When did the term "Mass Shooting" come into favor?

[Jason Brown]

So I was thinking the other day, when did this term "Mass Shooting" start being spouted about everywhere? I can see several threads on this forum where the poster uses the term. I don't remember hearing it 20 years ago or even 10 so I imagine it must be a rather recent addition.

It occurred to me that this term was likely born out of the fear of guns that is becoming more prevalent among the uneducated, and we are likely doing the anti-gunners job for them when we adopt and use the language ourselves.

When you think critically you may realize that "Mass Shooting" really isn't even a good description of the event. Every time I go target practice I commit a mass shooting, yet no one is harmed. What you are shooting at makes all the difference, but the anti-gunners want people to be afraid of guns so they now focus on the act of shooting as evil instead of the intent of the shooter. It's all in the language they use.

What was wrong with the term "Mass Murder"? It accurately describes what is being committed, yet it does not focus merely the act of shooting as the bad action. So I will refuse to use this "new speak" and I would urge others to as well.

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[Provincial]

It matters little what we do. What matters is what the mass media and the masters of the Internet do. They control the narrative, and spin it do demonize guns and gun owners.

I haven't seen a case where the media focused and spread an example of normal gun owners talking about "mass shooting" incidents. Many examples of Fudds or straw men using those sorts of terms, but only as spokesmen for gun control.

 

[Longwalkhome]

The original mass murder by shooting was called war, governments approved.

 

[CamoDeafie]

Mass murder is defined by the FBI in their Uniform Crime Reports as killings of more than 3 persons, not sure what exactly terms they used to get there but it's usually like this, single homicide, double, triple, then mass killing or murder or homicide. Never "mass shootings" in the UCR. However... it's because they recognized bombings and mass poisonings in the past, so that's pretty fair I however do remember "mass shootings" being reported during the early 2000s after "school shootings", when the media decided to include mass murders/attempted mass murders that happened outside school proper... ?

 

[Dozer99]

Sometime right after this I would guess!

 

[ilikegunspdx]

I bet you money it's in a manual somewhere for organized attack on gun rights.

There was a leaflet that someone found in Pdx and it had very detailed instructions of what to do and not do. And that was an informal peon group. The more organized groups have keywords they use for political benefit. It's not by accident the same terms are used by such a wide range of media etc once they are decided on. I am no conspiracy theorist guy, it's just the way they do things. And unfortunately it works.

 

[parallax]

I experienced a mass bowel movement throughout the day ( more than 3) Must have been something I ate….

 

[Catfishmoon]

With 24/7 competition amongst the media there are frequent attempts (often successful) by them to embellish the story, alarm the viewer and gain market share.
I often notice this same trend in television coverage regarding the weather forecast. Terms like "Polar Vortex", "Bomb Cyclone", "Atmospheric River" were unheard of a few years ago and are used heavily today in an attempt to gain more viewers

 

[xtratoy]

I thought it originated during a shooting at a church????

 

[Jason Brown]

I thought it originated during a shooting at a church????

And by "shooting" you mean a murder; correct? Calling something a shooting doesn't really tell me that much. Church shooting could be a fun target practice event for all we know.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

With 24/7 competition amongst the media there are frequent attempts (often successful) by them to embellish the story, alarm the viewer and gain market share.
I often notice this same trend in television coverage regarding the weather forecast. Terms like "Polar Vortex", "Bomb Cyclone", "Atmospheric River" were unheard of a few years ago and are used heavily today in an attempt to gain more viewers

Coming soon to a tv weather report near you...

 

[xtratoy]

And by "shooting" you mean a murder; correct? Calling something a shooting doesn't really tell me that much. Church shooting could be a fun target practice event for all we know.

No. I was just referring to the title of this thread. Don't over complicate it.

 

[quneur]

We should use 'Massive' instead just so media types will see the error of their ways.

 

[Koda]

The origins of the use of the label "mass shooting" coincide with the origins of the use of the label "gun violence" sometime in the 1990s. Prior to these labels authorities used "shooting sprees" and just violent crime.
These labels came into play in the 1990s around the time of the "assault weapons" ban, they were invented by gun control groups, propagated by the media into mainstream use which eventually propagated into official use (FBI Etc.).
Im not certain exactly when the label "mass shooting" first appeard but the first use of the label "gun violence" was when the Giffords Law Center to Prevent "Gun Violence" was founded in 1993...

 

[dancinghippos]

The so-called definition in the media style guides is gun incidents where four or more people were hit. Not necessarily killed, just hit. They always use that “mass shooting” term to report the cases of nutjobs shooting in schools or gatherings. But then they later talk about “ hundreds of mass shooting events in the US” and you wonder why you only heard about three spree shootings. They lump gangsters fighting each other in with the handful of school shooters to make it look many times bigger.

 

[CamoDeafie]

The so-called definition in the media style guides is gun incidents where four or more people were hit. Not necessarily killed, just hit. They always use that “mass shooting” term to report the cases of nutjobs shooting in schools or gatherings. But then they later talk about “ hundreds of mass shooting events in the US” and you wonder why you only heard about three spree shootings. They lump gangsters fighting each other in with the handful of school shooters to make it look many times bigger.

And then when you look at FBI's UCR stats you find that triple/mass homicides by firearms are far smaller in numbers than the media reports

 

[Hooyah DeepSea]

Actually, the term came into 'play' after the Cleveland Elementary shooting (San Diego) when Brenda Spencer, shooting from her house near the school, killed two and injured 9, with a .22 rifle. It is the incident that inspired the song "I don't like Mondays" by the Boomtown Rats.

 

[gmerkt]

The terms, "mass murder" and "mass shooting" were both used by the press in connection with the Charles Whitman episode in Austin, TX in 1966. So in that sense, they aren't relatively recent inventions.

 

[dancinghippos]

And then when you look at FBI's UCR stats you find that triple/mass homicides by firearms are far smaller in numbers than the media reports

Exactly. So when you hear talk of 200 mass shootings you think of Uvalde but 199 were gang-related

 

[ilikegunspdx]

The terms, "mass murder" and "mass shooting" were both used by the press in connection with the Charles Whitman episode in Austin, TX in 1966. So in that sense, they aren't relatively recent inventions.

Check the Bloomberg/Soros anti-gun anarchist handbook. All the latest terms that the anti-gunners are supposed to use are probably in there somewhere.

Kidding...sort of...