Post by woofytreats on Feb 19, 2018 18:03:26 GMT
Just my two cents... Those of us who were there when the East Area Rapist was running amok in Sacramento are not confused by the name EAR and that is what EVERYONE in Sacramento and other counties from the 70's know him by. If you talk to people in those areas they would know EAR - but ask them if they know Golden State Killer and they would say who? So for people I know that are my age from Sacramento from our perspective GSK makes it more confusing.
When I speak to Sacramento people that were there during the 2 years he was attacking there I have to start the conversation with "you remember the East Area Rapist?" When they say yes and they always do say yes - then I tell them he was never caught and he became a serial killer that was named the Original Night Stalker because he predated Rameriz. I would almost be willing to bet that most people under the age of 40 or 50 would want to call him GSK because they typically just heard about the cases not long ago. California does not really want a serial killer named after their Golden State. We have known since 1999-2001 that EAR and ONS were the same guy. So for approximately 17 years the two have been connected. I think the reason more press has been given to the case in the last 2 years has to do with the fact that ONS is getting old, investigators are pushing to get this solved for the families and the victims before this passes into history. Like I said - my two cents. Also I have to ask the name of a serial killer as a tribute? .............
Personally, I would totally separate the idea of some kind of homage to anyone in adopting a name for him. It's almost as if there's a calculation between mass media, the internet, true crime aficionados and people of a certain age in the effected areas that might recognize/remember. The moniker salad could probably be overcome with enough publicity but just getting the story out would undoubtedly be more effective than whatever moniker is used.
George Knapp made a minor faux pas early in the Coast to Coast segment when he used "East Bay Rapist" in shuffling through the moniker salad. It's like Knapp thinking "jeez...all these damn names" when he's running through it. You couldn't help but think that's OK when you've got two hours of information-packed programming that was very well done and had very little downside. I don't know how much a show like that trumps the idea of a particular moniker but I've got to think pretty significantly.