded in history was committed by Herostratus the Ephesian in B.C. 356 when he burned down the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. His name is from where the term herostratic fame comes. When tortured, he confessed he did the deed to immortalize himself. The Ephesians then passed a decree condemning his name to oblivion in order to discourage further such fame seeking attempts. We only know of Herostratus because an ancient historian did mention his name.

Of course in modern times, we have what are called mass murders. These are individuals or groups that typically kill a lot of people in a suicidal attack. There is usually some sort of fame being sought by such people in one fashion or another. In the case of the recent attack by a shooter in Omaha, the killer wrote a suicide letter that specifically expressed his expectation to be famous after committing his heinous deed.

With this incident, mass media is finally questioning the action of publishing the names of these mass murders. A recent AP article sited a media analyst who stated that the media enabled the mass murderer to get his fame posthumously. Additionally, recent articles also have talked about the fact that the new generation growing up right now places much more importance on fame than any previous generation in America.

I personally think it is time for the media to show restraint. It is important to report horrendous events. However, I don’t know the killer. Knowing his name doesn’t change what the killer did, nor does it help me to come to terms with the event. So, why give that person the attention they crave? Why encourage further acts by other persons who are borderline. Right now, someone contemplating a similar act is emboldened by the reporting by the press about the Omaha killer.

Don’t give immortality to individuals who think it can be achieved by committing horrible deeds. One more advantage is that denying immortality to such individuals actual shows respect for the victims and their families. Giving fame to the killer is a bit like dancing on the grave of their victims.

Now, there a disadvantages to keep the name from the public. We live in the Information Age. Speculation would run rampant if names were withheld from the general public. Also, this wouldn’t discourage killers who are more interested in the act of killing rather than fame from it. So, I’m not suggesting mass murders should be completely nameless in the public forum. I suggest that the mass media itself should not name them. I think it is foolish to try to completely expunge a person’s name from the record. If someone wishes, they could look at public records for the name. If a blogger wishes, they can publish the name themself. Either way, only someone who is interested need find the information. There is no sense in feeding the information to everyone, to which knowing the name is pointless. I think this would help discourage people from seeking herostratic fame by the committing of suicidal mass murders or other gruesome deeds.

Fruitcake for Xmas

According to a recent Reuters report, a Christian biologist is suing Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for firing him because he believes against evolution (claiming civil liberties violation). This Christian "biologist" is now working for Rev. Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. This strikes me as a bit convenient. This guy gets a job at a respected institute and then reveals he believes against scientific fact after he's hired, and is now working at a religious institution? Hmm, sounds like a set up to me. I wouldn't be surprized if he applied at all the major places hoping to catch a big fish to bring this issue up (knowing that Liberty University or something similar would be available for him to fall back on). He prolly was already conspiring with his religious buddies before he even went to college to get his degree in biology.
Sorry to disappoint, a person who believes against scientific fact does not get protection under the Constitution and modern Civil Liberties as a protected class when it comes to a job that needs acknowledgement of scientific fact in order to perform required tasks, nor is someone that conspires against reality. A person can be fired for what they choose to say Not to mention the fact that believing against scientific fact precluded him from being able to perform his job at a scientific institution!
In good conscience, I don't know how he could call himself a biologist. I would go so far as to note that his biologist degree doesn't have validity if he decries the basis upon which it was based. If he really does believe against scientific fact, he should return his degree to the institution which issued it to him and obtain a new degree in Religious Studies or something.

Poem Train

Finding a website where one can get honest feedback about their poetry works is very hard. So many websites either want to sell you something or are just a bunch of ads. Many moons ago, I discovered a website called Poem Kingdom. The site offered a forum for anyone to submit their works to show off, get basic review by peers, or serious critical review by other poets. That site is now long gone, but a newer site now stands in its place. This new site is even harder to find. It is built around the same basic principle though. That site is Poem Train. Anyone interested in reading poetry or in having their poetry read should at least take a look at this site to see what it has to offer. It is free. There's even a contest, though that's not really the point of the website. Because of all the spam sites out there, it is hard to find, hence the reason I am talking about it here. Enjoy!

Speaking of outter space, here's some space cadets!

I like the guy that claims, "[It's] for show for the kids." LOL Right. :)

Random thought

A great invention would be microwave emission energy conveyance from geosynchronous orbit satellites which is save to ground based inhabitants. This would change everything. No more powerlines needed. Just launch a huge power plant into space and have it beam energy directly where it is wanted.

Red light

Allie was driving to her parents place today. I was in the car too. At
this one intersection, the light changed green for us, so she went. She
started off a bit slower than normal. As we crossed the center of the
intersection, I noticed a car travelling a full speed in the perpendicular
direction on our right. My instinct was to just exclaim "Shit shit shit"
and feel around for the best way to prepare for the impending collision.
Thankfully, Allie picked up on my queues. At the last second she was able
to slow down enough to honk and let the guy zoom by us. She wanted to turn
around and go after the guy, but I was like, "There's nufin we can do; no
point since we didn't actually hit 'em. We can't report him cuz the cops
can't do anything since there was no accident. Just got to let it go as
just one of those things."
She didn't like that, but we continued on. The idiot who ran the light did
slow down to look back without stopping. I don't think he even realized he
was at fault.
___
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