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In reply to the discussion: Police seek tips to get AK-47-wielding gunman off the street [View all]sofa king
(10,857 posts)First of all, I care about the details because if the journalist screws them up, that's often all one needs to know about the other reported details in the story. It's like the rock star's bowl of M&Ms with all the green ones picked out--at a glance I can tell that the reporter fucked up, and now I have to ask what else the reporter fucked up.
Second of all, informed members of the public can make tactical decisions based upon what they know the other guy has. A full-auto AK-47 only puts the first three or four bullets in the target area; the rest are thrown off by the recoil of the gun, so if the chump is hosing entire clips, one can get up and run pretty much as soon as he starts firing and have a good chance of reaching cover farther away before he can reload. A semi-auto SKS, on the other hand, which is often confused with the AKs, theoretically fires all aimed shots, and breaking cover is very dangerous at all times. The "high" caliber (high by comparison to .25 and .223 rifles) 7.62 round can penetrate most vests, most cars, and the corners of some walls. Lower caliber rounds are just as deadly but deflect more easily, and thus more and different kinds of cover and protection might be able to be used.
Right now, based on this article, the public has no fucking idea what the shooter has or what he can do with the gun he has. That gives them no choices and fewer options other than "try to get away," which will kill them if they choose to try that at the wrong time, in front of the wrong weapon.
You wouldn't tolerate the press defining our President as a "Kenyan Muslim," so why in the hell would you tolerate the presentation of misinformation in a story that has a potential bearing on whether or not people live or die? You wouldn't, if it wasn't an issue that stepped on your ideological toes.