"Typically these come from television producers or magazine editors who want to know how long I'll need to get ready and respond. But last night was different. The first call I received didn't come from a producer or editor but from my daughter, an alum of Brown University, where yesterday a shooter walked into a final-exam-review session, killed two students, and injured nine more. My daughter had heard from friends sheltering in place."
"People in my field cover what we sometimes call the "dead people" beat. That kind of humor may seem heartless, but sarcasm is how we deal with the horror of mass shootings, violence, and terrorism. My role is to provide, to the extent I can, some objective way to process the familiar but often inexplicable. If I seem unemotional on television, that is simply a skill honed from experience, not a reflection of what I'm feeling."
A shooter entered a final-exam-review session at Brown University, killing two students and injuring nine. A homeland-security expert received a first call from a daughter sheltering in place, then calls from TV and magazine producers; the expert replied, "I can be ready in 20." The expert explains that those in the field cover the "dead people" beat and use sarcasm to cope. Professional detachment on television is a practiced skill rather than lack of feeling. The expert expresses anger at inadequate U.S. gun laws and the ubiquity of "thoughts and prayers." Authorities detained a person of interest and noted the state's small size.
Read at The Atlantic
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