Stop
Topic: Television and Media
This morning, London lost 40 people's lives, and 700 people were injured, by 4 explosions in their transit system. Authorities have stated which terrorist group they consider most likely to have done it. The media lets us know the name of the group quite often in their news reports, and CNN exclusively covered the event all morning, and possibly still are. I don't know. I just woke up.

I know so much about this, though, because it's all over the media. They have ensured that everyone knows all about it, and which people are to blame, and what Tony Blair's doing about it, what the United States is doing about it, and what all-the-little-people should do about it. In other words, they have made things easier for those responsible for the explosions.

Terrorism only works if it can cause the most reaction. And thanks to the media, the maximum reaction to a terrorist action gets realized. All the terrorists had to do was post a web page (a web page, for Gods' sakes!) claiming responsibility, and the media did the rest.

Do you know what a troll is? It's a slang term, defined as "One who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument" by the Urban Dictionary. Know how to get rid of a troll? Don't feed him. Don't even acknowledge him.

Know how to make sure he'll never go away? Pay attention to him, and flame him, and make sure everyone knows he's a bastard, and so on.

I don't suggest that we ignore the events and tragedies that unfold as a result of terrorist activities. But giving them as much attention as the media does only serves the terrorists' purpose. A middle ground of simply reporting the events, the reactions of those affected, and statements of politicians should be exercised. The key thing is to never mention the name of the organization believed responsible. The politicans shouldn't do it. The witnesses and rescue workers shouldn't do it. And the media definitely shouldn't do it.

The people have a right to know when their safety is at risk. But knowing who perpetrated the terrorism will not change their level of safety. Responsible media informs people that there is a risk involved in a certain action, that a disaster has occurred, or what to do to help recover from that disaster. Irresponsible media posts pictures of the attack, the victims, and those responsible, along with a list of their demands and what motivated the attack. Minimize the attention to the terrorists themselves, and you minimize the effectiveness of the terrorism. It won't erase the tragedy, but it will take away the reason for doing it. This might not stop terrorism, but it will make it less effective.

Don't feed the trolls. They're like cats; feed them once, they keep coming back.