Letters: Media, family breakdown to blame for for killings

After seeing Vester Flanagan gunning down those journalists, video-taping it, sending off a 23-page manifesto and calling ABC news and then watching the 24/7 coverage, I’ve reached the conclusion we are reaping the seeds we have sown.

The breakdown of the family has left a parental vacuum to be filled by the media. Seeking the almighty dollar, Hollywood/ TV/news programs are peddling violence, sex, drug use, kill-and-be-killed video games or whatever attracts viewers. Developing children watch this, absorb it, and too many become what they have been fed.

Media coverage makes these young killers household names like Dylann Roof or James Holmes, glamorizing them, encouraging more to follow.

This was not the cultural dynamic of in the 1950s. Today it is; heck today we have “snuff movies.” Our culture is in a self-feeding downward spiral we must grab hold of.

TV’s talking heads are blaming guns and mental illness. Neither is the root cause. When are our leaders going to point the finger at the breakdown of the family, and what the media are feeding our children?