Billy Johnson on Santa Barbra Killer: ‘What we call things matters’

Authors S.H. Blannelberry

In his latest episode, National Rifle Association News commentator Billy Johnson examined media coverage of the May 23rd killing spree near Santa Barbra that left seven people dead including the perpetrator of the attack, 22-year-old Elliot Rodger.

Johnson questions why the media was so quick to label Rodger a “gunman” and a “shooter” when in fact he killed three individuals with a knife and wounded others with his vehicle, concluding that “killer” would be the most appropriate way to describe the demented college student.

Johnson then suggests that the media perpetuates a negative stereotype of the words “gunmen” and “shooter.”

“I think we gravitate toward the label ‘gunman’ because it is more sensational, it’s scarier,” says Johnson.

“We have been conditioned to fear people with guns. The media reinforces this fear while simultaneously exploiting it. We have been conditioned to feel that guns and gunmen in particular are evils from which any decent person should recoil in horror,” he continues.

“Well guess what, I’m pretty sure I might be a gunman. Calm down, okay, it’s just a word; a word that means a man who is armed with a gun or skilled with a gun,” Johnson explains.

Interesting theory. What are your thoughts? Does the media purposefully use certain buzzwords to push an anti-gun agenda?

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  • JimiHemi July 7, 2014, 6:05 pm

    Mind altering drugs have been responsible for the vast majority of mass shootings world wide.
    Get our kids off of these drugs and we shall see a reduction in these terrible events.

  • Vern Adams July 7, 2014, 4:11 pm

    Follow the money, The networks make money from Ad’s, the more wild they can make the story the more they can charge for the Ad’s, this is true other wise it would not be necessary to put leaders on to get you to watch their NEWS program. They also hire liberal journalist to report instead of unbiased reporters. The more they can agitate the public the MORE MONEY.
    When I read the newspaper its the same BS, I’ve learned to read the comics foe whats really happening.

  • gunman July 7, 2014, 9:39 am

    No doubt the media sensationalizes and or minimizes what drives an obvious agenda. Instances of hyping include the death count in the military. Interesting that the military death count was on every news cast and news paper every day during the Bush years. When was the last time you saw that number? Yep, no such thing during the O years, because it no longer fits the motive. Have you noticed that many negative articles regarding politicians refer to republicans as “rep”, indicating “republican” & also refer to democrats as “rep” meaning “representative”, but for the obvious purpose of leaving it to the reader to mistakenly decipher it also is republican.

  • John Doe July 7, 2014, 9:18 am

    Even the poor father of the boy who was murdered couldn’t see the knife or car; only the gun! When will the media and the politicians see the light and direct the blame to where it really belongs; the pharmaceutical companies. 22 vets committing suicide per day is not from PTSD, it’s from pharma. Check out the stats. on vets returning from WWII and see how many were killing themselves.

  • Mark Bartholomew July 7, 2014, 8:37 am

    It’s funny how some people have their ideology, but as soon as the fighting starts they will be hiding behind the gun owners for protection. I guess the best we can hope for is that they get mugged without being harmed. Maybe that will wake them up.

    • shootbrownelk July 7, 2014, 11:54 pm

      Mark, spot-on. Did you hear that Juan Williams (fox new’s token black liberal) whose wife was car-jacked in a gas station had said that “She wished she had a gun to use”? Juan Williams is one of the biggest “Gun-Banners” in the media, and to have his own wife say something like that, well…it made ME feel great. Probably not Juan however. I wonder why nobody ever called him out on it? I thought O-Really had the gonads…..guess not.

  • Joe July 7, 2014, 6:21 am

    Absolutely right on the money. A shooter is a tag that would readily fit me. I guess gunman too. “Killers” is what those people are. Whether the weapon is a knife or gun they are not shooters; shooters are recreational gun users, even Olympians! The media barely ran the story about the attack, in China, by a lone man who stabbed or slashed 29 people! The man in California was clearly disturbed and did in fact kill with a knife and car. The “kids” in Columbine had PIPE bombs and Propane gas cylinders with which they intended to blow up the school! Very little was mentioned about those facts. Certainly the media has to be taken to account for it’s uneven reporting and biased attitude toward guns. Or is it just toward SENSATIONALISM.
    On the other hand having a group of people carry AR-15 rifles, slung over their shoulders, into a fast food joint just because it’s legal to do so is an unnecessary affront to the TV addicted public and puts a light on us that we REALLY don’t need. Personally I find it easier to eat after I set my rifle down and very often I just leave it in the truck….

    • Kivaari July 8, 2014, 7:04 pm

      The open carry people, packing long guns, not handguns are hurting our cause. Each time the open carry demonstrations take place we probably create more anti-people than would develop after another mass shooting. WE don’t need people harming us that way. Yes, it’s legal, but it is impolite. I always carry a handgun concealed. I infrequently carry a belt gun in the open. I know I am a good guy, and I know that where I live, it isn’t unusual to see people packing. It is unusual to see rifles and shotguns in stores and restaurants. I would not carry that way. We need to be polite and respectful.

  • roger mason July 7, 2014, 6:09 am

    no one died on may 23 in santa barbara. another DHS hoax.
    just like the previous fake “mass killings”. google “santa
    barbara fake shooting” or a similar term to see endless
    proof of this. how can billy johnson be so clueless?
    because he’s an NRA member, that’s why. they sold
    out decades ago.

    • Kivaari July 8, 2014, 6:58 pm

      Hoaxers are insane. Claiming this is just one more DHS false flag operation, or everyone was an actor in the employ of the government, simply reinforces the idea that gun owners are crazy. People making such claims are harming the gun rights movement. I would suspect that some of the hoaxers are in the employ of Bloomberg’s anti-gun groups. NO one can be so obviously stupid, unless they are either crazy or an enemy of truth.

  • Camp_Perry July 7, 2014, 6:07 am

    Media–defined as: bought and paid for propaganda departments of the elite, Communists, Progressives, and Liberals, aka: “Today’s Demon-crats.”

    Teach your young one critical thinking, discernment, and patriotic common-sense. With all of the electronic gizmos today, propaganda is shoved at us 24/7. Make your kids and grand-kids THINK. Like asking: “Who is behind this? What is their goal? Who benefits the most? Who is paying for this? Who is making money off of this?”

    These certified demons in the media today have been practicing their craft for about 100 years now ( a la Federal Reserve System, IRS, etc.) so they’ve got a jump on us. We are in it for the long haul and we will beat them.

    THAT’S AMERICA! COUNT ON IT!

    HOME OF THE FREE, BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!

    GOD BLESS THE U.S.!

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