Washington Post GSW article

[DocGKR]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...-to-human-body

Gunshot wounds are ugly and disturbing. The public needs to know that, especially given all the fantasy portrayals perpetrated by Hollywood and the gaming industry.

Unfortunately, the Washington Post article is embarrassingly replete with basic technical and scientific errors, and the animations are grossly inaccurate and misleading.

Had the authors done due diligence and spoken with any Subject Matter Expert in the field, those errors would have been immediately identified and corrected prior to publication. Since they did not choose to do perform basic fact checking, then one may surmise that the paper intended to publish inaccurate inflammatory propaganda rather than valid truth. Truly sad…

[Clusterfrack]

Thanks for posting. That was hard to read and watch--not just because of the subject matter but because of the propaganda-style emotional manipulation.

Would you be willing to summarize the main factual errors?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...-to-human-body

Gunshot wounds are ugly and disturbing. The public needs to know that, especially given all the fantasy portrayals perpetrated by Hollywood and the gaming industry.

Unfortunately, the Washington Post article is embarrassingly replete with basic technical and scientific errors, and the animations are grossly inaccurate and misleading.

Had the authors done due diligence and spoken with any Subject Matter Expert in the field, those errors would have been immediately identified and corrected prior to publication. Since they did not choose to do perform basic fact checking, then one may surmise that the paper intended to publish inaccurate inflammatory propaganda rather than valid truth. Truly sad…

[Norville]

That was so bad I had to stop reading.

But thanks for pointing it out. I wonder if it will make my Apple News feed…

[GJM]

I am a WaPo subscriber and despite having seen that article for a few days, never looked at it.

[the Schwartz]

Thanks for posting that, Doc.

The WaPo article is nothing more than a political hit piece. I won't even link to matter like that these days for not wanting to give them any additional attention, but it does need to be seen exactly for what it is.

The article ignores science and perpetuates an emotionally driven agenda using some not-so-subtle and well-worn misinformation to do so. Now we can add ''disturbing'' graphics to the tool-box.

Gun violence? It's a misnomer. Blame the instrument instead of the actor. Classic misdirection. And, it's working.

The type of reaction being courted by people who write such tripe is summed up best by one comment that I just copied from the WaPo page:

''I did not think I could continue reading this article because the graphics are just so brutal. Then I realized that looking upon the truth was the very least I could do to show respect for Noah and Peter, their families, and all who love them. The people who own these weapons already know what these machines do; that is why they purchase them. We cannot control the perverse desire to be so armed. We MUST ban the sale of these weapons and create meaningful control of all firearms. Please consider joining one of the many gun control groups that work daily to get gun control passed. So many members of these groups have lost family and friends to this shocking and unnecessary violence. Thank you to the families of Noah and Peter for their courage in letting the reality be shown. My participation is so very little, but it is all I have to give.''

Due diligence? None of that seems to matter these days, it seems. Even if an SME had been consulted, the facts would have gotten in the way of the WaPo's narrative.

Yellow journalism is back and here to stay.

[ccmdfd]

Will we ever stop hearing about energy dump?

Classic anti-gun hit piece.

[DamonL]

They did a series of articles on the AR15 in America. This article was just one to illustrate how destructive the AR is. Another article is how magazine limits will save lives, but its up to the courts to decide. There is even an editors letter saying how well researched and objective they were in presenting destructive power of the AR. They did talk to experts to support their view.


“The models and animations were constructed from academic research reviews, interviews, autopsy reports and other records The Post obtained, in consultation with the following: Babak Sarani, director of trauma and acute care surgery at George Washington University Hospital; Joseph Sakran, vice chair of clinical operations and a trauma surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital; Cynthia Bir, chair of biomedical engineering at Wayne State University; and Victor Weedn, deputy medical examiner for Washington, D.C.

The Post relied on post-mortem and autopsy reports and medical examiner testimony at trials to illustrate with precision the entrance and exit wounds that were identified in the bodies of Noah Pozner and Peter Wang. The depictions are as precise as could be determined from the records, which included the medical examiner’s hand-drawn diagrams for Peter. Those documents do not detail the position the victims were in when they were struck, or the full sequence of the bullets and their precise path through the body.

The calculation that a .223 round fired from an AR-15 can reach speeds of up to six football fields in a second was made using a 55 grain .223 Remington full metal case round fired at a horizontal trajectory. The muzzle velocity of this round is 3,240 feet per second. This estimate accounts for drag as the bullet slows down over distance and time. It does not account for weather or other interference. Nor does it account for horizontal drop as the bullet would probably hit the ground before reaching six football fields. The Post consulted with mechanical engineer John Greenawalt and Cynthia Bir, chair of biomedical engineering at Wayne State University.”

[WDR]

More proof that "news" is generally not worth the electrons used to publish it anymore.

[JHC]

I am a WaPo subscriber and despite having seen that article for a few days, never looked at it.

Having field dressed plenty of deer taken with .223 at short ranges and observing the wreckage in the boiler room, I skipped it the article per se but on IG saw part of the animated simulation and thought it looked understated compared to the condition of organs I've removed from white tails.

[Kyle Reese]

Just took a look at the article. Among other things- it failed to mention the destructive power of the 9x19, which can, according to a certain politician- "blow the lungs" out of a human.

I'd also like to ask how larger caliber bolt action rifles can remain legal and socially acceptable to own and use in all 50 states when the .223 caliber AR is demonized as being excessively destructive and powerful.