Intro: What is moral panic



Nicole Cork

MIT 3438

Monday December 6

Moral Panic in the People’s Republic of China: 2010 Chinese School Attacks

One of the most important aspects of modern media is the potential it has to create, maintain, or reiterate concepts or ideas to the public that may cause periods of “moral panic.” The power the media has to encourage these periods of panic is important to analyze due to its direct relationship with social conditions and institutions in specific societies. The media’s reporting of the 2010 Chinese School Attacks in the People’s Republic of China deserves special attention because of its ability to explain how the problematic social conditions in China might cause people to act out in violent ways, in turn creating a “moral panic” throughout an economically and socially unstable society. This does not blame or indicate the media in creating this panic, but instead suggests that the panic originating amongst the public and within certain interest groups was captured and reiterated through media coverage of the attacks. Also, by examining international and local newspaper stories during the period between March and September 2010, a pattern should develop in the way each story uses representation and language in order to fuel “moral panic” throughout China.

It is important to establish a working definition of “moral panic” that will be used as a reference point in the examination of this specific event. Stanley Cohen defines moral panic as:

“a condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests; its nature is presented in a stylized and stereotypical fashion by the mass media; the moral barricades are manned by editors, bishops, politicians, and other right-thinking people; socially accredited experts pronounce their diagnoses and solutions; ways of coping are evolved of (more often) resorted to; the condition then disappears, submerges or deteriorates and becomes more visible.” (Cohen, 1)

This definition of moral panic points out the key role the media plays in not necessarily creating a moral panic, but disseminating feelings of fear and panic, which can make the apparent threat seem more wide reaching, and in turn, more important to the public. The media has the job of creating news stories that reiterate a panic and embed it in a specific society’s moral fibre for whatever period of time it may appear threatening or relevant. This paper will work to prove the implications of this definition in relation to the Chinese School Attacks, which caused what Cohen defines as a “moral panic” in the People’s Republic of China.

The 2010 Chinese School Attacks refers to a series of spontaneous and inexplicable mass stabbings on elementary schools in the People’s Republic of China. The attacks left at least 21 dead and about 90 injured, most of them being young children under or around the age of 11. Zheng Minsheng, a 41-year-old chinese man, who was caught and then executed a month later, committed the first of the attacks, on March 23rd. This first attack sparked mass media coverage in China, marking the beginning of a period of “moral panic” amongst the public and numerous interest groups in China.

The Chinese School Attacks are fascinating as a “moral panic” case study because they provide an interesting example of what Erich Goode and Nachman Ben-Yehuda call a “grassroots” model of moral panic. This approach to understanding moral panic relies on the importance of the public in creating a panic, by eliminating the agency of elite groups in society (Goode & Yehuda, 161). This approach establishes a real threat to society, opposed to a constructed threat that in reality has little to no effect on the safety of society. It operates as a bottom-up approach to moral panic, because the fear is initiated by the public before it reaches the elite groups, who in the Republic of China work their best to keep news of violent attacks out of the media in fear of causing exactly this: a moral panic (Hunt, 636).

The Grassroots moral panic theory says that “politicians and the media cannot fabricate concern where none existed initially, and moral panics must therefore be founded on genuine public concern, reflected or magnified by the media, perhaps, but arising more or less spontaneously” (Hunt, 636). This approach treats crime as a modern cultural phenomenon that sees a widespread reaction to crime as a rational response of “panic” or “concern” among the public (Hunt, 635). The Chinese School Attacks were a very real (in a threatening sense) series of crimes that occurred at random intervals of time within a period of seven months, which is what justifies genuine public concern. When such random violent attacks occur, especially against innocent people, then fear and panic is justified among the public who feels unable to protect themselves against unpredictable brutal crimes. The legitimization of this widespread panic in China lies in the fact that the attacks appeared impulsive and unpreventable, and for an extended period, there was no indication they might be ending. No interest or elite groups gave a proper explanation of the attacks that could calm the publics concern that their child might be next.

It is important also to mention Goode and Yehuda’s discussion of the “interest group” moral panic approach. This approach states that “professional associations, police departments, the media, religious groups, educational organizations, and so on, may have a stake in bringing to the fore an issue which is independent of the interests of the elite” (Goode & Yehuda, 165). In this case, it is significant to note that certain interest groups in China, particularly the media, acted in a way that presented the issue as one that required attention and further explanation. This approach works to determine why a certain issue is important to look at, and who might benefit from the publication and discussion of it (Goode & Yehuda, 166). These questions can both be understood through the analysis of what is consistently noted as a possible cause of these school attacks: Chinas abruptly changing cultural and social climate.

