WARNING: Graphic Media Ahead

Hayley Love

hl303314@ohio.edu

How many times have you seen an article about another mass shooting, or another mass murder? The answer: probably too many. In the past 10 years we have seen more gun violence than ever in the United States. We are witnesses to mass shootings and mass bombings. When these horrific incidents happen, we probably don't see the images, but we imagine how terrible they would be. We hear important public figures speak about how terrible the incident was, and how we need to change now! We see a spike in donations to local businesses and to the Red Cross. Debates on gun control and social movements will occur, especially in the case of the Parkland High School shooting. Then, after a few weeks or months, the debates will end, the donations will come to a halt, and there will be no real change.

In the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, the students who witnessed this massacre took to social media to share graphic images from the scene. The news however, did not.

17 Killed in mass shooting at high school in Parkland, Fl. :https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/police-respond-shooting-parkland-florida-high-school-n848101 

But, what if more graphic images could inspire action? If people were shown the blood and how horrific these scenes really were, would they make a change? Would sharing these images be ethical?

Some argue that if law makers and the American people were to see these images, they would make the change. In many cases of mass shootings, I think it's important to show the truth. "Holder said in a 2016 interview. 'If members of Congress perhaps had a chance to see those pictures and see what happened to those little angels I think we would’ve seen a different result.'" (Bouie, 2018) This quote was in response to the Sandy Hook shooting that occurred in 2012.

I think that in these extreme cases, it's important for the media to show graphic images that are unedited, as this would create an important change in policies. We are the ones who are allowing the gun laws to be unrestricted, allowing these mass murders to continue. When will enough be enough? These images may be graphic and heart-wrenching, but they need to be seen. In an article from Time, a quote from Kenneth Jarecke "If we’re big enough to fight a war, we should be big enough to look at it.” If we are big enough to allow these mass shootings and the mass murders to continue, we should be big enough to look at the gruesome images and make the change that is needed from the images we are shown.