Say the Shooter's Name - Don't Give Him Any More Power Over Us
The horrifying shooting in a Colorado theater on July 20, 2012, has been the main discussion on social media everywhere. And recently, the mother of one of the victims initiated a movement that gained traction. She asked that the media only mention her daughter and the other victims. By writing simple messages on social media websites, the public has shared their compassion and general agreement with the mother of Jessica Redfield. They have agreed to keep the shooter's name quiet, for now. But should the media avoid mentioning the shooter? And if so, for how long?
In the short-term, the media should honor a grieving mother's request. The symbolism of keeping the shooter's name from the press also has meaning now as we bury and say goodbye to those we loved. In that way we keep our thoughts and memory clear, our hearts open.
But in the long-term, we must move beyond grief and get to the business of living again. And living requires freedom.
Let's not empower the shooter by never speaking his name. Let's be free of the awful burden of willfully limiting our own speech in an effort to frustrate the intentions that we have ascribed to the shooter. We believe he wanted to be famous. We don't want him to be famous. So we're silent.
Living in fear of what someone else might enjoy at our expense is not living fully or freely. We are not him. We can't allow ourselves to be limited by his decisions or desires. We must remember that we choose what to focus on in life.
After a while, the silence stops being about honoring the dead. It eventually starts to diminish and limit us. The silence is limiting because it constantly reminds us of the tragedy and the loss. It keeps us frozen in time, at a point where little was known about how these terrible events transpired.
Every happy person knows, nothing good comes from dwelling on the past. Life is change. And though they are gone, the victims have lived a purposeful life, if only for contributing to the national dialogue that we now must undertake to make America safer.
That dialogue requires - no, demands - that we boldly publicize the name and other facts regarding the Colorado theater shooter. We must not give the shooter any more control or power over our lives. He has already exercised the highest control over the lives of twelve wonderful people. Soon, perhaps within a few months, it will be time to talk about him.
Our national dialogue about gun safety requires knowledge about the shooter. Legal change for the betterment of our society is at issue. By studying who the Colorado theater shooter was, we gain an insight into his motivations, his triggers, or maybe his weaknesses and defects. By exploiting those weaknesses and understanding those defects we might better understand how to draft laws that protect ourselves from his kind in the future. We also take back our power and control over our lives.
We must not be insensitive to the families and memory of the victims. Now is the time for silence. And soon it will be time to have an open, if not painful, discussion about the shooter.
Let us freely remember. Let us always freely discuss and learn. May we never be limited by tragedy, but always rise above it. And may we always think before we fear.
Robert F. DiCello, a civil rights attorney in Cleveland, Ohio, is a legal analyst and host contributor to Real Law Radio.
CONTACT THE AUTHOR: Robert can be reached by sending your request to: Attn: Robert F. DiCello, Esq..
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