Author Topic: Morgan Freeman's brilliant take on what happened yesterday (Read 849 times)

KIMBER45 · « **on:** December 16, 2012, 12:41:14 PM »

TURN OFF THE NEWS.......

Morgan Freeman's brilliant take on what happened yesterday :

"You want to know why. This may sound cynical, but here's why.
...
It's because of the way the media reports it. Flip on the news and watch how we treat the Batman theater shooter and the Oregon mall shooter like celebrities. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris are household names, but do you know the name of a single *victim* of Columbine? Disturbed
people who would otherwise just off themselves in their basements see the news and want to top it by doing something worse, and going out in a memorable way. Why a grade school? Why children? Because he'll be remembered as a horrible monster, instead of a sad nobody.

CNN's article says that if the body count "holds up", this will rank as the second deadliest shooting behind Virginia Tech, as if statistics somehow make one shooting worse than another. Then they post a video interview of third-graders for all the details of what they saw and heard while the shootings were happening. Fox News has plastered the killer's face on all their reports for hours. Any articles or news stories yet that focus on the victims and ignore the killer's identity? None that I've seen yet. Because they don't sell. So congratulations, sensationalist media, you've just lit the fire for someone to top this and knock off a day care center or a maternity ward next.

You can help by forgetting you ever read this man's name, and remembering the name of at least one victim. You can help by donating to mental health research instead of pointing to gun control as the problem. You can help by turning off the news."

Casull · « **Reply #1 on:** December 16, 2012, 01:51:25 PM »

For someone that supported obama, he surprisingly make sense with this one.

Shu · « **Reply #2 on:** December 16, 2012, 02:01:58 PM »

Wow, I am shocked. Instead of a knee jerk reaction his rant actually makes some sense.

1marty · « **Reply #3 on:** December 16, 2012, 02:36:28 PM »

A CNN woman newscaster reported that the difference between us a China is that no one is allowed to own guns in China. When a deranged individual invaded a school and stabbed 20 children no one died. CNN and its crack (pot) reporters.

Anna · « **Reply #4 on:** December 16, 2012, 04:14:30 PM »

Or when a man entered a crowded subway in Japan with a Katana and killed 12 people.
It looked like one of the Kill Bill episodes, is what a French reporter said about it.

magooch · « **Reply #5 on:** December 16, 2012, 04:24:15 PM »

So how is blaming the news for what whackos do any different than blaming shoot-em-up games, guns, or anything else? The only thing worse than senstionalizing the news is censoring the news.

two-blocked · « **Reply #6 on:** December 16, 2012, 04:31:39 PM »

Morgan Freeman clears up Internet hoax about shootings

http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=780515

Dee · « **Reply #7 on:** December 16, 2012, 04:38:30 PM »

I too am surprised at Freeman's response, however I don't think he in any way was saying "CENSOR THE NEWS". What I understand him to say, is stop sensationalizing the culprit. He is right. Fox news will interview the neighborhood stray dog if they can get him to look traumatized.
To not give the shooter any press time, is truly the way to go. How one would accomplish that, is beyond me however.
People like Jesse James, the Younger Brothers, Bonnie and Clyde, Abraham Lincoln, George Custer, and others have had their stories told so much that most don't really know what low lifes they really were.
This guy should be thrown in an unmarked grave and forgotten. Instead he will be talked about for the next two decades, by so-called expert psychologists, and psychiatrists, while some little troll somewhere spends his waking hours trying to figure out how to top him.

powderman · « **Reply #8 on:** December 16, 2012, 05:15:30 PM »

Quote from: magooch on December 16, 2012, 04:24:15 PM

So how is blaming the news for what whackos do any different than blaming shoot-em-up games, guns, or anything else? The only thing worse than senstionalizing the news is censoring the news.

MAGOOCH. Our pastor talked about those vilent games these punks grow up with. Without God in their lives the games somehow represent reality. I believe these games, movies, rap crap, etc contribute greatly to the moral bankruptcy in America, the result for some is what we see today. POWDERMAN.

Graybeard · « **Reply #9 on:** December 16, 2012, 05:44:16 PM »

Morgan Freeman didn't make the statement. It's just once more he has been falsely given credit for statements he never made. Click the link by two-blocked:

http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=780515

facetious · « **Reply #10 on:** December 16, 2012, 08:36:19 PM »

When it comes to the news , the old saying is " If it bleeds it leads"

Land_Owner · « **Reply #11 on:** December 16, 2012, 11:49:12 PM »

Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) wrote, "If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed and if you read the newspaper you are misinformed." That says a lot about the nature of Media in general and can be attributed to television, which in his day had not been invented.

