NTUST Reading Blog 2016-17: Log #4

2017.03.28

Log #4

The second chapter of Hoaxes, Myths, and Manias: Why We Need Critical Thinking gave me a solider and yet more vivid point of view towards misleading mass media by providing four factual instances that took place in America, including Was There Really a Martian Panic in 1938?, The Roswell ‘’Flying Saucer’’ Crash of 1947, The Mad Gasser of Mattoon, and New England’s Great Airship Hoax.

Mass media is such a powerful force in society that we need critical thinking. So powerful is it that the authors suggest that these cases can be set to recur. I instantly recall the heartbreaking MRT knife attack in my log 1. Most of the coverages stressed the cold-blooded murderer Cheng Chieh’s ‘big’ dream and his execution. It was pointed out that those pieces of news made Cheng Chieh as a ‘role model’ for the people who had a similar mind to his. Thus many people did not take MRT as usual. Cheng Chieh was not an imaginary criminal of press creation. However, in my opinion, mass media ought to put emphasis on cause and effect more than cruelty. In this way, the viewers’ focus are shifted. Take the deadly tour bus crash in February. Tour bus safety, low-price package tours, and bus construction were what we should know, not what the perished ate for their last meal. It was not important, and it rubbed salt into the wound of those who lost their kith and kin.

Plot summary of The Mad Gasser of Mattoon

The case began on September 1, 1944, with Aline Kearney, who felt sick and paralyzed, smelling a sweet odor. The Mattoon’s major paper Daily Journal-Gazette reported the incident with a headline, ‘’Anesthetic Prowler on Loose.’’ Two subheads under the headline added, ‘’Mrs. Kearney and Daughter First Victims’’ and ‘’Both Recover; Robber Fails to Get into Home.’’ For the next week, more and more gassings were reported. The other newspapers started to pick up on the story by September 6. By September 14, gassing reports had stopped for good. There were at least three dozen reported victims in total. No prowler was ever identified or arrested, and there was no medical substantiation of a gas being used.

(The headline and subheads of the Mattoon mad gasser incident)

I was being not only a receiver but a critical thinker while reading. The authors pointed finger at the Daily Journal-Gazette for it practically created the entire gasser scare. I disagree. As it mentions, her husband rushed home about 12:30 A.M. after hearing about the incident, he said he saw a prowler at the bedroom. What Mr. Kearney remarked on the incident was the why of the headline and subheads, which was the only part that confused me.

(Mad gasser at the window)

The Mad Gasser of Mattoon reminded me of butterfly effect, a concept that I learnt from a 2004 psychological thriller movie The Butterfly Effect. A hurricane can be influenced by flapping of the wings of a distant butterfly several weeks earlier. Butterfly effect is the theoretical concept that small initial causes can have large unforeseen consequences over time.

(The Butterfly Effect movie poster)

I also did further reading, and I found something on Wikipedia. In fact, there are three explanations about the Mattoon mad gasser incident: mass hysteria, industrial pollution, and an actual assailant. The last two were NOT told in the book at all. On September 12, local Chief of Police C. E. Cole announced that the sickly sweet odor reported may have been toxic waste or pollution released by nearby industrial plants. As for an actual assailant, it was concluded that some of the gasser incidents were the work of an actual attacker due to the copycat effect, a criminal act that is modeled or inspired by a previous crime that has been reported in the media or described in fiction. For this reason, I challenge the authors’ not giving readers a whole picture.

In sum, the press creation of an imaginary criminal resulted in collective panic. The more ‘victims’ triggered by the fear of gas man there were, the more similar incidents were reported. It turned out to be a vicious circle. From my perspective, both Mr. Kearney and especially the Daily Journal-Gazette were very responsible for the entire gasser scare. Reading the chapter made me feel like the genius detective Conan investigating one murder after another. To think critically, I asked myself questions while reading. It was the authors’ purpose for writing this book: Helping us develop our own perspectives and even find fault with those of theirs.