Your thoughts on terminology

A

Andy Blozinski

New member
http://news.yahoo.com/police-man-shoots-kills-carjacker-outside-store-004403757.html

This is a report of a successful use by a concealed carry holder. He came to someone else's aid, so it wasn't just a straight up self defense situation, even though he ultimately used his pistol to stop an attacker whose attention got changed.
So now the terminology issue. The CCW holder is referred to as "the shooter" in the article in several parts of the article. My initial knee jerk reaction was to think it was a cheap shot agenda thing, but maybe not. His name was not released, so they couldn't write it as "Mike Wazowski" went to the grocery store. What do they call him? What's a good term that might not swing the opposite direction of agendas, but merely identify him in his role when trying to explain the chain of events? They used "the man" a few times in the article, but that is insufficient overall for differentiation overall.
 
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He is neither victim nor perpetrator/suspect. "Shooter" seems like an accurate and neutral label, especially when his name is not known.
 
After events like Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech, and Aurora, the term "shooter" carries a lot of attached significance. Yes, it's technically accurate, but IMHO it conveys a negative impression.

"Good Samaritan" would work for me.
 
When it comes to the use of guns by ordinary folk not wearing a uniform, having a badge, or working "private security", negative impression is what the news media is all about!!

I seriously doubt you'll see any major media call him a Good Samaritan. Vigilante is more likely.

They also consider anyone who possesses a gun, legal or not, to be a "gun owner", and often refer to anyone who has a gun and steps off the pavement as a "hunter".

They then point out the actions of a few criminals, and imply that all "gun owners" and "hunters" are the same as the criminal examples they hold up to our view, 24/7.

"shooter" may have negative connotations today (and no doubt the media is aware of that) but it is probably the least inaccurate term they could use, at this point.
 
Negativity is in the mind of the reader.

"Shooter" doesn't sound negative to me, and is merely an accurate descriptive term to identify individuals in this report

He came to someone else's aid, so it wasn't just a straight up self defense situation, even though he ultimately used his pistol to stop an attacker whose attention got changed.
Click to expand...
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Many think the use of deadly force is limited to "self" defense, but most places allow it for the protection of others as well.

It's just another example of sometimes confusing "terminology"
 
I understand the OP concern, but since the article refers to the BG pretty consistently as "suspect" I am hard pressed to think of a better term that would be neutral.
 
Although the term "shooter" is technically accurate for this case, I've just noticed it is getting used a lot more often in a variety of contexts. "Shooter situation" is probably the most common one I see some up. And it gets over used. I've seen several articles about suicides that had shooter in the headline. I think maybe it's become an attention getter to make sales and it's getting functioned as a negative context by some as well. Those two things are actually kind of mutually serving, so it's not just a political angle.
 
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