WHEN A JUNIOR at the University of Oklahoma blew himself up 100 yards away from a packed football stadium on Oct. 1, the 85,000 fans inside remained calm despite the loud explosion.
But the calm has given way to anxiety, as the college town of Norman, Okla., has struggled to separate fact from fiction in the apparent suicide of Joel Henry Hinrichs III.
Several bloggers have jumped to try to connect the dots in the case and speculate that the 21-year-old Mr. Hinrichs was a suicide bomber under the influence of Islam. …
Joe Hinrichs, Joel’s father, has appeared on TV and radio talk shows in an effort to clear his son’s name. In an interview, he said he is disgusted by what the bloggers and talk shows are saying. “They’re sensationalists by trade,” he said. “This blog stuff is just smoke. It’s bilge.” …
Bloggers haven’t been put off by any disputing of their claims. Among the bloggers who have weighed in on the event are Michelle Malkin, a conservative syndicated newspaper columnist and author of a book “In Defense of Internment: The Case for Racial Profiling in World War II and the War on Terror”; Power Line, the blog known for discrediting documents that CBS News relied on for a report questioning President Bush’s military record, and the blog Tapscott’s Copy Desk, written by Mark Tapscott, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Media and Public Policy.
But as the article notes, local TV hasn’t been much more responsible, either.
UPDATE: The old link to the Journal story expired, but I’ve replaced it with one that should work for a week.
Define responsible. First, we know that blowing yourself up in close proximity to a stadium full of people is not a “normal” way to commit suicide. Most people who commit suicide tend to make it a private affair (as opposed to those who SAY they want to commit suicide but really want to be rescued.
That one fact alone raises serious questions about the official line that he “just” committed suicide.
Secondly, it is a confirmed fact that he attempted to purchase ammonium nitrate shortly before his death. Yet another red flag.
The FBI refuses to release any information about their investigation yet assures us it’s just a simple suicide. So why are they still investigating? Still another red flag.
So you label it as irresponsible? I think the press has been derelict in not SERIOUSLY investigating what took place that day.
Well, there are certainly some public suicides. Here in New York we have people who jump off high-rises … I once covered a suicide at a shooting range. A Columbine mom also killed herself that way. And there is also self-immolation, which is not always done for political purposes, as this Wikipedia article notes. I agree, I’ve never heard of someone blowing themself up in a suicide without aiming to hurt other people before. It’s odd … but so is the idea that the FBI and the University of Oklahoma are conspiring to cover up a radical Islamic plot, and the only people who know the truth are Michelle Malkin and Mark Tapscott.
It’s not surprising to me that the FBI is still investigating (the probe is “nearly complete,” the Journal says). These things usually take time as authorities wrap up loose ends. I certainly hope they do release the case file.
I think the press has investigated … reporters have just reached a different conclusion than bloggers have. There doesn’t seem to be too many avenues to pursue.
And yeah, it doesn’t seem like the local TV in Oklahoma is doing a responsible job … reading some of these theories on-air without trying to verify if they’re right or wrong seems strange to me.
“Irresponsible” maybe isn’t the best word (too vague) to describe how I feel about the blog coverage. But I agree with the Journal’s description: like most conspiracy theorists, it seems like these people not going to be put off by any disputing of their claims.
I’m in agreement as well that there’s been plenty of conspiracy theories flying around, but I think that’s due, at least in part, to the lack of credible information coming out. If President Boren would say, “I have no idea why this guy blew himself up near the stadium, it’s certainly an unusual way to commit suicide, but we haven’t found any evidence of the involvement of others”, it would go a long way toward dispelling the rumors. But to flatly deny any possibility of other motives is to display a certainty that many people simply don’t buy.