By Steve Huff
(Continued)
Some devoted to weblogging and viewing the pursuit in a positive light were deeply upset not just by Underwood's presence online, but the fact that fellow bloggers felt constrained to explore it, and that the media had made the connection as well. Blogger Andy Carvin posted an entry at www.andycarvin.com on April 16, 2006 titled, "Another Murder, Another Blogger: How Will the Media React?" Carvin opined:
"It is probably only a matter of time before the media begins talking about Kevin Underwood as the Murderer-Blogger, rather than just a murderer. The fact that it's possible for anyone with Internet access to delve into an accused killer's mind will no doubt serve as fodder for the Nancy Graces and Larry Kings of the world. I'm concerned, though, that these portrayals will link his blogging habits and obsessive Internet use with his horrific crime, somehow suggesting that blogging too much can drive any young person to pyschopathic behavior. While it's true that previous killers such as Eric Harris and Jeff Weise have been active in online publishing, this doesn't mean that other killers weren't writing things down before the birth of Web 2.0. From Westley Allan Dodd to David Berkowitz to the Unabomber, killers have kept meticulous records of their thoughts, fantasies and actions, yet no one ever makes the claim that keeping a journal somehow increases the likelihood of being a psychopath"
Perhaps people who share Andy Carvin's view will adopt a variation of the National Rifle Association's old slogan and declare that "blogging doesn't kill people, people kill people."
Neither Carvin's view, nor any suggestions such as those he is worried about in the media would even begin to approach the reality of Kevin Underwood. Blogging, posting to message boards, online game play, are all incidental, relatively unimportant when measured against the horrific crime Underwood is accused of committing. Underwood's writing will certainly play a part in trying to understand how such an intelligent yet outwardly unremarkable individual can end up in jail, having admitted to a federal agent that he murdered and "chopped up" a little girl. But the core of the fascination many have with crimes such as this is a basic inability to understand why they happen. No amount of blogging by the alleged killer will ever fully explain planned rape, murder, and cannibalism.
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