Shooting in Nebraska Mall

December 6, 2007 

The Facts 

A nineteen year old man with some obvious psychological problems walked into a mall in Nebraska yesterday killing eight people and wounded several more. The media buzz is already in full force talking about all the aspects of how, why, and what can be done to limit this possibility in the future. One report was about mall owners installing equipment at each entrance to detect weapons and/or bombs.  

My View  

My view is about the idea of installing monitoring equipment at mall entrances. In a report on one television news channel the reporter stated that “mall owners did not want to spend the money to install this expensive equipment until enough shoppers start staying away because of fear”.  

Understand first that I am not voicing an opinion of whether or not this equipment should be installed. Nor am I taking a position on what kind of additional security, if any, should be used at public businesses. What caught my ear was the wording by the mall owner(s) in response to a question that was obviously asked; “…until enough shoppers start staying away because of fear”. Obviously, I am taking into account that the news reporter may have taken the comment out of context. But if this wording was used, no matter in what context, it supports my point.  

This speaks volumes of our way of thinking in our country; “nothing matters except money & profits, unless it affects me”. The owner is not saying the equipment is just too expensive or cost prohibitive. Neither is he saying that he will never install it. In essence, he is saying that when enough people are killed that it affects his profits, he will take action. 

I got my first “public” job when I was thirteen years old. That was more than fifty years ago. My, my, how attitudes & values have changed! Not just with the business owner, but with the public too. The average business owner back then would never even have allowed such thoughts to enter his head, let alone express them. And if the owner had made such a statement, he would have been out of business the next day due to the public’s outrage. But this just tell us what we are motivated by these days. What’s next?