Pork Fat
Member
Does over-use of the phrase "opened fire" in the reportage of shooting incidents grate on anybody else's nerves? When a robbery gets messy, the perp is said to have "opened fire" , never "started shooting". The backyard vigilante? "Opened fire". The cops in response to a suspicious movement? "Opened fire".
And the most repetitious of all? 24 hour coverage of the latest nonfunctional goobers with weapons, weak chins, and internet manifestos. In a poor attempt to make some kind of showing for themselves, they entered a mall/dormitory/church and yes, OPENED FIRE.
I believe Shep Smith on Fox News said it 8 times before 7:15 the other day. I think these folks watch and read each other to the point of having a crippling effect on vocabulary and expression. I also think that the term is used for dramatic effect to magnify the gunfire to barrage-like levels. Antigun bias in the media ensures that "opened fire" will be used wherever "fired shots" or "began firing" would do.
A couple of rifle magazines full or a few rounds from a pistol are all made to sound like war is breaking out across the land. I know it's a trivial point amidst these atrocities large and small, but the underinformed over reportage turns the tragedy into a statistic in one news cycle. The repetitive language used makes it a trite, irritating attempt to insert some small inflammatory bias.
Does my tinfoil beanie need shoring up? Rantage off.
And the most repetitious of all? 24 hour coverage of the latest nonfunctional goobers with weapons, weak chins, and internet manifestos. In a poor attempt to make some kind of showing for themselves, they entered a mall/dormitory/church and yes, OPENED FIRE.
I believe Shep Smith on Fox News said it 8 times before 7:15 the other day. I think these folks watch and read each other to the point of having a crippling effect on vocabulary and expression. I also think that the term is used for dramatic effect to magnify the gunfire to barrage-like levels. Antigun bias in the media ensures that "opened fire" will be used wherever "fired shots" or "began firing" would do.
A couple of rifle magazines full or a few rounds from a pistol are all made to sound like war is breaking out across the land. I know it's a trivial point amidst these atrocities large and small, but the underinformed over reportage turns the tragedy into a statistic in one news cycle. The repetitive language used makes it a trite, irritating attempt to insert some small inflammatory bias.
Does my tinfoil beanie need shoring up? Rantage off.
