Letter from the editor: To The State News, thank you for your compassion
This is not the first letter from the editor I’ve written that addresses the epidemic that is gun violence in the United States.
What a damn shame. Our nation is failing us.
Now we are experiencing members of our generation who are graduating from one mass shooting experience to the next.
This does not happen anywhere else in the world.
Like many of you, I have spent the past week checking in on family, friends and loved ones who are part of the Spartan community.
People are grieving and only beginning to process everything that has changed since last Monday evening.
As a student journalist, I’ve also reflected on, listened to and read about the experiences and observations of our student newspaper colleague, The State News.
The Oakland Post commends you — not only for your brave reporting, but also for your compassion.
When a journalist is covering a story, they could very well be interviewing someone about one of the worst experiences of their life.
Covering a story is important, but doing so in a mindful and sensitive way is even more so.
Empathy and humanity cannot be forgotten.
Good journalists understand the delicate balance required to gain useful information and respect the privacy boundaries of the subjects they are reporting on. You have done this skillfully.
As your editorial board letter states, a community needs time to heal and the proper support to do so.
Thank you for your commitment to ethical reporting. Spartan Strong.
Debi • Feb 21, 2023 at 1:25 PM
Complete nonsense.
First, the utter insensitivity to improperly use the word “epidemic” when we are just beginning to recover from an actual global epidemic is beyond irresponsible. Second, your claim that no other country is undergoing an increase in mass murders, including by firearms, is factually incorrect. Did you even bother to do any research in that, or did you just write whatever popped into yourvhead? Because the latter is called “fiction”, and has no place in a *news* publication.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you need to recognize the by completely ignoring the one commonality that all these mass murders have, you are in fact helping them to continue. That commonality is not guns. It is not this country, or its laws. It is not race, sexuality, religion, or education. It is mental illness. Every recorded instance of mass murder on this planet has been committed by someone who was mentally ill. Every single one. Until we deal with the fact that violently mentally ill people are freely wandering about in public, untreated and unsupervised, these mass murders will continue, by firearms, by bombing, by automobile, by knife, by arson, by poison, by biological or chemical weapons, and by bare hands. No law, or package of laws, will stop *any* of these killings if it does not insure and enforce the physical separation of violently mentally ill individuals from public society.
That is the elephant in the room. Ignore it, and you provide it the opportunity to keep stomping people.
Uhanna • Feb 20, 2023 at 8:21 PM
How immoral is it that a student survives a school shooting in high school then graduates on to university only to be faced with the same senseless violence. ? How opportunistic is it of you to attach yourself to a letter meant to offer support to MSU and spew your nonsensical rhetoric? How disgusting a human do you have to be to show zero compassion for what is happening around the country and continue to say that guns aren’t the problem? Do you have a solution in mind or are you only good at offering up the same gun lobby talking points designed to keep the money rolling in to gun manufacturers and thereby the corrupt politicians ignoring this epidemic of senseless death? Youssef, a fool who writes well but spews foolishness is still a fool.
Yousef • Feb 21, 2023 at 7:36 AM
I would at least give the families time to mourn their children before starting a political debate.
I find it inappropriate to use tragedies for political calls to action. Not only do I think it is inappropriate but also foolish to make decisions out of passion. That’s how our passed into law things like FISA, The Patriot act, TSA, etc…. Things I consider wrong or ineffective.
yousef • Apr 5, 2023 at 10:33 AM
Add the RESTRICT act to that list of crap legislation!
yousef • Feb 20, 2023 at 10:12 AM
I usually wouldn’t comment but your comments about “our nation is failing us” while linking to your previous article spouting nonsense gun control is abhorrent.
You’re using this tragedy to as an emotional cudgel to advocate for illogical gun control measures that would have done nothing to stop this tragedy or any of the others. Its disgusting, opportunistic, and immoral.
Sick and Tired of Ignorant Hot Takes • Feb 20, 2023 at 11:30 AM
Raise your hand if you think that Yousef’s comment is actually the one that’s “disgusting, opportunistic, and immoral.”
yousef • Feb 20, 2023 at 12:03 PM
It seems clear to me that Gabbrielle by citing her previous article in which she advocates for gun reforms on the scale of TSA in the opening sentences of her article is advocating for nonsensical gun reforms and using tragedies (either intentionally or unintentionally) to advocate and anti gun agenda. I think that is inappropriate.
She isn’t alone in doing this. many in the media and government engage in this behavior.
What is interesting about TSA is how ineffective and intrusive they are. i would link articles showing how worthless they are at actually doing their jobs or how hated they are by the general public but OP doesn’t allow links in articles anymore. Not only are they worthless but they can violate you with little recourse during searches. If you’re curious they updated their guidance for how they are allowed to conduct pat down searches.
Debi • Feb 21, 2023 at 1:30 PM
Raise your hand if you recognize “Sick and Tired”‘s comment is a mere appeal to emotion rather than a presentation of logical facts disputing Yousef’s points.
That is because, hard as it may be to hear, Yousef is correct.
Yousef • Feb 21, 2023 at 3:05 PM
Agreed
guy • Feb 20, 2023 at 11:47 AM
“I usually wouldn’t comment…”
lololololololololololololol