Legacy Media has all of a sudden gone silent when publishing about a Sweet 16 birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama turned tragic when gunfire broke out, leaving four young people dead and 32 injured, four of whom were critically wounded. In connection with the incident, investigators have charged six individuals with reckless murder, with five of them accused of discharging weapons into the crowd.
The narrative about “assault weapons” ban and demands for stronger gun laws, have now gone silent. The reason for the silence is typical. The media and their followers on social media, love to taut that we need stronger gun laws, but in the Dadeville shooting, the shooters were already breaking the gun laws. In other words, the law was broken, and criminals who were evil commited the murders, not the gun.
Sixth Person Charged, a 15-year-old from Tuskegee
The sixth person charged in the case was arrested on Thursday night, but due to their age, court documents were withheld. According to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the accused is a 15-year-old from Tuskegee, Alabama.
Of the five other suspects charged with reckless murder, Travis McCullough, Tyreese “Ty Reik” McCullough, Wilson LaMar Hill Jr., Willie George Brown Jr., and Johnny Letron Brown are being held without bond in the Tallapoosa County Prison. Those who have been detained thus far will all be charged as adults.
Under Alabama Code § 13A-6-2(a)(1), a person commits the crime of murder if he or she “intentionally causes the death of another person.” Furthermore, under Alabama Code § 13A-5-40(a)(1), a person 16 years or older who is charged with murder shall be tried as an adult.
Victims of the Shooting
The four young people who lost their lives in the shooting were Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, Shaunkivia Nicole “KeKe” Smith, Corbin Dahmontrey Holston, and Marsiah Emmanuel “Siah” Collins. Phil Dowdell was the birthday girl’s brother, and his sister was with him as he passed away. Any loss of life is devestating to the families and communities. The question needs to be asked why this tragedy has been dropped from almost all of the legacy media stories.
It is true that any loss of life is a tragedy that can have a profound impact on the families and communities involved. In terms of media coverage, news outlets may prioritize certain stories over others based on a variety of factors, including the perceived newsworthiness of the story, its relevance to current events, and the potential impact on audiences.
In some cases, a particular story may receive extensive media coverage for a period of time, only to drop out of the news cycle as other events and issues come to the forefront. This does not necessarily mean that the story is no longer important or that the impact on those involved is any less significant. It is also possible that different media outlets may have different priorities and perspectives when it comes to covering a particular story.
Why Legacy Media has Gone Silent
Apart from a handful of media outlets, the story of the Dadeville shooting seems to have been forgotten. This is not unusual, as certain media outlets tend to pick stories that align with their own agendas. It’s not surprising that most conservatives believe that if the shooters had been wearing red MAGA hats or had NRA tattoos, the media would not stop talking about it. However, since this was a case of black-on-black crime, the media seems to be relatively silent. This is not unexpected.
According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program, in 2019, 88.9% of black homicide victims were killed by black offenders. This means that black-on-black crime accounted for the majority of homicides involving black victims. This is a stark contrast to what celebrities, athletes, and legacy media is telling you. One particular professional athletes have stated they are tired of going outside “without being hunted.”
Our current White House will likely echo the sentiments and declare that we need to have common sense gun legislation. However, any legislation that may be passed in the future would not have prevented this murderous rampage any more than the laws already in place, since the shooters were already illegally possessing firearms. Again, the lives lost are forgotten because the solution to the problem does not want to be admitted or addressed.
The Real Solution to the Problem
According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, in 1960, only 22% of black children lived in households without a father present. By 2023, that figure had risen to 67%. Other sources show similar trends. For example, a report by the National Center for Health Statistics found that in 2019, 64% of black children were living in single-parent households, most of which were headed by mothers. Guns existed before 1960, the problem is not the firearm. The issues in the destruction of the home, and family values.
Discounting the importance of a father in the home is a disgrace. Unfortunately, this topic is rarely addressed by legacy media as a contributor to the surge in gun violence. It’s much easier, and a form of lazy journalism, to always point to an inanimate object. If the topic of a loss of Judeo-Christian values and fatherless homes were to be addressed, it could potentially destroy the narrative that historical family structure and values make a better society, not government and legislation.
If America truly wanted to address the violence in our country, it would start at home. The government would stop incentivizing the breakdown of family structures and would acknowledge the truth that it has led to our societal decline. Regardless of a family’s race, if we want to build a strong society, we must establish a strong family structure. We should honor a return to Judeo-Christian values and ensure that evil is punished. This opinion may not be popular with legacy media, but the most effective solutions never will be.
