Hi, this is Jennifer Matarise and as I've been doing for the past couple of episodes, I'd

like to deal with a couple of things before I start the podcast. The first thing that I'd like

to do is say thank you and give a shout out to Megan, who left a really nice message on the

blog and also made a really good suggestion for a future podcast so

I will have to see if I can get together something for that and thank you very

much to Megan and the next couple of things I actually want to deal with are in

regards to the subject matter of today's episode.

First of all, I'd like to remind everybody that today's episode is about a mass shooting.

And I know there may be questions as to why a mass shooting would be discussed on a podcast about disasters.

Now, a really sarcastic part of me does want to say that it's my podcast and I can do what I want.

But in all honesty, it's kind of hard to argue that a mass shooting isn't the very definition of a man-made disaster, a large-scale event which results in multiple deaths and injuries.

I should also add that normally when it comes to mass shootings, I prefer not to mention the

names of the shooters.

Given the common motive that many shooters give, that they want to kill to be known, they

shouldn't be allowed to be known.

That said, in this episode and in future episodes about mass shootings, I will use the killer's name in the course of the podcast, but only for as long as I need to.

And next, I'd also like to note that if you started listening to this episode, hoping to hear about the conspiracy theories concerning who really committed the Port Arthur Massacre, you

may as well stop listening now.

This is not the podcast you're looking for.

There are certainly other podcasts out there which touch on that sort of speculation, but not

this one.

And finally, some trigger warnings for this episode. This episode and the subject matter involved means that it will feature discussion of guns and gun control, mental health, violence against men, women, children, and animals, and a mention of the use of a racial slur by the killer.

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