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Thursday 17 January 2013

The Mind v The Media




“...unless you know me, I’m the sum of my media profile and, as you’ll soon find out, that’s very much only a caricature of me – even after all this time in jail.”


Those were among the first words Jeremy Bamber ever told me – and I think it is only really today that I actually understood the meaning behind what he was getting at.



As I explained in my previous Blog post, a lot of people assume Jeremy Bamber to be guilty of the crimes he is serving a life sentence for and as such view him with a sort of disdain that you would never view anyone you actually knew. Essentially it’s: “this guy did unbelievable things – what a monster, what a psychopath...” [See the earlier post for clarification that, factually and medically, Jeremy is not a psychopath – sorry folks, them’s just the facts!] And as such, these people assume Jeremy must spend his days cackling in a corner somewhere like some sort of beast.

Yet, in fact, actually he is a very funny, down-to-earth guy and – in the very best possible way – is incredibly normal. He has interests, passions, fears, memories and anything else you could care to mention. He is engaging, he listens, he laughs and he cares...

Though those that don’t know him and only know what they read view him as something as he is not. That, unfortunately, is the media for you.  But the way the minds of many people who will never get to know Jeremy are shaped to view him are also the ways in which people who did and do know him view him, too.

It’s startling that, in the original investigation into the murder-suicide involving Sheila, numerous statements – almost character references if you like – were taken, and almost in their entirety, the relatives, friends and co-workers of Jeremy Bamber detailed him to be a likeable young man of who there should be held no real concern.

Yet as the fabricated case against him began to grow and was picked up by the media, those very same people gave exactly the same type of statement and yet almost subconsciously began to detail Jeremy as a more sinister individual and someone of a much more devious persuasion. Why such a change, with only idle gossip to go on?

It is the argument of many that the notion of Jeremy being a greedy, single-minded, cold-blooded killer was one much easier to stomach than the notion that a troubled young woman, failed by the system, had taken the lives of most of her family as well as her own. I guess it was a better story and helped mop up much more tea and sandwiches at the local Conservative community dinners?

I always say you should speak as you find and go with your instinct. Despite what you may think, the instincts of many of the people who have since spoken out against Jeremy actually found it close to unthinkable that he could have been responsible. Why? Because he wasn’t responsible.

The freedom of the press is important but the freedom to one’s own mind and thought is even more vital – so study the facts and make your own mind up. Disregard the media myth and study the facts!

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