FB Frenzy

IN GERMAN THE TERM is "Amoklauf".  It means "shooting rampage", like the tragic one that cut short so many young lives at Sandy Hook in December 2012.

Yesterday ten people died and dozens injured when a student opened fire in Munich, Germany.  At a shopping mall on a Friday evening.  The assailant was an 18-year-old German citizen of Iranian descent.  He was born and raised in Germany.

Though police ruled out connections to terrorist groups -- turns out he was a bullied and troubled teen --  it didn't take long for Facebook Frenzy to scare up the fearful.  Even Wolf Blitzer on CNN, reporting from his top-secret Situation Room somewhere in the USA,  fell into the trap of describing the shooting as an act of terror -- well before any facts were in -- but just in time for a commercial break. Alarmingly so did Bill Maher on his HBO show Real Time during an interview with, of all people, a Trump military advisor selling a terrorism book.

Little wonder that when FB Frenzy started to take hold, more than a few posters spread their panic.  "That asshole Obama should be slapped silly..." said one.  Another used multiple exclamation points to register fears that "no one is safe!!!!" Others chimed in wondering where this will all end.

It took friends in Munich to shut down the FB Frenzy.  "Safe in Munich", they posted.  They were living the true Situation Room in real time.