Media Add To Problem  March 10, 2001  I am fit to be tied again.
Another shooting in California and after the late-breaking news
on Tuesday announcing this newest of tragedies, Wednesday
arrived and with it more incidents of gun violence in our
schools. You can't tell me that the media are not responsible
for instigating or inspiring these mentally unstable youths from
adding yet another school to the growing list of children being
killed.  I know the argument about the right of people to know
what is going on in the world, but my contention is that it is
not necessary for us to know every detail of what happens in
other parts of the country. In fact we usually don't until
something of this magnitude comes along. And to what purpose?
You can't convince me that had this story not been blasted on
every television screen in America last night, that today we
would have still had all these new incidents. Someone was moved
to express hatred of themselves or others in a ghastly non-
productive, aggressive manner.  DE