Media, don’t bullet mass shootings

There was no delaying the news out of Fort Hood, Texas, last Wednesday; another tragic shooting rampage.

The culprit, 34-year-old Army Specialtist Ivan Lopez, killed three and wounded 16 before turning the weapon on himself.

My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families, as well as Lopez’s widow and daughter.

However, my scorn is directed at the mainstream media. As offensive and insensitive as it sounds, the axiom journalists live by is “If it bleeds, it leads.” It’s common practice to devote maximum coverage to a bloody tragedy as it happens.

But shooting rampages are also an easy way to fill the air time between commercials. With their surprising frequency lately, these shootings deliver the ratings that keep advertising revenue rolling in.

However, in their race to break the story before other stations, correspondents and anchors were reporting speculation as fact. An industry that capitalizes on shootings can’t wait to confirm details; they’ll only lose ratings to their competitors.

So, before the gun smoke had even settled, the news channels had already rounded up their respective corrals of authorities and experts to deliver commentary about a possible motive. This is hardly their first rodeo.

The initial reports were that Lopez was an Iraq Veteran and was being treated for mental illness. These reports were picked up with lightning-quick speed, and thanks to lazy journalists “mental illness” was rounded off to the nearest easily packaged term.

The subtle nuances were deemed too complicated for viewers and readers to understand, so the editors passed in favor of recognizable acronym that fit the narrative.

“Lopez is believed to have suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.”

Former Marine Sergeant and Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Myer was quick to comment.

“Going out and shooting your own friends, your own people, that’s not PTSD,” he told Fox News. “The media label this shooting PTSD, but if what that man did is PTSD, then I don’t have it.”

As time went on, the more in-depth stories gave the missing details. Lopez deployed to Iraq for four months in 2011, right before the withdrawal.  He claimed to have “self-diagnosed” a traumatic brain injury, and had posted a number of stories to his Facebook account about getting hit by a roadside bomb.

However, Ft. Hood’s commanding officer, Lt. Gen. Mark Milley, said that Lopez did not experience direct combat during his tour.

It is likely Lopez’s war stories were fabrications and had nothing to do with the shooting. The story is over and the debate has already moved on to the pro and anti-gun control arguments.

But the media is missing the message here. PTSD is not an analogous filler term for the mental illness that drives killers to commit heinous acts.  The 24-hour news cycle continues to propagate the stereotype that Veterans are all screw-loose killers, which further marginalizes those suffering from PTSD and silences them from seeking treatment.

Our Veterans fought for their country and they deserve better than that blanket generalization.