I have been a prosecuting attorney for 16 years. I’ve also been a Snohomish County resident and Herald subscriber for most of those years. The arrival of the Everett Silvertips is an exciting time for this area, and their first win was a piece of local history to be proud of. The full color pictures depicting their first games, however, reminded me of the old joke, “I went to a fight the other night, and a hockey game broke out.”
Big pictures of young kids punching each other in the face suggest that if you want to get noticed or be in the paper, you ought to fight. Though the photo was nice and clear, wasn’t the focus still a tad messed up?
About one year ago, I was trying a case where a husband and father was killed by a couple punches from a young man in Snohomish. It wasn’t the movies. It was real life, and real death. Nobody yelled “cut,” followed by everyone getting up and smiling. Somebody stayed down – forever. People miss him.
Right now, a family of a 16-year-old is visiting his grave instead of going to his football games. Two other teens sit in jail for the crime, their families shattered as well. They all made the front page too.
Is it smart to depict violence as good, clean fun? I am certainly not blaming The Herald or the media for youth violence. I am a prosecutor, not a sociologist. I do not pretend to have answers when sobbing parents or relatives ask me “why?” and this letter isn’t a suggestion that suddenly I’ve discovered those answers. I can’t even say those big pictures of kids fighting hurt a darn thing; I just doubt they help.
Stanwood
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