Railing at the Media is the same as clamoring for more gun control. It is the idleness of the uneducated, uninformed, and apathetic masses in this country that give the media its charge. If they didn't buy it or watch it, and boycotted its advertisers whenever they tried to print or broadcast these socially deranged idiosyncrasies, we might not be confronted with so many "raising the bar" type events.

I am not saying that evil in America would be thwarted by turning off the TV - some of it maybe. Evil will still be in the world, and plenty of it. But going outside in America to play and to stretch one's imagination is statistically more inspiring toward good than mind numbing television.

Dee · « **Reply #12 on:** December 17, 2012, 12:37:23 AM »

Land_Owner, I would agree completely. When I was growing up in the fifties, I cannot remember ever having more than two toys at one time. I spent my days playin in the dirt, and later in the woods, and on the baseball field.

Shu · « **Reply #13 on:** December 17, 2012, 01:55:51 AM »

I am not railing at the news media. I do not believe in censorship. I just want the news to be truthfully reported just as I want gun owners to be responsible. Send a bullet down range and you are responsible until all of its energy is expended. Print false and misleading stories and you are given awards etc. See the difference?

nw_hunter · « **Reply #14 on:** December 17, 2012, 04:55:29 AM »

Quote from: Graybeard on December 16, 2012, 05:44:16 PM

Morgan Freeman didn't make the statement. It's just once more he has been falsely given credit for statements he never made. Click the link by two-blocked:

http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=780515

Getting to be a common thing on the internet. You see quotes by famous people like Nugent, Freeman and others, and most of the time it's pure BS.

Here is an interesting article I read this morning relating to these types of crimes, and what we have to look forward to, if we don't get control of our children back. One thing I see in common with many of these tragedies, is the Father figure missing from the home.

http://anarchistsoccermom.blogspot.com/2012/12/thinking-unthinkable.html?m=1

Conan The Librarian · « **Reply #15 on:** December 17, 2012, 04:59:28 AM »

I read the "quote", and it seems just a little bit to coherent to be legitimately attributable to a guy that usually is not so careful with language.

KIMBER45 · « **Reply #16 on:** December 17, 2012, 05:19:30 AM »

The messenger may be someone else ; but the message is right on.

Spirithawk · « **Reply #17 on:** December 17, 2012, 05:19:45 AM »

Don't know if this guy is for real or not but what's said makes absolutely valid points!

Conan The Librarian · « **Reply #18 on:** December 17, 2012, 05:35:54 AM »

An appeal to ethics seems so quaint in a day of reality tv, where people stop at nothing to get another viewer.

One of my most amazing observations had to do with Julian Assange, of wikileaks fame. I don't endorse him as a model of journalistic integrity, but he is a very good reporter. I've seen a few documentaries by him, and he really does seem to explore issues objectively and competently.

I mention him because he's probably the most internationally reviled of reporters, yet his actual reportage compares favorably with the hysterics of the normal news organizations.

KIMBER45 · « **Reply #19 on:** December 17, 2012, 09:41:15 AM »

Quote from: Spirithawk on December 17, 2012, 05:19:45 AM

Don't know if this guy is for real or not but what's said makes absolutely valid points!

There was a different forensic psychiatrist on the View today. He said exactly the same thing.

DDZ · « **Reply #20 on:** December 17, 2012, 01:37:09 PM »

Quote from: nw_hunter on December 17, 2012, 04:55:29 AM

Quote from: Graybeard on December 16, 2012, 05:44:16 PM
Morgan Freeman didn't make the statement. It's just once more he has been falsely given credit for statements he never made. Click the link by two-blocked:

http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=780515

Getting to be a common thing on the internet. You see quotes by famous people like Nugent, Freeman and others, and most of the time it's pure BS.

