Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting - Research Paper Example

Research Paper Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting is among the bloodiest shooting incidences in American schools. The incident occurred in Newtown, Connecticut on 14 December 2012. In the incidence, Adam Lanza, a twenty-year-old man killed his mother before driving to the elementary school where he shot dead twenty pupils and six teachers. Lanza later shot himself in the head when he security personnel arrived to arrest him. Reports about the incident released by the Connecticut State Attorneys office concluded that Adam Lanza acted alone. However, the report could not determine his motivations thus leaving the incident unresolved especially after the death of Lanza. Despite such determinations by the report, numerous other conspiracies arose to the fore following the shooting incidence thus portraying the primary effects of widespread speculations and alleged conspiracies about the incidence as portrayed in the discussion below. Doorley Helio, 241 explain that conspiracy theorists will always provide evidence in order to validate their claims. The conspiracy theorists in Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting used numerous evidences availed by preliminary media reports to back their rumors. The official reports as released by both the media and the official government reports released close to a year later revealed that the shooter identified as Adam Lanza acted alone and killed his mother before driving to the school where he killed six teachers and twenty pupils. Among the evidences the numerous conspirators use to support their theories included wrong photos, wrong identity of the shooter, weapons used and incorrect locations of the shoot out among other basic evidences peddled by the preliminary media reports. Apparently, after arriving at the scene of crime numerous local and internal media began delivering different reports. Each media institution strived to deliver its objective sand authoritative coverage of the incident thus developing and fostering some of the conspiracies that surrounded the shooting incident. Just as was the case with the September 11 terrorist attack, conspiracy theorists gave varied viewpoints on the incidence. People began giving varied accounts and explanations of the incident. Among the conspiracies was the American involvement in the shooting. Such theories alleged that the government carried out the shooting with the view of heightening the discussion on gun control in the country (Stuart 1). Gun control policies are some of the most contentious issues in the United States. The high crime rates in the country coupled with gun related deaths in the country. Most homicide cases in the country are related to both legal and illegal guns in the country. The increasing number of such homicides thus continued to prove the government’s failure to develop effective gun control policies in the country. As such, the shooting incidence was therefore an effective platform for rumormongers to criticize and link the government with the incidence. According to the rumors, the government staged the shooting. As such, the shooting was therefore a hoax that the government instigated with the view of proving the need for stricter gun control policies in the country. The rumormongers sited the conflicting evidences provided by the preliminary media reports in the country. The conflicting venue of the shooting incidence as some of the media gave conflicting locations of the schools. Just as with any other conspiracy theorists, propagators of the rumors capitalized on the inefficiencies of the media covering the incident thus developing systematic rumors that implicated the government in the incidence. By claiming that the whole incidence was a hoax, the rumormongers asserted that the government staged the incidence in order to introduce new and more stringent policies. Using the incident, the government would therefore enjoy positivity and support from the public as it carried out an extensive disarmament exercise in the country. As explained earlier, gun control is a contentious issue in the United States. The government has some of the best intelligence apparatus and law enforcers. The failure by the government to develop effective gun policies and secure the public of their safety despite the existence of such effective law enforcement agencies thus created an effective platform for the spread of the numerous rumors that surrounded the shooting incidence. The existence of millions of both legal and illegal guns in the country continues to present numerous security concerns to the American government (Grant and Frassinelli 2). The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was therefore an appropriate incidence for the government to encourage effective disarmament of the public and developing a series of other stringent policies to govern the use of guns in the country. Taking advantage of the incidence the conspiracy theorists alleged that the government staged the incidence in order to portray to the public the extent of the risks associated with ineffective gun policies. The speculation and widespread of the rumors thus criticized the government’s inability to develop appropriate and effective policies to safeguard the security of the public. Another equally influential rumor that heightened the speculations on the event was the involvement of the Israel. Apparently, the Iranian state media ran an opinion article alleging that as the relationship between the United States and Israel began improving, opponents of such amicable relationships perpetuated the incidence in order to aggravate the relationship between the two countries. In fact, the Michael Harris a Republican politician who had claimed that the precision of the hooting coupled with the portrayal of inhumanity in the incidence proved the involvement of the Israeli death squad (Fessenden, Parlapiano and McClean 1). The perpetrators of the rumors especially with the rumors coming from the Iranian media sought to aggravate the relationship between the Israel and the American government. Iran are perpetual enemies with Israel one of its neighbors in the Middle East region. Strengthening of the relationship between the United States and Israel under President Barack Obama left Iran perilous and vulnerable to the strengthening Israel. The Iranian government thus fostered the rumors with the view of derailing the improving relationship between Israel and the United States. Additionally, the opposition politicians in the United States further propagated the association of the incidence with the Israeli government. President Barack Obama made history as the first African American president in the country (Tracy 4). As such, the opposition politician used this as a major point in their campaigns against Obama. Michael Harris a Republican politician who vied for the position of a governor in the state were among the propagator of the rumors who sought to defame president Obama for partnering with the Middle Eastern countries some of which have elaborate terrorist systems that had attacked the country in previous terrorist incidences. The opposition thus claimed that Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting as yet another terrorist attack that arose from the growing weaknesses in the president Obama’s administration. Numerous other conspiracy theorists arose with their own accounts ad explanation of the incident. Some of the rumors claimed that the shooters were four thereby portraying the weaknesses of the government in carrying out exhaustive investigation thus developing an effective report about the incidence. Ben Swann, a reporter and news anchor for Fox associate WXIX-TV, alleged that the shooters were four thereby contradicting the official reports released by the state government that claimed that the shooter acted alone (Aravosis 2). By claiming that the shooters were four, the television news anchor thus portrayed the government as ineffective and unable to apprehend the perpetrators of the heinous crime. In retrospect, numerous incidences often elicit different viewpoints from the people, most of who often follow such developments from the media. Such events as the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting thus provided an effective platform for people to peddle rumors for varied reasons. The intensity of the rumors developed about the incidence portrayed the intensity of the interests that different people have on such incidents. As the discussion above portrays the numerous rumors sought to serve particular interest who would benefit from the public acceptance of the rumors. Works cited Aravosis, John. Sandy Hook truthers claim the Newtown massacre never happened. America blog, 15 January 2013. Retrieved on 19 June 2014. Doorley, John and Helio, Fred G. Reputation Management: The Key to Successful Public Relations and Corporate Communication. New York: Routledge, 2012. Print. Fessenden, Ford; Parlapiano, Alicia and McClean, Alan. Connecticuts Rules for Purchasing This Gun. The New York Times, December 17, 2012. Retrieved on 19 June 2014. Grant, Jason and Frassinelli, Mike. Rumors fly in Hoboken about brother of suspected Connecticut school shooter. The Star Ledger, December 15, 2012. Retrieved on 19 June 2014. Stuart, Hunter. Sandy Hook Hoax Theories Explained: Why Newtown Truther Arguments Dont Hold Up. Huffington Post, 11 February 2013. 19th June 2014. Tracy, James. The Sandy Hook Massacre: Unanswered Questions and Missing Information. Memory Hole, 24 December 2012. Retrieved on 19 June 2014. Read More