How much does the choice of words bias peoples’ thinking?
“Lone wolf theory” - If you google this term, what comes up is, sadly, the Amanda Knox case, and then terrorist cases like the DC sniper and the holocaust museum shooting. Rudy was not a terrorist, so some people may unconsciously dismiss the likelihood that he was a “lone wolf.” And although it’s a “theory,” the phrase “Lone Wolf theory” sounds like something nutty, whereas it’s really the normal scenario in such murders. The onus should lay on disproving this scenario, not proving it.
“Cartwheels”—Amanda Knox is said to have done cartwheels during her interrogation. Cartwheels have a connotation of joy. To prove my point, if you google “cartwheels of joy”, it gets 82,400 hits. If the police had chosen the term “gymnastics,” then it might be easier to understand why a young girl cooped up for 30 hours might engage in such behavior. Even if she did cartwheels and only cartwheels, she wasn’t joyful.
“Foxy Knoxy”—Amanda’s character was assassinated by the press long before her trial, and this catchy phrase was responsible for much of it. Ironically, the phrase came from Amanda Knox herself on her Facebook page, according to one of her old friends who stood up for her character.
Words played a powerful role in bias in Amanda’s case. I don’t think I even need to qualify that as my opinion.
How much does the choice of words bias peoples’ thinking?
“Lone wolf theory” - If you google this term, what comes up is, sadly, the Amanda Knox case, and then terrorist cases like the DC sniper and the holocaust museum shooting. Rudy was not a terrorist, so some people may unconsciously dismiss the likelihood that he was a “lone wolf.” And although it’s a “theory,” the phrase “Lone Wolf theory” sounds like something nutty, whereas it’s really the normal scenario in such murders. The onus should lay on disproving this scenario, not proving it.
“Cartwheels”—Amanda Knox is said to have done cartwheels during her interrogation. Cartwheels have a connotation of joy. To prove my point, if you google “cartwheels of joy”, it gets 82,400 hits. If the police had chosen the term “gymnastics,” then it might be easier to understand why a young girl cooped up for 30 hours might engage in such behavior. Even if she did cartwheels and only cartwheels, she wasn’t joyful.
“Foxy Knoxy”—Amanda’s character was assassinated by the press long before her trial, and this catchy phrase was responsible for much of it. Ironically, the phrase came from Amanda Knox herself on her Facebook page, according to one of her old friends who stood up for her character.
Words played a powerful role in bias in Amanda’s case. I don’t think I even need to qualify that as my opinion.