Here is an interesting article I read this morning relating to these types of crimes, and what we have to look forward to, if we don't get control of our children back. One thing I see in common with many of these tragedies, is the Father figure missing from the home.

http://anarchistsoccermom.blogspot.com/2012/12/thinking-unthinkable.html?m=1

When I first heard that the shooting was done by a 20 year old man, one of my first thoughts was that he probably didn't have a dad. Or a dad that had spent much time with him. Children being raised by a single mom can cause a multitude of problems for the children. Especially for boys. From drug and alcohol abuse to violent behavior. Something like 85% of youths in prison come from fatherless homes. Also 85% of children that have behavior problems come from fatherless homes. A third of kids today have no father. By the age of 18 around half of them experience at least some time with no father.
The feminist movement has led us to believe that dads are not that important, and now we are seeing the poison fruit produced from that thought. People get divorces anymore for any lame reason, and we are also seeing the poison fruit that this has produced. God stated for some reason that He hates divorce.
I believe its the destruction of the traditional family that leads to this kind of violence. I doubt video games, movies, guns, or any of the like has much to do with someone wanting to gun down school kids then shoot themselves. I think it has very much to do with kids not being raised by a loving mother and father. The post above is the first post I have read that someone mentioned fatherlessness as being an issue with this type of violent behavior, and I think fatherlessness is a huge factor in many violent behavior problems with kids. Along with many other problems in society.
Don't ever think you will hear from the media or government that kids with no dad is a societal problem. Heck if we had men taking care of the family, the nanny state would have less of a chance. I can hear my tv in the back ground, and a reporter is saying how easy assault rifles are to get. Instead they should be talking about how important it is for dads to raise their sons and daughters.

Conan The Librarian · « **Reply #21 on:** December 17, 2012, 02:41:31 PM »

The way I understand it is that fathers only have one purpose, to pay bills. Every time I go buy a fishing license they do a check to find out if im a deadbeat dad. If i am registered as a deadbeat dad, then i dont get the license. That is true for all minnesota men.

Brett · « **Reply #22 on:** December 17, 2012, 02:44:46 PM »

DDZ, I believe you are correct sir. Broken homes and absentee fathers plays a huge factor in this type of behavior.

magooch · « **Reply #23 on:** December 17, 2012, 03:51:05 PM »

My lord, I hate to think what sort of progeny will evolve from homo marriages. I don't believe that all dirtbags come from single mothers, but isn't it true that Barry's mom was without a husband a lot of the time?

Bob Riebe · « **Reply #24 on:** December 18, 2012, 09:32:19 AM »

Quote from: magooch on December 16, 2012, 04:24:15 PM

So how is blaming the news for what whackos do any different than blaming shoot-em-up games, guns, or anything else? The only thing worse than senstionalizing the news is censoring the news.

Hmmm, I guess Yellow Journalism then is "news" at the absolutely highest level.

If you cannot see the difference, your blinders fit you well.

Spirithawk · « **Reply #25 on:** December 18, 2012, 01:55:15 PM »

Guys, I see it like this. There's a point when these "News Reports" stop actualy being "News" and become more of a ploy for ratings. As with this recent shooting, it's way past reporting things we need to know, or even realy want to know. We are being force fed every possible detail of the shooting and the aftermath be it fact or just opinion and frankly the longer it goes the more it leans to opinion. Every possible angle they can dream up they use to stretch out the story while giving little or no regard to the feelings of the victom's families. Not to mention giving the shooter the notiriety he craved and feeding the egos and sick fantasies of the next shooter! Think about it. With every mass shooting they go into such detail reporting it that they are laying out the basic blueprint for the next shooting to be more successful and lethal than the previous ones!

flintlock · « **Reply #26 on:** December 18, 2012, 02:21:19 PM »

Our fearless "leader" was raised by a single mom, no dad involved...

Guess that explains a lot......

nw_hunter · « **Reply #27 on:** December 18, 2012, 03:35:22 PM »

Quote from: Conan The Librarian on December 17, 2012, 05:35:54 AM

An appeal to ethics seems so quaint in a day of reality tv, where people stop at nothing to get another viewer.

One of my most amazing observations had to do with Julian Assange, of wikileaks fame. I don't endorse him as a model of journalistic integrity, but he is a very good reporter. I've seen a few documentaries by him, and he really does seem to explore issues objectively and competently.

I mention him because he's probably the most internationally reviled of reporters, yet his actual reportage compares favorably with the hysterics of the normal news organizations.

There was a time when the six o'clock news was just that....News. They reported the news, and at the end of the broadcast some would have commentary. Now it's commentary with occasional news injected.It's become a race to see who breaks the story first (Accuracy) be damned!The stories will usually change over a few day's to a week.Sometimes they never get it right or correct themselves.Remember the Hero in the Ft Hoot shooting incident? She was actually a victim. The Hero who downed the shooter and more than likely saved her life was a Black, male policeman.They finally gave him some credit, but the so called NEWS agency's wanted a female hero so bad, they never got their fact's straight. If this Cop had been unable to stop this Crazy, he probable would have taken more lives, including the female police officer.

Not saying it couldn't have been the other way around.