An open appeal to all news outlets, video sites, and people who crave content:
Please do not share, stream or disseminate the video footage of today’s events. Two innocent people lost their lives. Alison Parker and Adam Ward. They were doing their jobs today and, in what must have been a final moment of terror, they were senselessly gunned down by another person.
Now, this happens every day and we should mourn the loss of innocent life and be grateful for the life we still have left to live—hopefully to do good.
But, this certainly doesn’t happen every day on live television. These two individuals had their dignity stripped away by a selfish, deranged human who had no regard for the value of others or himself.
Let us not strip away their dignity for all time by uploading the footage or sharing it in any way.
This is an appeal to decency. This is an appeal to reflect on this terrible event, say a prayer for the family members, donate money to a mental health organization, reach out to a friend in need for whatever reason, hug your kids, take a deep breath and just remind yourself that no matter what we do, we have the power to make positive impacts in the lives of others.
We make choices every day. Today, someone we will not name on this site made a horrible choice and murdered two journalists.
Be decent today. Don’t upload, leak or share this content. Or, for those who have an opportunity, don’t view it. Don’t. It doesn’t do you any good.
Photo: Social Media/Nicholas Razzell