by arthur Weinreb
Friday, October 6, 2006
Since last Monday's school shooting in Pennsylvania, the media can only be described as having an obsession with the amish. Charles Carl Roberts, 32, walked into an amish one room school house in Nickel Mines Pa and ordered the boys out. He then bound the little girls and shot several of them in the head, execution style, before killing himself. Five little girls were killed and others were taken to the hospital in critical condition.
Roberts had planned to sexually assault the girls before killing them and taking his own life; a copycat crime of the recent Colorado school shootings. But the quick arrival of the police and their refusal to leave him alone prevented him from fully implementing his well thought out plans.
It was certainly a relevant factor that this all took place in what is commonly referred to as amish country. although not amish himself, Roberts lived in a nearby community. He chose this particular school because it was small and, in keeping with amish traditions, did not have a telephone; nor were any of the teachers or students likely to have cell phones.
Other than providing an easy setting for Roberts to play out his sick fantasies, nothing turned on the fact that his victims were amish. Roberts drove a milk truck, picking up milk from amish farms in the area and delivered it to processing plants. There was nothing in either his background or the events of that horrific day to suggest that he wanted to kill members of the amish community as opposed to wanting to sexually assault and kill little girls. It was simply a matter of convenience that this all took place where it did.
The media has gone completely overboard in constantly emphasizing that the victims, both living and dead are amish. They seem to be going to great lengths in portraying the beliefs and practices of that community. Instead of covering how parents are coping with the murders of their young daughters, they are covering how amish parents are coping with the loss of their amish daughters. It has become a media spectacle above and beyond that which it already was. This type of coverage led a member of that community, anna Fisher, to say, "We are not exempt from the world. We're people like everybody else is. We bleed the same way everybody else does." It's a sad day when someone like Fisher feels bound to state the obvious; that the amish are people too.
It could have been worse – Charles Carl Roberts could have been a woman. On Wednesday, 31-year-old Elaine Campione called the police and told them that her two children were dead in her Barrie Ontario apartment. Campione was in the midst of an acrimonious custody battle and was due in court the next day. She has been charged with two counts of first degree murder in the deaths of Serena, 3, and 1-year-old Sophia. Within hours of the police releasing their names, the media jumped to Campione's defense. She was depressed. It must have been post partum depression. Elaine Campione became the third victim. Of course in the midst of their coverage of the how the amish of Pennsylvania deal with their grief (as opposed to how real people do), the media did report that Roberts had suffered from depression since the death of his infant daughter nine years ago. But unlike alleged baby killer Campione, that didn't seem to generate any sympathy (yes, Belinda, there is a double standard).
It is really shameful that the amish community in Nickel Mines had to endure being the subject of a media freak show in addition to what they were already going through.
Pursuant to Title 17 U.S.C. 107, other copyrighted work is provided for educational purposes, research, critical comment, or debate without profit or payment. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for your own purposes beyond the 'fair use' exception, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Views are those of authors and not necessarily those of Canada Free Press. Content is Copyright 1997-2024 the individual authors. Site Copyright 1997-2024 Canada Free Press.Com Privacy Statement