“Crime in Relation to Social Change in China” discusses the fact that crime is a direct response to the disorganization in China following its troubling attempt at adapting Western cultural practice (Yen, 298). All 12 of the news articles analyzed took aim at societal factors as a primary cause of these violent attacks. The inability for large groups of people to adapt or transform to participate in the rapidly changing society in the People’s Republic of China has caused people to act out against society in a violent way (Yen, 305). By targeting a specific group of people, in this case young innocent children, news sources argue that these men (the attackers) are hoping to send a message to the larger social structures in China, which points to the need for constructive change.

As one news article points out, “the attackers did not appear to know their victims personally,” so the assaults “must be an expression of their dissatisfaction with society” (“Fifth Deadly Attack on a School Haunts China”). Numerous other news articles indicate “social inequality as the catalyst” (“Stunned China Looks Inward after School Attacks”) in the succession of attacks. Analyzing this opinion displayed in numerous articles answers the interest groups theory question of why certain issues are important to look at, and who benefits from discussion about them. The Chinese School Attacks are important to look at in their relation to larger societal issues in China that have come to a boiling point among oppressed members of society. The fact these men felt the need to act out in such a violent way, is begging for the attention of government officials and other elite groups to address societal problems in China, and in turn make an effort to work through these problems. Therefore, the discussion of these issues, however extreme the media has made them, is beneficial not only to elite groups but to the people in China who have been affected by these societal changes.

As discussed in “The Social Production of News,” “use of violence marks the distinction between those who are fundamentally of society and those who are outside it” (Hall et al., 68). In other words, by stressing the violent nature of these events, it also further alienates the men who committed these crimes as individuals who did not fit into the rapidly changing society of China. The attackers are all described as middle-aged men who either had been unemployed for a long period, or were suffering from some form of mental illness, and all of the attacks took place at schools consisting of mostly upper class, or privileged children. Therefore, the men targeted these children in an attempt to send a message regarding the problematic nature of the rapidly growing gap between the rich and the poor in China that has placed these men outside of society.

This instance of moral panic (in accordance with the interest group theory) is therefore not necessarily produced to only benefit media outlets, but other interest groups who need to address problems within their institutions. As Yen also mentions in her article on crime in China, “Crime is not a thing apart from society. It is deeply involved in the culture from which it develops” (Yen, 308). Therefore, as tragic as the Chinese School Killings were, the moral panic they created has the potential to bring light to numerous societal and cultural issues that could spark conversation between elite groups in China and citizens who have been negatively affected by these changes.

Finally, by analyzing the specific language and frameworks used in numerous articles published during the time period of the Chinese School Attacks the development of “moral panic” in the mass media can be understood as a key factor in not necessarily creating a panic, but working with the public in maintaining and exaggerating one through representation. The new articles chosen for analysis were from both local Chinese newspapers, and international news sources from Europe, Canada, and America.

Language used in the articles about the Chinese School attacks is deliberate in its representation of moral panic. As described in “Representation, meaning and language,” representation is “not just a random collection of concepts, but concepts organized, arranged, and classified into complex relations with one another. Meaning depends on the relationship between things in the world” (Hall, 18). The language chosen to discuss the 2010 Chinese School Attacks had the successful intention of reinforcing the publics fear. All 12 of the newspaper articles critically examined used the word “attack(s)” in the title of the news story, indicating the aggressive and violent nature of the incidents. Further, eight of these 12 stories also used the word “death,” “murder,” or “kill(ed)” in either their headings or sub-headings. Other troubling language used to reiterate the meaning created in the headlines, was “assault” (“Chinese School Attacks”), “savage” (“Chinese School Children Killed in Savage Knife Attack”), and “rampage” (“Three Dead in Latest Chinese School Attack). The meaning created here is one of moral panic. This is evident in the way the articles frame the issue as one of a threat to the societal values and interests of China, the way the mass media reports on the issues in a stereotypical manner, and in the way experts were consulted to give their opinions about the nature of the subjects. This works to confirm the public’s fear of the attacks as a threat to the society of China. Media outlets are able to detect a fear created among the public about an event, and in turn publicize and internationally distribute information about the event as a point of reference for the justification of fear.

