Carnage - for Fame !

The two most recent mass shootings in the United States were carried out by relatively young white men and each had a different conclusion.  In one event the gunman was shot dead by the police, and in the other he dropped his weapon and raised his hands in surrender immediately he saw law enforcement officers arrive.

It is very easy to know what is in store for that gunman in police custody.  He will be inundated with offers from lawyers keen to represent him because he is now a celebrity and when he goes to trial the case will be heavily featured in the nation's media.  Representing a celebrity reflects fame on a spokesperson and such publicity builds the persona lawyers are desperate to create.

Despite the witnesses and photographic evidence, it is almost certain that this offender will plead not guilty.  His childhood and school days will be carefully dissected in court as the public tries to understand what caused him to inflict mass murder on unsuspecting shoppers.  He will have gained a forum from which he can exploit the racist agenda or white supremacist outlook that he will claim underpins his action programme.  It is probable that this will find affinity in other young minds because he presents himself as a hero.

The trial will become a public spectacle and the El Paso shooter will be tried under Texas law which may result in the death penalty.  All aspects of the trial and sentence will be subject to appeal and it is likely the shooter will spend decades awaiting the outcome of these endless appeals.  It is quite possible that he will become the subject of a book or a movie to exploit the public fascination with the death he inflicted on innocent people.  His face will become instantly recognisable because he will attract similar media exposure to the men and women who govern America.

What is chilling is the shortening time cycle in which mass shooting crime  is now occurring in America.  Coupled with the shootings in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas was the  garlic festival carnage in Gilroy, California just a few days earlier.  In a country where access to automatic weapons is virtually without restriction the lure of fame may be drawing others into a race to see who can achieve the most casualties.     There is a very thin divide between fame and notoriety.

So far, America has rejected any meaningful restriction on the availability of military grade assault weapons.  The fact that a depressed economy is generating many people who lack hope of a well paying job and a bright future is fuelling the miasma of discontent that results in this type of atrocity that delivers fame that can not be otherwise achieved.

Sadly, this is now becoming the new normal so that a mass shooting will soon to pass to an inner page in the daily media presentation.  Along with the statistics on how many people die in accidents on America's congested highways.  Mass shootings are losing their news value.