By Bianca Caillouet
I was just looking on cnn.com and saw this shocking and depressing story, a man killed his wife, mother-in-law, three sons and himself because he has been out of work for some months now. This man wasn’t an uneducated person. He had an MBA in finance. http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/10/06/california.murder.suicide/index.html
This may just seem like an average news story, but it sounds reminiscant of what people do during an economic depression. Is our economy really slipping that far into an depression? Are we going to have to worry about people putting a run on the banks because they are scared that their money won’t be there? Today the Dow lost over 800 points; what else will happen in this uncertain economic atmosphere to make Americans lose even more faith in their economy and government? This should be an eye opener for all people in the U.S. that we need change in our economics. Because how can an educated man with a MBA in finance become unemployed and see the only way out through killing his family? This story hopefully is a warning to all of the employed Americans. Don’t get to comfortable because you may become like this desperate, poor man who saw the only way out as to end it all.
9 Comments
October 7, 2008 at 12:51 pm
First of all, I dont think everyone in there right mind will do anything of this sort to rid themselves and their families of a financial crisis. The best way to solve things is not with death or murder. It has been proven that many people do tend to do eratic things, even those who do acquire MBAs. I dont think our economy was the cause of this man’s problem. Im sure a man with an MBA in finance can get a job elsewhere. It was probably something going on inside of the household. I think that this article shows how the news tends to simplify a problem or a situation and blame it on obvious causes. This article was very hard to read, but it also upsets me that the news blame it on something that probably has very little to do with what actually happened. The economy has fallen within the past 2 months, however, the man was unemployed before that– when our economy was still flourishing.
October 8, 2008 at 1:55 pm
I would have to agree with Giuseppe that “our economy was not the cause of this man’s problems” and that “It was probably something going on inside of the household.” The article’s conclusion that the man’s unemployment drove him to kill himself and his family is slightly far fetched. In general, news is often overeager to use such a tragic situation as this one to make an example and scare audiences into thinking about something or acting in a certain way. I know many people who cannot watch the news at night because all of the stories are so depressing and it is not the type of information that one likes to learn before bed. I think it is very tragic that such a misfortune occurred to this family and that the news blames this tragedy on the state of our economy.
October 8, 2008 at 3:50 pm
This is just a case of a crazy man. I don’t think that the fact that he didn’t have a job and the economy plummeting is the root of all his problems. I also don’t think that this will be the effect on people today with all the financial problems people are coming across. I think this is sad that people will blame the economy for something as terrible as this catastrophe. This man needed help, and didn’t do the right thing in that situation. This may be a tactic to just publicize how bad the economy is getting and sort of a warning to people today. People will realize that he did not do this due to the economy. With elections coming up, they want people to start thinking, start worrying about certain issues such as this.
October 8, 2008 at 9:55 pm
I agree with what the previous three posters said, and I really didn’t get that the article was saying that it was actually due to economic difficulties. I think the article was simply reporting what happened and the financial problems issue came in as the killer’s reasoning for killing his family, so I don’t think we should take the opinions of murderers so quickly as the above three posters stated. The fact that the man had an MBA also seemed to counter-argue the justification for killing his family. It also makes it seem more like an “extreme case,” which is what the news generally goes for, and as an extreme case I don’t think the murder should be used to make any claims towards economic trends.
October 9, 2008 at 5:11 pm
My thoughts were pretty much stated in the previous 4 posts. I just think that the whole situation is very sad. I agree that the cause of this tragedy was most likely not because of the economic crisis, but some other deeply rooted family/social/psychological problems. The”economy” could definitely have been an excuse. I feel bad that he wasn’t able to get help for his distress in time. I also agree with the statement Sarah made about the media using this story as a way to dramatize the economic situation right now, which supports the idea that we should look to the Internet and other forms of media with a discerning eye.
October 10, 2008 at 10:46 am
The fact that this victim of suicide was educated really has no relevance to the story. You can be the smartest person in the world and still have psychological issues that would drive you to the awful conclusion of suicide or killing the members of your family. As the posters above me have all stated, there definitely had to have been something psychologically wrong with this man to commit these acts. Though it is possible that the growing economic crisis could have been a factor, it was definitely not the only cause. Moreover, the economic status of our country may uncover more people’s depressed feelings, causing them to act in ways that they wouldn’t have normally, as this man has sadly done.
October 11, 2008 at 7:23 pm
I agree that the main cause of this tragedy was not due to the economic crisis that our nation is facing today. I also agree with sarah when she said that the media might have used this story as a tactic to overexaggerate our economic situation. The man might have used the excuse that since our economy is in the slumps, he was out of a job, but I believe that is up the individual’s perception and attitude towards life that influeces his/her decisions. This man clearly needed some psychiatric treatment or help during the times he was dealing with his tribulations and obstacels, but it was just unfortunate that he and his family had to be the victims.
October 12, 2008 at 9:05 pm
This is just another example of the media stretching the truth and greatly over-exaggerating the truth. This case should not represent the downfall of our economy. And I don’t think this article should be considered a warning to employed Americans who might lose their jobs and become desperate and kill their families… Our economy is not so horrible that a man with an MBA, or anyone cannot get a job. He probably just couldn’t get the job he wanted. The man most likely had deeper issues perhaps psychologically, emotionally, or even physically. This is such a tragic and unfortunate story and the news/media should really have more respect for this family and not use it as some non-relevant metaphor.
December 13, 2008 at 2:15 am
I do not think this is a result of the terrible economic situation we are in. I think this is a result of psychological problems that the man had. This faltering economy is hurting everyone in many ways, but clearly the way out is not to go kill yourself and the rest of the family. I know many people who are close family friends who have just lost their job. Yes, they are very upset about losing their job and are not in the happiest state, but only a person who has a lot of issues would even think about something so absurd. Here is a solution… spend some time on your resume and keep trying! Wow!