In conclusion, analyzing the 2010 Chinese School Attacks in relation to moral panic in the People’s Republic of China is important in understanding how moral panic can indicate and initiate conversation about troubling issues within a society. While the actual “moral panic” may not be long lasting, its effects have the potential to be if they effectively alter concerning systems of power in China. The news articles analyzed here establish this panic as a main concern among the public as well as numerous interest groups in China. In relation to the Chinese School Attacks, the media has left behind anxiety about the societal situations in China, which will in turn initiate conversation about what should be done to solve these problems. Moral panic has a fascinating ability to embed fear within mass amounts of people, while simultaneously making a society aware of weaknesses or issues that need to be dealt with immediately, to solve this panic, and for an extended period to establish stronger societal bonds that might prevent this moral panic from happening in the future.

Works Cited

Cauthen, Nancy K., and James M. Jasper. “Review: Culture, Politics, and Moral Panics.”

Sociological Forum 9.3 (1994): 495-503. JSTOR. Web. 14 Oct. 2010.

Cohen, Stanley. Folk Devils and Moral Panics. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2002. Print.

Cohen, Stanley. “Deviance and moral panics.” Folk devils and moral panics: the creation

of the Mods and Rockers. ROUTLEDGE, NEW YORK, 2002, pp. 1-15 of 201.

Goode, Erich, and Nachman Ben-Yehuda. "MORAL PANICS: Culture, Politics, and

Social Construction." Annual Review of Sociology 20 (1994): 149-71. Web. 28

Nov. 2010.

Hall, Stuart. “Representation, meaning and language.” Representation: Cultural

representations and signifying practices. SAGE, LONDON, 2003, pp. 15-64 of

400.

Hall S., Critcher, C., Jefferson, T., Clarke, J., & Roberts, B. “The Social Production of

News.” Policing the crisis: Mugging, the state, and law and order. MACMILLAN

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Hunt, Arnold. “’Moral Panic’ and Moral Language in the Media.” The British Journal of

Sociology 48.4 (1997): 629-48. JSTOR. Web. 15 Oct. 2010.

Yen, Ching-Yueh. “Crime in Relation to Social Change in China.” The American Journal

of Sociology 40.3 (1934): 298-308. JSTOR. Web. 14 Oct. 2010.

Newspaper Articles

Blanchard, Ben. "Three Dead in Latest Chinese School Attack| Reuters." Business &

Financial News, Breaking US & International News | . 04 Aug. 2010.

Web. 02 Dec. 2010.

Demick, Barbara, and Lauren Hilgers. "China School Attacks Leave 1 Dead and 33

Children Burned or Slashed." The Los Angeles Times. 29 Apr. 2010. Web. 02

Dec. 2010.

Frayer, Lauren. "Four Children Killed in Another Attack at a Chinese School." AOL

News. Web. 2 Dec. 2010. .

McCabe, Aileen. "Spate of Knife Attacks on Chinese School Kids Shocks the Nation."

. 29 Apr. 2010. Web. 02 Dec. 2010.

Mitchell, Carl. "The Murder of Innocence: Chinese School Attacks." My Humble

Opinion. 12 May 2010. Web. 03 Dec. 2010.

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Richburg, Keith B. "Latest Chinese School Attack Leaves 4 Dead, Dozen Wounded at

Zibo Kindergarten." The Washington Post. 5 Aug. 2010. Web. 3 Dec. 2010.

Wines, Michael. "Stunned China Looks Inward After School Attacks." The New York

Times. 30 Apr. 2010. Web. 2 Dec. 2010.

"Chinese School Children Killed in Savage Knife Attack." International News |

Euronews, Latest International News. 10 May 2010. Web. 06 Dec. 2010.

"Chinese School Attacks." United Press International. 12 May 2010. Web. 01 Dec. 2010.

"China School Attack Wounds 9 Students." CBC News. 19 May 2010. Web. 01 Dec.

2010.

"Chinese School Attacker Executed." BBC News. 29 May 2010. Web. 02 Dec. 2010.

.

"Children Killed in Brutal Attack at Chinese School." World News: Newsy. 12 May 2010.

Web. 3 Dec. 2010. .

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