Weeks have passed since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, but, for many, the reality of the massacre is all too present.
The students and faculty recently resumed classes at a new school building in the former Chalk Hill School in Monroe. CBS News reported while parents are approaching the situation hesitantly, many feel reassured after visiting the new site.
As these individuals have started to move on with their lives, the nation has been buzzing about the tragedy.
Due to the nature of the crime committed at Sandy Hook, our national government has taken action by doing what it feels is best to ensure the safety of all people. Whether you agree with the recent desire for more gun control or not, it has sparked quite a stir among information-seeking Americans.
We live in a culture that is vastly advanced in technology. I’ve written several articles concerning the access that we now have to each other on such a constant basis and how that affects our interpersonal lives. Now we turn our attention to how the media is influencing our thoughts as a whole.
As many of you have probably heard by now, there are some conspiracy theories circulating about the shooting at Sandy Hook. I even had the opportunity to find a video online made by someone who pieced together information to support a claim of a conspiracy by the government.
Conspiracy theories have been around for years. Think back to the assassination of J.F.K. or even the death of Elvis, if he really is dead. More recently is the devastating day of 9/11 and how many thought the government was behind that tragic event. Even the own validity of our current president’s birthplace has been under scrutiny. Regardless of the truth behind any of these theories, there is always someone with an oddball opinion to be shared.
Let’s look at the areas of interest in the conspiracy theory surrounding the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. Viewing Wave3.com, the online site to a Kentucky news station, several of these theories are examined.
Because the shooting there caused such an uproar with the issue of gun control, these ideas have run rampant through the Internet over the last few weeks.
One theory suggests the government set up the shooting in order to allow a platform for President Obama to push for stricter gun laws.
In the video that has gone viral, there are claims there was more than one gunman – three to be exact. The video shows footage of the police chasing a man into the woods after what is said to be the shooting.
They claim all the victims were shot with an automatic weapon but after the school is searched, all they can find are four handguns.
The automatic weapon was believed to have been found in the shooter’s car. This is all in the edited conspiracy theory video. Probably one of the most shocking parts of the theory aims straight at the victims’ families and those who gave assistance to fleeing children.
The most recognizable name here would be Gene Rosen, the older man who claims to have assisted several students and a bus driver after they ran out of the school.
Rosen has been labeled as a paid actor along with Robbie Parker, a man who said his 6-year-old-daughter was killed in the shooting. Both of these men appear in the edited footage of the viral video. There are several more issues raised, but these were the most key components.
Why does a conspiracy theory even come about? Are these people seeking attention, money, or do they actually believe in what they are suggesting?
I know this is an opinion article, therefore you’re probably waiting on my opinion, but I really don’t know that I have one. It sickens me to think about what happened at that school either way.
If our government set up some elaborate hoax in order to push something as unregulatable as gun control by killing innocent people, I’m not sure I would want to be a citizen anymore.
I guess like most of you out there I have to trust the news I know has been the most accurate throughout the years, and let the new “truthers” have their own thoughts.
Maybe it’s my ignorance that wants me to believe this was just an incredibly unfortunate event, or perhaps my slight hope in humanity that leads discredit the theories.
Whatever it may be, I urge you to seek truth and hold faith that those delivering the “facts” are truly delivering the facts.
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Tragedy brings forth conspiracy theories
Sarah Ulmer
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January 28, 2013
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