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Why does press refer to shooter with full name including middle one?

posted 4 months ago by emori (3661)
6 replies | jump to latest

Is this how shooter always presented himself? Thomas Matthew Crooks? Because I don't think press could knew this immediately.

He was Thomas Crooks. I don't think he was walking around and presenting: "Hi. I’m Thomas Matthew. Nice to meet you".

And none of his school mates call him Thomas Matthew. I feel like Lee Harvey Oswald was just Lee Oswald. But American press has weird habit to start calling criminals with full middle names.

And then people are like: "Damn, why all criminals have 3 words?'

They don't. Press makes that up.

Imagine how ridiculous it would look if they would do that to every celebrity

- Donald John Trump
- Joseph Robinette Biden
- Justin Randall Timberlake
- Christina María Aguilera
- Elon Reeve Musk
- Thomas Jeffrey Hanks

I can guarantee that if they would be unknown and commit big crime - this is how press would refer to them.

[–] SW1977 (24) 4 months ago

I've heard it's because they don't want innocent people who happen to have that same name being confused with the assassin. E.g., there are a lot of John Smiths, so the assassin would be identified by his full name, like "John Heathcliffe Smith" to try to avoid people thinking it was their old school buddy John Smith who tried to kill the President.

[–] emori (3661) 4 months ago

Interesting theory.

[–] luvthepros (795) 4 months ago

@ emori>>>>>> WOW, I did not know Biden's middle name was Robinette. I just Googled it and see that you are not joking about that. Robinette sounds feminine to me. What were his parents thinking?

[–] Jes' Sayin' (6349) 4 months ago

it's a long tradition, for example
John Wilkes Booth
John Wesley Hardin
John Wayne Hinckley

and many more.

[–] DancingintheDark (1609) 4 months ago

Lee Harvey Oswald

[–] Jes' Sayin' (6349) 4 months ago

John Quincy Adams (for a good reason)
James Knox Polk
Sandra Day O'Connor
Ruth Bader Ginsburg

oops!