3 dead and 5 wounded in suspected Terror attack in Germany - not even headline news anymore.

[ianh]

Hi All,

So a Somali man has gone on a knife rampage whilst shouting Allah Akbar during a suspected terror attack in the German town of Wurzburg killing three and wounding five more before being shot and arrested.

Now, this isn't a thread specifically about this one particular attack but instead a thread wondering if we've genuinely become so immune to these kind of frequent attacks? I mean as this one didn't even make it into the main headlines of the BBC but was instead just a small byline with a very small story attached (<180 words) whereas previously this would have been main headline news with 3-4 reporters on the story -

I realise that there are other "big" stories right now with the Miami collapse and the Chauvin sentencing but I would still expect such an event to at least be in the top 3 headlines in the 13 hours after it happened.

So, do you think that Western society has become so inured by now to attacks like these that the reporting is no longer shocking or has this attack just been gobbled up by bigger headlines hitting at the same time?

 

[ianh]

Nice dark mode, how did you get it?

"Dark Reader" add-on from http://darkreader.org/ using Firefox.

 

[ianh]

We're not in Europe anymore, remember?

We're not in the EU anymore, we're still in Europe

I checked the Daily Mail and its nowhere in the top either - its mostly coverage of Matt Hancock and the Royal Family. In fact coverage of Matt Hancock is trending on most news websites,ie,The Telegraph,etc.

Yeap that my point, no media outlet (either Left or Right) seems to be covering "yet another" terror attack in the way they used to just a few years ago, hence my question "are we simply becoming inured to these acts?".

 

[ianh]

Now, why wasn't this plastered on the front page of every single newspaper/website? Who knows?

My concern is that we may have reached, as per Northern Ireland, an "acceptable level of violence" where a constant low level attacks effecting a fairly small amount of people are becoming "accepted" leaving it to the big spectaculars such as the Manchester (ISIS) or Omagh (RIRA) bombing to really focus our attention again, forcing those who wish us harm to plan even bigger events to grab the worldwide attention they crave.

As past history shows when something similar could be seen in the decade+ long build up to 9/11 which started with smaller attacks and eventually increased in size/scope once the smaller stuff became unshocking.

 

[ianh]

I think you are being consumed the social media machine.

The only SM I have is an "immediate family only" FB page I haven't updated in 2 years with no twitter, instagram, ticktock or any other SM platforms. I'm old enough to have lived through the decades when the IRA were most prolific and I'm seeing some parallels between the reduction in reporting for what was initially classed as a Terror attack vs how these attacks were reported on 5+ years ago, similar to how the UK downplayed the amount of violence in Northern Ireland forcing the PIRA to get bigger and nastier to achieve the same level of news reporting as previous.

Look at the bigger picture.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/978830/knife-homicides-in-england-and-wales/
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-42749089

Then consider why you think the German Crime should have more attention...

It's not the issue of being "knife deaths" thats the important part of the German story, it's the initial reporting of it being a Terror attack that I think is the most important part as to why it "should have more attention" for me. We lose far more people per year to simple knife crime than Terrorism but it's never important "how" the victims of Terror died, just that Terrorism was the cause of their death. In fact I'd say we're already immune to the weekly death toll from criminal knife crimes via gangs, drugs etc and I wonder if we're now going the same way with our reaction to Terror attacks too?

 

[ianh]

But it wasn't a terror attack. Most news media is social media. They are all using click bait to drive views without proper reporting and investigation. People have got into the habit of accepting shoddy reporting at face value.

There is nothing in common with northern Ireland and this. That's a bizarre comparison.

Ok, once more - I'm asking about the change in how the reporting of terror attacks (not the events themselves) seems to be changing and asking if, just like what happened in NI, it's because we as a society are becoming more immune to these attacks and we've reached an acceptable level. If this is so then it may force terrorists to attempt larger and more deadly attacks to gain headlines, just like it did in NI, if the "regular" attacks don't make the international news as much currently.

 

[ianh]

The terrorists in NI weren't looking to get headlines. They were looking to create terror by killing lots of people. How it was reported was largely irrelevant.

You obviously have your opinion on "does the lack international reporting of terror attacks make follow on attacks bigger, more spectacular", my opinion looks to be different from yours so to prevent derailing the thread further lets agree to disagree.

 

[ianh]

This.

If the title had read "3 dead and 5 wounded in attack by mentally disturbed person in Germany - not even headline news anymore." @ianh might have had a point to stand on.

The title of the actually story (not the by-line shown in the image shown) at the time of posting was still reported as a terror attack by the BBC hence the title. If the stories headline had been "mentally ill man kills 3 in knife attack in Germany" I doubt I'd have actually read it.

As it is, the thread is a thinly disguised attempt to stoke racism targeting Muslims by making a point about the allegation that the murderer might have been an Islamic Terrorist.

Yet I currently live in a Muslim country, work with hundreds of Muslims and have around a dozen I would call good friends rather than just work colleagues, can you say the same?

To be very blunt, by making an extremely hostile and offensive statement about my beliefs based solely on a worthless and utterly incorrect assumption, and then claiming it as fact purely as a way to attack me and my post, it shows that you have the mark of a someone not worth wasting any time on, although as a positive you have proven yourself to be without shadow of a doubt a liar, which I'll remember for any future discussions.

 

[ianh]

Seriously, I just can't be bothered to pursue your argument here either.

You know an apology for falsely smearing my character by stating as fact (not opinion) that I created this thread as "a thinly disguised attempt to stoke racism targeting Muslims" despite clearly knowing very little about me or my character would have been nice to be honest, rather than your actual reply, which is a shame.

I mean it's OK to admit when you've made a mistake, even if it's to someone you apparently dislike, as it hopefully prevents people repeating the same mistake over and over.

 

[ianh]

This thread is about does the media in the UK not give enough reporting priority on domestic German crime.

As the OP I can categorically say "No this thread is NOT about that" - It's asking if we're becoming immune or desensitised to the reporting of new terror attacks (as this was initially reported as being) when this German attack got a paltry 180 word story with a tiny byline until the story changed hours later once the mental history of the accused was found out.

Whatever else you've decided to make up in your mind that this thread is about is just that - made up.