I titled that, ironically. This was part of a gansta type image collection that also showed work and family life. It ws really hard to tell if it ws worth going after, but dude was in the area on or around the night in question, living the night life. I feel like these images are almost worthless outside of the context that they came from, and I realized this as I was trying to title the ones I saved. What blew my mind was how, in about the 3rd cirlce of friends of the gun guy(s), I saw a formerly sluethable vehicle from the front.
I went to Campus and local La LE many days before I mentioned that stuff here. As soon as I mentioned it here 'poof' it started disappearing. Same thing with the Tiger Droppings website. As of 16 hours ago the whole Mickey Shunick thread was deleted. Wassup wit dat?
It seems like many of you would prefer to get knowhere on this, and I'm going to let you. I won't be back unless I can get time stamps to the second. C YA!!
The hard reality is that social media is a double-edged sword. It helps spread info, with both good and bad results.
The feeling I get right now - JMO - is that there is a lot of stuff boiling under the surface. The rumor mill in Lafayette is in overdrive. Long ago, I posted that the only thing faster than the Internet is the CajunNet. This town talks.
I am not saying that this is the case - but something to think about:
If LE has identified some various POIs, in various directions or social circles, and if they are young and local, they almost certainly use social media.
If leaks occur that get to people who can tip off the POIs, and if LE is still watching the POIs, the POIs' guards will be up and they will that much more careful not to do or say anything that could lead to Mickey's recovery - alive or otherwise.
Your post speaks of a frustration that people here don't want to move forward and don't want to find Mickey. I submit to you that it is eminently possible the responsible act of silencing wagging tongues could be the best way to accomplish that goal.
The goal of outing onto the Internet everything one finds out, and the goal of finding Mickey, may not necessarily be compatible. In the worst-case scenario, those goals may be mutually exclusive.
Ostensibly, the goal of Websleuths and other "sleuthing"-type blogs, is to share info, with the idea of assisting in finding the missing person. In my opinion, the goal is not - and should not - be simply "let information be free" - and to throw everything against the wall for public consumption.
While many people I have run across in life and even in this case believe that there should be no censorship - self- or other-directed - exercised, and that all info, no matter how sensitive, should be posted on the Internet for public viewing, I take a different view:
When the goal of digging up facts and sleuthing certain individuals begins to interfere with actually finding the missing person, that is when I believe all involved must take a step back and meditate on which is more important - being the first to post a juicy "fact," or being responsible enough to know when to hold back and let LE do its job. This is where there are Terms of Service at WS. The sleuthing of non-POIs, etc., and publicly published rumors and other info about them, is not allowed. This is to make sure that WS does not actually interfere with the case. Sometimes there is a fine line between gathering information to help move the case forward, and gathering information to satisfy the "gossip gene."
Now I am not basing this on anything concrete, but: Lafayette is an unusually gossipy town. A lot of people just HAVE to have the latest tidbit, to have the satisfaction of being a person with the "inside scoop," and spreading it to their neighbor.
If Mickey has been taken by locals, then this "gossip gene" is an absolute nightmare for LE and the family. The buzzing hive of busybees in this case is growing louder and louder and has to scare the heck out of LE and family if, indeed, they have some POIs but are still gathering info.
I urge everyone here to realize that there is a real possibility that info posted here at WS and other social-media sites is getting back to the perp(s). So - do we really want to be an informer here, in service of the perp(s)? In the worst case scenario, places like WS could end up being the gusty wind that blows the dropped piece of paper across the parking lot, with LE chasing the paper, and everytime they bend down to pick it up - places like WS could be the gust that snatches it away.
Self-censorship does play a role in a gossipy town with possible local perp(s).
All of this is just my opinion, of course, but I am just a bit disturbed at the willingness of some people in situations like this to make posts about possible POIs (not necessarily here - just in general) that don't take into account that they may be assisting the perp(s) as much or more than assisting LE and the family.
Just some thought about self-censorship.
The goal is to help find Mickey..... without making it harder to find Mickey. Fine line. Very fine.
