Wednesday, February 14, 2007
The media is asking the typical questions in response to the recent multiple murder/suicide shootout at a shopping mall in Utah, but completely avoiding the elephant in the room. The shooter's name was Sulejman Talovic, an 18-year-old Bosnian refugee. Know what that means, media? There is an extremely high likelihood that he was Muslim. Instead, the American media has focused on learning if he was abused when he was a child or grew up in an alcoholic family. Perhaps he just decided he didn't want to wait any longer for his 72 virgins. If that turns out to be the case, watch the media drop this story as fast as they can. Just like they avoided mentioning the Muslim who shot six Jews in Seattle last summer. It was a "hate crime," not terrorism. Or four years ago with the Beltway snipers, I never once heard the media use the M-word, even though the shooters were both Muslims. Connection, anyone??? By the time we realize and acknowledge that jihad has fully come to this country, it will be too late.
UPDATE at 2/15/07:
Confirmed, the Utah shooter was Muslim. However, the FBI has ruled out his religion as a possible cause of his actions while still saying they have no idea why he did what he did. The PC police must be on the prowl.
UPDATE at 2/16/07:
It's sounding more like the shooter was just a troubled kid. Of course, the family calls him a "good boy." And the media neglected to mention what his "four prior minor juvenile offenses" were. One included threatening to cut a girl's throat with a knife. Yeah, sounds like a good boy to me.
Either way, the fact remains that the media will do everything in it's power to not mention the M-word. All I'm asking for is some journalistic honesty. I know, I know, that's become an oxymoron.
UPDATE at 2/15/07:
Confirmed, the Utah shooter was Muslim. However, the FBI has ruled out his religion as a possible cause of his actions while still saying they have no idea why he did what he did. The PC police must be on the prowl.
UPDATE at 2/16/07:
It's sounding more like the shooter was just a troubled kid. Of course, the family calls him a "good boy." And the media neglected to mention what his "four prior minor juvenile offenses" were. One included threatening to cut a girl's throat with a knife. Yeah, sounds like a good boy to me.
Either way, the fact remains that the media will do everything in it's power to not mention the M-word. All I'm asking for is some journalistic honesty. I know, I know, that's become an oxymoron.
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6 comments:
It's easy to see a Muslim-sounding name and make some assumptions isn't it? Presumably the FBI has had access to the shooter's hard drive and phone records, presumably they have also talked to at least a few of his acquaintances.
I'm fairly sure that if this had produced a jihadist link, someone in law enforcement would have revealed it. Why? It'd be a great way for them to protect and extend some of the more controversial aspects of the Patriot Act.
His father actually has said that he thinks his son was trained... who trains except for radical Muslims?
Either way, it would be nice if the media didn't immediately RULE OUT Islam as a factor. It's one thing to not jump to conclusions and say Islam WAS a factor, but to go the opposite and rule out Islam before any investigation...
as for the FBI finding stuff on his hard drive, the shooter left nothing behind. So basically they've been up a creek trying to determine his motives.
The up-the-creek situation seems to suggest he was a disaffected loner. His father says the guy was trained, but he can't say who. There are all manner of paranoid loners who band together to train for some unknown apocalypse - Islam is no prerequisite.
Usually joining some radical politicized group is preceded by other changes in behaviour, new friends, sudden change in attitude or dress. Again, presumably interviews with his family should have revealed such things.
I think you're missing my point... obviously, there are people from every walk of life and religion that go out and kill people. My point is that the media not only ignore the elephant in the room, they scream "islamophobia" at anyone who does mention it. Instead, they should allow all angles and motives to be investigated BEFORE ruling out Islam as a factor. The real "islamophobics" are the members of the media who won't publish the Danish cartoons and avoid news stories that put Islam in a bad light. They are (justly) scared of retaliation.
As for this case in point, I would put my money on the shooting NOT being related to Islam. As you said, they should have found something by now. Plus, most Bosnian Muslims are pretty apathetic in their faith. Though that actually could lead a young man like this shooter to search for something more real like radical Islam.
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