I have written about this issue previously, but the recent court ruling in Connecticut allowing a lawsuit against Remington blaming their advertising for the Sandy Hook massacre to go forward forces me to revisit it. As dumb as many people thought Bushmaster’s “man card” ad was, if it is supposed to be responsible for mass … Continue reading
This is a brief placeholder post as I look for data on mass murder comparable to Grant Duwe’s for the 21st century. One of Duwe’s points in his book on mass murder in the 20th century is that people often think of it as a relatively recent phenomenon, interest in which was piqued by the … Continue reading
In my last post-Las Vegas massacre post, I distinguished between mass public killings (e.g., the Pulse Night Club shooting, the Nice truck attack, the Manchester concert bombing), mass murders (all of the above plus, e.g., Charles Manson, Richard Speck, Joel Smith, Jason Dej-Odoum), and mass shootings (all of the above plus, e.g., the drive by … Continue reading
For those who don’t want to read 1,000+ words on the issue, here is the bottom Line: In my considered opinion, it makes sense to use the following terms to describe different events, from most specific to most general: Mass public killing: Event in which a large number of people (mass) in a public or … Continue reading
A while back, Professor Adam Lankford (Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice, University of Alabama) sent me an open letter to the media and asked if I would sign my name to it. I, along with 146 other scholars, agreed. The letter (reprinted in full below) asks the media “to take a principled stand in … Continue reading
Among the responsibilities of the communications and external relations department of my university is to connect faculty experts with media working in their areas of expertise. So, after major events like the mass murders in San Bernardino and Orlando, my contact in that office usually asks me if I want to comment. For example, after … Continue reading
In the wake of any terrible event, I try to get the basic facts while avoiding social media in general because of its shallowness (memes!), polarizing tendencies (echo chambers!), and openness to the lowest common denominator (name calling!). I have been re-emerging a bit lately, and trying to find some good reading on the issues … Continue reading
