Unseen Self-Defense Stories

Unseen Self-Defense Stories
By
Robert Waters



On September 11, 2001, after two jets crashed into the Twin Towers in
New York, the major television networks were faced with a crucial
decision. Should they show the frightful scenes of victims jumping to
their deaths from upwards of eighty stories?

NBC, CNN, ABC, and CBS chose not to. Whether or not you agree with the
networks, there is little doubt that their refusal to show all the
news affected our attitudes about the attacks. Had those scenes been
shown, American resolve to crush the terrorists might have dug even
deeper.

The major networks affect opinion by what they don't show as much as
by what does appear on our television screens. Nothing illustrates
this more clearly than the unseen side of the gun issue.

For instance, when was the last time the networks interviewed someone
who used a gun in self-defense? Since these cases are almost never
shown in the national media, millions of viewers assume that they
never happen.

School shootings, stories of employees going postal and gunning down
co-workers, and even gang-related shootings are regular fare on
television news. But because stories of armed self-defense are unseen,
the implication is that guns are only used for harmful or criminal
purposes.

Here are a few examples of stories you never saw.

On March 14, in a case that seemed a natural for national news, a
football star was gunned down while trying to hold up a liquor store.
Derrick Breedlove, a talented tight end, had recently signed a
scholarship to play for Hampton University in Virginia. Scouts were
already touting him for an NFL career. But when he entered the liquor
store wearing a ski-mask and brandishing a sawed-off shotgun,
Breedlove was shot and killed by a clerk.

On April 2, Virginia "Sue" Devoe was attacked in her Clintonville,
Ohio home. Her former boyfriend, James Ryan McVey, kicked in the front
door, dragged her through the house by her hair, and repeatedly kicked
her. Then he attempted to kidnap her. That's when Devoe's 91-year-old
neighbor came to her aid.

Shirley Becraft drew his handgun and shot the intruder. McVey's death
ended years of violent assaults on Devoe. A local investigator praised
Becraft, saying, "It's hard to know where she would be now if he
hadn't [shot McVey]."

On March 18, in Orange City, Florida, Robert Shockey waited inside
Blockbuster Video for his son, who worked there, to close the store.
The store had been the scene of a violent armed robbery a month
before. Shockey, who has a permit to carry a concealed weapon, saw two
ski-masked robbers burst through the doors. One carried a hunting
rifle and threatened an employee.

Shockey pulled his handgun and shot the gun-wielding assailant. When
the second robber reached for the rifle that his accomplice had
dropped, Shockey shot him.

Police not only ruled the shooting self-defense, they stated that they
planned to give Shockey a "good citizenship award."

And so it goes.

On March 5, Bethan Scutchfield, a 71-year-old invalid from Colville,
Washington fatally wounded a stranger who broke into her house and
knocked her to the floor.

On March 6, an 83-year-old San Antonio woman shot a teenager as he
tried to break into her home.

On March 3, in Pembroke Pines, Florida, two robbers pointed
semiautomatic weapons at businessman Corey Dacres but the victim
pulled his own gun and shot both of them. Dacres, who has a permit to
carry a concealed weapon, was not injured.

Cases of armed self-defense occur thousands of times each year. What
is the price we pay for the black-out of such stories by the networks?
Like a shadow war, viewers who aren't shown both sides of the issue
remain uninformed.

"jim" wrote in message

> Unseen Self-Defense Stories
> By
> Robert Waters
>
>
>
> On September 11, 2001, after two jets crashed into the Twin Towers in
> New York, the major television networks were faced with a crucial
> decision. Should they show the frightful scenes of victims jumping to
> their deaths from upwards of eighty stories?
>
> NBC, CNN, ABC, and CBS chose not to.

I don't remember which ones did, but more than one of the above DID show
people jumping. For several hours after it happened.

They said they stopped because people were complaining. Especially with
children watching, it's very disturbing.

> Whether or not you agree with the
> networks, there is little doubt that their refusal to show all the
> news affected our attitudes about the attacks. Had those scenes been
> shown, American resolve to crush the terrorists might have dug even
> deeper.
>
> The major networks affect opinion by what they don't show as much as
> by what does appear on our television screens. Nothing illustrates
> this more clearly than the unseen side of the gun issue.
>
> For instance, when was the last time the networks interviewed someone
> who used a gun in self-defense? Since these cases are almost never
> shown in the national media, millions of viewers assume that they
> never happen.

Anecdotes are not evidence.

As you can see below, there were 53 murders committed with guns for every 1
justifiable homicide by a private citizen. This is from FBI figures, not
what the news covers.


From http://www.abanet.org/gunviol/family.html

Guns kept in the home for self-protection are more often used to kill
somebody you know than to kill in self-defense; 22 times more likely,
according to a 1998 study by the Journal of Trauma. http://www.jtrauma.com/

In 1999, according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, there were only 154
justifiable homicides committed by private citizens with a firearm compared
with a total of 8,259 firearm murders in the United States.
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm

>
> School shootings, stories of employees going postal and gunning down
> co-workers, and even gang-related shootings are regular fare on
> television news. But because stories of armed self-defense are unseen,
> the implication is that guns are only used for harmful or criminal
> purposes.
>
> Here are a few examples of stories you never saw.
>
> On March 14, in a case that seemed a natural for national news, a
> football star was gunned down while trying to hold up a liquor store.
> Derrick Breedlove, a talented tight end, had recently signed a
> scholarship to play for Hampton University in Virginia. Scouts were
> already touting him for an NFL career. But when he entered the liquor
> store wearing a ski-mask and brandishing a sawed-off shotgun,
> Breedlove was shot and killed by a clerk.
>
> On April 2, Virginia "Sue" Devoe was attacked in her Clintonville,
> Ohio home. Her former boyfriend, James Ryan McVey, kicked in the front
> door, dragged her through the house by her hair, and repeatedly kicked
> her. Then he attempted to kidnap her. That's when Devoe's 91-year-old
> neighbor came to her aid.
>
> Shirley Becraft drew his handgun and shot the intruder. McVey's death
> ended years of violent assaults on Devoe. A local investigator praised
> Becraft, saying, "It's hard to know where she would be now if he
> hadn't [shot McVey]."
>
> On March 18, in Orange City, Florida, Robert Shockey waited inside
> Blockbuster Video for his son, who worked there, to close the store.
> The store had been the scene of a violent armed robbery a month
> before. Shockey, who has a permit to carry a concealed weapon, saw two
> ski-masked robbers burst through the doors. One carried a hunting
> rifle and threatened an employee.
>
> Shockey pulled his handgun and shot the gun-wielding assailant. When
> the second robber reached for the rifle that his accomplice had
> dropped, Shockey shot him.
>
> Police not only ruled the shooting self-defense, they stated that they
> planned to give Shockey a "good citizenship award."
>
> And so it goes.
>
> On March 5, Bethan Scutchfield, a 71-year-old invalid from Colville,
> Washington fatally wounded a stranger who broke into her house and
> knocked her to the floor.
>
> On March 6, an 83-year-old San Antonio woman shot a teenager as he
> tried to break into her home.
>
> On March 3, in Pembroke Pines, Florida, two robbers pointed
> semiautomatic weapons at businessman Corey Dacres but the victim
> pulled his own gun and shot both of them. Dacres, who has a permit to
> carry a concealed weapon, was not injured.
>
> Cases of armed self-defense occur thousands of times each year. What
> is the price we pay for the black-out of such stories by the networks?
> Like a shadow war, viewers who aren't shown both sides of the issue
> remain uninformed.