Mass Shootings/Acts of Violence Discussion Thread

[Red Mask]

There has always been gun violence. It's just news worthy now because it sells ad space.

That doesn't make it right. Society needs to find a better way to prevent this.

 

[Victarion]

Society can prevent it by refraining from making the shooters celebrities with their own Facebook cults.

 

[chaseter]

That doesn't make it right. Society needs to find a better way to prevent this.

Who said anything about right or wrong?

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Not in the shooter's eyes. Again, this is all hypothetical since we don't know the shooter's motives. I'm just speculating. If you imagine a kid, constantly bullied, who knows they stand no physical chance against the bully, they get an equalizer of some kind. A gun being an easy to use weapon that gives it's user massive power. Still, this is all speculation as to the shooter's reasons for doing what he did.

I was bullied in high school. I imagine a lot of posters here were. Justifying it in any capacity is an insult. Most victims of bullying don't shoot anyone or would shoot anyone even if they had access to a gun. This kid is a coward and probably a psychopath. I have absolutely zero sympathy for this waste. Just sympathy for his parents and the kid he shot. I don't care to speculate about his motives, because he's not worth sparing much thought on.

 

[bullets]

It's not like these kids shoot the bully either. They just walk into a crowd and shoot anyone they can. There's no justification for these actions.

 

[Schlosser85]

^ That

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Wisconsin, Chicago, and now this too?!! Can be these considered copycat attacks after what happened when The Dark Knight Rises opened?

No. What makes you conclude it's a copycat? Does every shooting have to be linked? If he went inside a crowded theater or called himself the "Joker" you'd have a point. But like someone else said, shootings are just getting reported on more now because it's hot in the news. There's no real uptick. And aren't the Chicago shootings gang-related violence, not crazed, lone spree-shooters?

 

[Red Mask]

Who said anything about right or wrong?

Says the victims of gun violence.

 

[Destructus86]

Edited.

 

[Hotwire]

It's not like these kids shoot the bully either. They just walk into a crowd and shoot anyone they can. There's no justification for these actions.

I wasn't justifying anything. Just speculating about his motive, which they authorities have not said anything about. Also, it was one kid doing the shooting.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Oh look. It's a black guy. I'm sure rap music has nothing to do with it. The hundreds of studies proving that "gangsta rap" leads to violent behaviour is impossible to ignore...and I would bet you this teen probably listened to it.

That's pretty effin' presumptious, if not outright racist. Destructus, eh? It's a name well suited, because I'm going to completely destroy you.

(a) You don't know if he even listened to rap music in the first place. Does every Japanese kid know karate? You're basing this speculation on nothing more than his skin color. Also plenty of white people listen to rap too. I'm one of them. This isn't 1989 and everyone's scared of edgy NWA. This is 2012 and rap is very mainstream.

(b) Even IF he listened to rap music (and that's a big "if"), does that mean every white shooter is influenced by Country music? Johnny Cash had some violent songs.

(c) The rap music causes shootings argument is as dumb and flawed as the ones connecting shootings to violent videogames or Batman movies. Or as stupid as the one connecting the Columbine shooters to Marilyn Manson. People shoot other people because of deep-rooted mental problems. Not pop-culture.

(d) "Hundreds of studies"? Cite me five from non-partisan, independent groups that didn't have an agenda to prove before conducting the study. Hell, I bet you can't even find one.

 

[kaypain]

Theres no justification for any gun violence, unless in self defense. But Bullying is a powerful thing, not only physical but mentally can eff a kid up. Especially if the kid is piss poor, lives with a abusive parents, no food, etc...

But this is just a scenario. Some kids aren't mentally strong for that crap. I been bullied also, until one day I couldn't take it and beat the crap outta him with rage, got suspended but he didn't.

That's pretty effin' presumptious, if not outright racist. Destructus, eh? It's a name well suited, because I'm going to completely destroy you.

(a) You don't know if he even listened to rap music in the first place. Does every Japanese kid know karate? You're basing this speculation on nothing more than his skin color. Also plenty of white people listen to rap too. I'm one of them. This isn't 1989 and everyone's scared of edgy NWA. This is 2012 and rap is very mainstream.

(b) Even IF he listened to rap music (and that's a big "if"), does that mean every white shooter is influenced by Country music? Johnny Cash had some violent songs.

(c) The rap music causes shootings argument is as dumb and flawed as the ones connecting shootings to violent videogames or Batman movies. Or as stupid as the one connecting the Columbine shooters to Marilyn Manson. People shoot other people because of deep-rooted mental problems. Not pop-culture.

(d) "Hundreds of studies"? Cite me five from non-partisan, independent groups that didn't have an agenda to prove before conducting the study. Hell, I bet you can't even find one.

Cosign!

 

[Cunning Stunts]

Oh look. It's a black guy. I'm sure rap music has nothing to do with it. The hundreds of studies proving that "gangsta rap" leads to violent behaviour is impossible to ignore...and I would bet you this teen probably listened to it.

That's pretty effin' presumptious, if not outright racist. Destructus, eh? It's a name well suited, because I'm going to completely destroy you.

(a) You don't know if he even listened to rap music in the first place. Does every Japanese kid know karate? You're basing this speculation on nothing more than his skin color. Also plenty of white people listen to rap too. I'm one of them. This isn't 1989 and everyone's scared of edgy NWA. This is 2012 and rap is very mainstream.

(b) Even IF he listened to rap music (and that's a big "if"), does that mean every white shooter is influenced by Country music? Johnny Cash had some violent songs.

