John Walsh and "America's Most Wanted"

[undeterred]

Poll question: John Walsh and "America's Most Wanted"

[Ikonoklast]

1. I loathe people that cash in on their personal tragedy

He disgusts me.

[hlthe2b]

4. He has done a lot of good, as well....

I admit he gets over-the-top with his "thug" kinda comments.... But the Center for Missing And Exploited Chidren, and missing persons departments in major city police departments, other related efforts, would not have come about without his making it his life's mission after the loss of Adam.

That said, I do not like the show, but apparently it has sometimes been effective in getting tips back on major unsolved cases.

[Bake]

5. Cashed in?

He made it his life's mission to help track down criminals. I say good for him.

You couldn't BEGIN to walk a mile in his shoes.

Bake

[Ikonoklast]

25. And he could have done it in private

But, you knew that already.

[Bake]

29. But doing it in public was much more effective.

But you knew that, too.

Bake

[monmouth]

13. He never saw a camera he didn't love either....n/t

[TahitiNut]

16. Necrocapitalism has a long and vainglorious history.

Fred Goldman. :puke:

[fedupinBushcountry]

28. Many thought that too

in our hometown of Auburn, N.Y. where he is originally from. He is older then me but went to our school and church. Now they want to name a street after him in our town and people are not keen on that idea, but I'm sure the Mayor (Republican) who I also grew up with had something to do with it.

[chrisa]

35. That's stupid.

And a cynical view at that.

[Dennis Donovan]

2. It's a show that HAS put criminals behind bars, BUT...

...it also inspires a mob/posse mentality.

Tough call.:shrug:

[WI_DEM]

3. It's both. I'm sure he thinks he is doing a great thing, and in truth many criminals have

been caught thru this show, but it's still sensationalism for the masses. I think I've watched it a total of two or three times in the years its been on.

[izquierdista]

6. Trial by TV

After he gets done with his description of the perpetrator, not even Jesus himself could grant forgiveness. Stalin would have loved him.

[jayfish]

7. Ding Ding Ding!

Thanks for posting that so I didn't have to think up a way to say it. That show made me sick with it's "guilty until proven innocent" bent. The same thing goes for anything with John Bunnell in it.

Jay

[izquierdista]

10. Orwell beat me to it

Wasn't it in '1984' where they had the 2-minute hate, where everyone had to vent their bile on the accused? Make sure he was guilty before he was proved guilty at trial?

[ipfilter]

27. yup. The two minute hate. nt

[Nikia]

18. People are tried on the front page of local newspapers all the time

A number of people are known as child molestors, rapists, robbers, drug dealers, murders, attempted murderers, and any other type of crime in their communities for years even decades after being found not guilty. Regular viewers of America's Most Wanted soon forget any particliar criminal.

[Caliman73]

8. I have to say both.

While the concept of raising awareness and getting people involved in making their communities safer is a good thing, I agree with some of the others. The show is sensational and doesn't need to be that way to get the same message across.

[Greyhound]

9. Divisive propaganda that feeds the hunger for vengeance that our legal system

denies us.

Foul and insidious.

[Cid_B]

11. Are there any statistics...

... on the number of those apprehended who were shown on the show who were later shown to be innocent. I'd also add the disclaimer that by innocent I mean actually innocent not "The DA filled out a form wrong so he walked" innocent.

[undeterred]

12. I don't think you get to be on the Top Ten Most Wanted list

unless there's a pretty high standard, which usually means repeat offenses.

[sandnsea]

22. He went after pretty bad guys

He was one of the first to say that Chandra Levy's murder was probably an attacker that had gone after other women. He does take personal responsibility for getting it right, and does try to focus on real criminals who need to be locked up.

[mitchum]

14. He annoys me with his wannabee cop swagger and leather jacket

[undeterred]

15. I figure there are probably a bunch of regular viewers

who say "I know that guy" almost every other criminal... and they like Walsh's style. He is annoying, but I think he used his tragedy to do some really good things and I've got to give him credit for it.

[emilyg]

17. It helped him through his grief.

I don't mind.

[Mad_Dem_X]

19. It's helped put hundreds of criminals behind bars

I think it's a great show that's done a lot of good, which is more than you can say about most of the shit on TV.

[baldguy]

20. He's spent years using his son's disappearance & probable murder for his own financial gain.

[undeterred]

24. His son's head was found 2 weeks after he disappeared

so it wasn't a probable murder for very long. It was a horrific crime.

Two weeks passed before the boy's fate was learned. Fishermen discovered his severed head in a canal 120 miles away near Vero Beach; his body never was found.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28257294/?GT1=43001

I don't consider him to have exploited his son's tragedy. There are plenty of people who don't know the background on him.

[mitchum]

30. The weirdest event was when he hosted Fox's New Years Rockin' Eve...

"I'm certain that if my son Adam had not been brutally murdered, he would be a big fan of...Winger! Let's give it up for Winger!"
That didn't really happen, but I kept waiting.

[sandnsea]

21. He personally supports rehabilitation

and intervention for most criminals and especially young people. It's unfortunate he let this program be turned into a tool for vengeance instead of an opportunity to change the penal system.

[liberalitch]

23. I have mixed feelings about Walsh....

On one hand my heart goes out to anyone who gets up every morning after losing a child.....
On the other I feel like the people who are apprehended as a result of his show may not ever be able to get a fair trial.

[Vickers]

26. I met him on a plane a few years ago. He was a very nice and humble guy.

He seemed pretty focused about what he felt was his "calling" after his son was murdered.

[Bucky]

31. I love that show. He made something constructive out of his tragedy

Does he hype his show? Of course! He's a businessperson. He'd be derelict if he didn't. I don't count his success as a vice. But I do know that his tv show has made people more aware of the problems of violent crime.

[LanternWaste]

32. I'm of the opinion that...

I'm of the opinion that the justice system should never be commercialized and used to profit any one person or company (in this case, the broadcaster and its sponsors).

Although the program may have indeed helped bring a number of people to justice, I believe that in the case of AMW, the means lessened the relevance, the gravity, and the stolid and stoic bearing of the end.

[Mike 03]

33. Definitely Both, and what an insightful voting option

There is a huge duality and paradox when it comes to caring about sensational crimes. Speaking from personal experience, there is both true compassion and true curiosity, and that curiosity often manifests as what has the outward appearance of sensationalism, or even exploitation--I think for many, and I've known others, it can become obsessive, an obsession. I gave up guessing as to motives years ago, when I was researching and writing about crime.

[brentspeak]

34. John Walsh has done good public service with his program

Hard to imagine any sane person opposing catching dangerous criminals and fugitive suspects.