Stupid First Ammendment

I'm not really going to say much about the tragic shooting on Virginia Tech's campus earlier this week. I don't really have much to add about such a horrific event that has not already been said. However, I read earlier that the killer made a video and wrote a manifesto and mailed it NBC. This is heinous enough, but I was shocked and appalled that NBC and all the other news stations actually showed this video and some of the graphic pictures on the air.

What good does this accomplish? Does this help the grieving families deal with their loss? Does this information provide any further insight into why this happened other than confirm what we all assumed, that the killer was mentally ill? No! If anything, this sends chills to all of those impacted the most by what happened. Furthermore, this might provide inspiration for copycat killers that want their fifteen minutes of postumous "fame" on national TV. Truly reprehensible behavior by our national media, and they deserve all of the criticism they have received today.

I hope you have not had a chance to see any segments of this video. It is really upsetting and does nothing to help explain anything we did not already know. The media may have the "right" to show this according to our constitution, but that doesn't mean that it is right for them to show this video on national TV.