(c) The rap music causes shootings argument is as dumb and flawed as the ones connecting shootings to violent videogames or Batman movies. Or as stupid as the one connecting the Columbine shooters to Marilyn Manson. People shoot other people because of deep-rooted mental problems. Not pop-culture.

(d) "Hundreds of studies"? Cite me five from non-partisan, independent groups that didn't have an agenda to prove before conducting the study. Hell, I bet you can't even find one.

I did a study myself.

I grew up playing Grand Theft Auto religiously, listening to gangsta rap, and watching mob movies and crime thrillers.

Oh, and I should also mention that I like some of Marilyn Manson's stuff, played Doom a lot, and listen to Peace Sells-era Megadeth (which contains a lot of songs about black magic and witchcraft).

I haven't even shot an animal. Destructus is just an ignorant racist pushing stereotypes. Unfortunately, my Facebook has been packed with these types of people lately. Calling out everyone who did, y'know, everything I did growing up. And all my friends did. And all their friends.

 

[Sloth7d]

There is a shining point to this story though:

Teachers apparently rushed the kid with the gun. With all the talk about how poorly teachers are doing (economically, not necessarily at their jobs) in this day's economy, it's awesome to see our educational leaders stepping up like goddamned superheroes in a crisis, and potentially saving numerous lives.

to them.

Also, contrary to what some gun rights activists insist upon, a civilian carrying a gun wasn't <I>necessary</I> to stop the shooter before the situation got worse.

 

[Duke]

It's not like these kids shoot the bully either. They just walk into a crowd and shoot anyone they can. There's no justification for these actions.

I agree with this! Nothing ever justifies shooting people!!

 

[chaseter]

Says the victims of gun violence.

Do you just say nonsensical straw men to make a point or to bolster your opinion?

What about the victims of baseball bat attacks? What about knife attack victims? Hand guns account for about 50% of the murders in the US and knives account for about 25%. Blunt objects like bats and personal weapons like brass knuckles combined account for 10%. So, let's ban guns annnnnnnnnnd baseball bats, golf clubs, cricket bats, knives, personal weapons like replica Wolverine claws, all manner of pipes, etc. etc.

You can be the voice of knife attack victims. That turkey on Thanksgiving will now have to be hand shred. No more knives.

 

[Cunning Stunts]

Also, contrary to what some gun rights activists insist upon, a civilian carrying a gun wasn't <I>necessary</I> to stop the shooter before the situation got worse.

Yeah, an old friend of mine is a hardcore gun rights Facebook-activist, and argued that if people were allowed to "exercise their Second Amendment rights", James Holmes would have gone down and there would have been less victims.

But I can't help but feel like a theater full of at least a couple hundred people, standing up and, in unison, firing back would have resulted in damned near a hundred dead. That place would have been a warzone, and police wouldn't have known who to shoot. Hell, after the initial ten seconds of firing at Holmes, I feel like nobody would know who to shoot. There's enough speculation of additional shooters as it is.

Same goes for this. A cop rushing in and shooting the student would have been one thing, but numerous teachers who, regardless of training, don't deal with this type of situation on a far more regular basis (as cops do) could have turned this into a disaster.

 

[chaseter]

Everyone carrying guns is a dumb idea.

 

[Cunning Stunts]

Everyone carrying guns is a dumb idea.

I agree. People are volatile enough these days. I've literally seen the, "Don't talk about my momma" fight break out. Hell, I even saw one break out over someone brushing past someone else in the hallway.

The last thing we'd need is those same pissy people putting guns in others' faces. I don't get why people don't understand that. We're crazy enough as it is.

 

[Gotham Knight]

Oh look. It's a black guy. I'm sure rap music has nothing to do with it. The hundreds of studies proving that "gangsta rap" leads to violent behaviour is impossible to ignore...and I would bet you this teen probably listened to it.

So because the shooter is black, you assume he listened to rap music? You're an ignorant *****ebag and deserved to be banned from speaking not only from this forum for that comment, but preferably from life if that's your thinking mentality.

But then again you can't correctly spell "behavior", so why I'm putting as much effort as a reply to someone like you is really just wasting my time.

 

[terry78]

Because you know, all us black people love dat dere hippity hop and emulating our favorite rappers.

Off tangent, but how much rap nowadays actually talks about violence? It's all about ass shaking and the strip club.

 

[Cunning Stunts]

So because the shooter is black, you assume he listened to rap music? You're an ignorant *****ebag and deserved to be banned from speaking not only from this forum for that comment, but preferably from life if that's your thinking mentality.

But then again you can't correctly spell "behavior", so why I'm putting as much effort as a reply to someone like you is really just wasting my time.

He spelled it correctly, if he's from Britain.

Assuming spelling denotes intelligence is pretty ignorant in its own right. Let's not stoop to his level.

 

[Gotham Knight]

He spelled it correctly, if he's from Britain.

Assuming spelling denotes intelligence is pretty ignorant in its own right. Let's not stoop to his level.

No, but it's a great way to gauge someones intelligence when they make asinine comments.

Either way, I've never judged someone based on appearance alone in my life, so if calling someone out that does for their poor spelling makes me on the same level, then so be it. But I'm going to assume it doesn't based on common sense. That's not the point of topic in this thread though and if we continue this way it will be derailed. So please stay on track and don't respond to this particular post afterwards. Very sincere thanks.

 

[bullets]

I wasn't justifying anything. Just speculating about his motive, which they authorities have not said anything about. Also, it was one kid doing the shooting.

I was just making a general statement.

 

[Doctor Evo]

http://gma.yahoo.com/baltimore-scho...-syndrome-134105244--abc-news-topstories.html

The victim had Down Syndrome. The shooter sounds like a complete tool-bag. I hope that little **** is put away for a long time.