Soccer Dad

How the msm determines motive

Remember Bill Sparkman?

He was the census taker who was killed in eastern Kentucky at the end of September. His ID was taped to his upper body and the word "Fed" was written across his chest. Given the lack of evidence, it didn't stop the Washington Post from speculating:

Here, Sparkman's gruesome death has ignited a debate over whether it was a byproduct of harsh anti-government rhetoric on talk shows, blogs and protests.

In fairness, the rest of the paragraph reports that the people in the area where Sparkman's body was found were actually sympathetic to the federal government. Of course that begs the question if blaming talk shows and blogs for Sparkman's death was appropriate.

There was, of course, plenty of coverage when Mr. Sparkman's body was found and the tasteless speculation that somehow anti-government conservatives were guilty for inspiring his murder. These speculators were egged on by mainstream news sources like the Washington Post or CBS, which used the term "terror" to describe Sparkman's death.

This speculation was irresponsible as there were no witnesses to Sparkman's death and no incontrovertible evidence that he was even murdered.

Now investigators are looking into the possibility that Sparkman committed suicide.

Josh Sparkman, 20, who is unemployed, said he's convinced his father could not have committed suicide, even though law enforcement officials previously told the AP on condition of anonymity that they are looking closely at that possibility and increasingly doubt he was killed because of his government job.

In other words, with no witnesses claiming to have seen Sparkman attacked by someone yelling "Get off my property G-man" there was enough "evidence" to speculate that maybe Sparkman's murderer had taken the hint from anti-government conservatives.

(We do not yet know for certain that Sparkman killed himself either, still it was highly presumptuous to speculate on the motive with no conclusive evidence.)

And what if a witness had heard Sparkman's assailant yell "Allahu Akbar" before killing him? Given the reporting after the Nidal Hasan's massacre at Fort Hood, we can assume that authorities would still be wondering about the motive.

Charles Krauthammer writes:

But, of course, if the shooter is named Nidal Hasan, who National Public Radio reported had been trying to proselytize doctors and patients, then something must be found. Presto! Secondary post-traumatic stress disorder, a handy invention to allow one to ignore the obvious.

And the perfect moral finesse. Medicalizing mass murder not only exonerates. It turns the murderer into a victim, indeed a sympathetic one. After all, secondary PTSD, for those who believe in it (you won't find it in DSM-IV-TR, psychiatry's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual), is known as "compassion fatigue." The poor man -- pushed over the edge by an excess of sensitivity.

Have we totally lost our moral bearings? Nidal Hasan (allegedly) cold-bloodedly killed 13 innocent people. His business card had his name, his profession, his medical degrees and his occupational identity. U.S. Army? No. "SoA" -- Soldier of Allah. In such cases, political correctness is not just an abomination. It's a danger, clear and present.