DRINK THE BLOOD FROM THEIR HEARTS

 That got your attention, didn't it.

Now you might credit it to the caps lock, but it wasn't that alone. It was the red - the blood, fear and panic that the colour represents. It was the image of a well known (if fictional) mass murderer. And it was the words themselves that made you read on, even if you do feel a little queezy.

And there we have it, all we need now is a little detail so you don't feel scammed, and the media's got itself another little article they know everyone will read. I didn't even use an exclamation mark.

Now how can you blame the media, when it is you who demand the show? I would be the first to agree - from an objective point of view - that what the media does is wrong. But when what they do is what we want, when the person who cries out against voyeurism is the same person who immediately reads jumps to the headline reading "20 Killed in School Shooting" why would they stop? Do people really, in their heart of hearts, want them to stop? Violence has always been apart of humanity's history. Killing is as much a part of our being as lust and love. And now its shunned, which gives and additional aspect of awe. People will read about these stories fascinated by what drove a person to break the rules, and indulge in one of his most primal instincts. And they read about it because they think "That could have been me there. I could be dead..." sparking a hundred and one fantasies about how they would react in that situation and how they could survive.  This is just another part of our human instinct; to survive. It captures us, it thrills us. We could spend the rest of the day running these scenarios through our head, and the next day we will want to hear more! The only way we will see the media change its way (outside of drastic government intervention) is for humanity to change its nature. Until then, the media will continue to make celebrities out of our most disgusting criminals, and people will continue to read it.

I could go on for pages about violence, voyeurism and human nature, but lets keep it short and sweet. I will finish with an old (and scary) quote that has always stuck with me;

"If a man dedicates his life to good deeds and the welfare of others, he will die unremembered. If he exercises his genius bringing misery and death to thousands his name will echo down through the centuries for a hundred lifetimes. Infamy is always preferable to ignominy."