Cont: Today's Mass Shooting (2)

[Meadmaker]

I was responding to a political rant about Republicans. And yes, it happens every time a mass shooting occurs. I'm pretty sure nobody broached politics until that gem was posted. I'm sure we'll get to hear plenty more from the politicians.

So, here's the thing.


When something really bad happens, people want to do something about it.


In a democracy, the way we do something about things is to elect people who will do something about things.

Stacy et. al. didn't think to themselves, "Aha! We can use this against our Republican enemies!" We just think that it's about damned time to do something about this, and we think arming teachers is mighty darned stupid! Not just a little stupid, mind you, but dumb as hell. So dumb that anyone who thinks it's a good idea cannot have applied any thought at all to the issue, but is just repeating a dumbass talking point.

And if someone happens to mention who those people are that are preventing people from doing anything about it, that isn't "politics". It's an expression of opinion about what the problem is and who is causing it.


And yes, the gun culture is a huge aspect of the problem. The presence of guns makes people think about using guns. This isn't hard. The existence of a device makes people imagine using that device. I believe the term is "ideation", although maybe pyschologists use some other term. Whatever term they use, it's a real phenomenon. If it were more difficult to buy guns, or to carry guns, or to possess guns, people wouldn't think about guns as much, and they wouldn't use guns as much.

I think it's a safe bet that mental illness was involved in this shooting. That's going to cause some people to say, "The problem isn't guns. It's mental illness." People will say that, but it will be stupid. Things like this don't have one, single, cause.

Would tighter gun control have stopped this particular shooting? Maybe not. It's hard to say. It's also hard to say if the lung cancer that killed that particular smoker was caused by smoking, but everyone knows that smoking causes lung cancer. Similarly, the ease of gun acquisition causes this sort of shooting, and that other kind of shooting that Bogative goes on about.

I kind of appreciate Bogative's comments in this thread. The racism is a bit tedious, but to me, I look first at whether or not someone is correct, and then whether or not their motives are pure. He's right. There's killings and killings and killings every damned day in America, and it's a real problem, every damned day.

So, let's do whatever it takes to reduce them. If I had the power, I would start by taking away guns that fire lots and lots of bullets very quickly. That way sick individuals would not fantasize about firing lots and lots of bullets very quickly. However, I don't have the power. I just have one vote, so I'll vote against dumbasses who say our gun laws aren't contributing to our murder rates. Can you tell me who those dumbasses are? I'll vote against them, regardless of which party they are in.

There might be some other things I would do, too, that leftists wouldn't be so keen on. Whatever. I don't care what they think, either.

 

[stanfr]

It would not matter if 200 or 2000 were killed. nothing would change,

I'm at the point where I think we should just divide up the country, build a wall and then let one side blow each other away to their heart's content.

 

[portlandatheist]

Stop posting their ******* names and faces! They should undergo Damnatio memoriae.

This. Can't be said enough.
https://nonotoriety.com/

No Name. No Photo. No Notoriety.
IT’S A MATTER OF PUBLIC SAFETYNoNotoriety.com

The quest for notoriety and infamy is a well known motivating factor in rampage mass killings and violent copycat crimes. In an effort to reduce future tragedies, we CHALLENGE THE MEDIA – calling for RESPONSIBLE MEDIA COVERAGE FOR THE SAKE OF PUBLIC SAFETY when reporting on individuals who commit or attempt acts of rampage mass violence thereby depriving violent like minded individuals the media celebrity and media spotlight they so crave.

If people want names and faces, they can easily find it but any respectable news outlet should always be more responsible.

 

[Delphic Oracle]

Biden addressing the nation beginning now.

 

[Rolfe]

We'll be seeing names and faces soon enough. Of the victims.

I remember being at a residential music weekend in Dunblane. A group of us were in the dining room having dinner, and there was a very sweet embroidery picture on the wall. It was a group of small children in a school playground, watched benignly by a woman teacher standing in the doorway. Then someone suddenly said, "there are sixteen children" and we all realised what the picture was about. It must have been fifteen years after the event but I found myself starting to cry.

If we ever stop thinking about the victims and mourning their loss, the shooters win.

 

[BobTheCoward]

Biden addressing the nation beginning now.

Why? Saying there ought to be a law is just like thoughts and prayers.

 

[Delphic Oracle]

Biden addressing the nation beginning now.

And that was some of the flatest, mealy-mouthed, cliche'-drenched nonsense I have ever heard come from a politician.

Thoughts and prayers...

We should do something...

Anyways, later y'all.

Complete faceplant.

 

[shemp]

..

 

[Delphic Oracle]

Is America the only place that calls Elementary Schools 'targets'?

If we do, it would be a rare instance of us being honest with ourselves.

 

[Checkmite]

Texas DPS said the shooter crashed his pickup truck - looks like a late-model four-door F150 or something along those lines - in a drainage canal adjacent to the school, and was then seen entering the school "with a long rifle and a backpack". He was wearing body armor. I wonder what kind of rifle it was.

 

[Warp12]

A Border Patrol agent who was working nearby when the shooting began rushed into the school without waiting for backup and shot and killed the gunman, who was behind a barricade, according to a law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk about it.

This guy sounds like a hero.

 

[Dr.Sid]

Texas DPS said the shooter crashed his pickup truck - looks like a late-model four-door F150 or something along those lines - in a drainage canal adjacent to the school, and was then seen entering the school "with a long rifle and a backpack". He was wearing body armor. I wonder what kind of rifle it was.

Well given the previous data, AR15 is quite a safe bet. Not that that's actually important.
Btw. is there someone even from democrats actually pushing for some change to 2nd amendment ? Also, is it even needed ?
It's quite vague .. like it doesn't say anything about perps for example, and they are denied their 'right'. There is nothing about children either. So why not license or registration ?

 

[Andy_Ross]

Texas DPS said the shooter crashed his pickup truck - looks like a late-model four-door F150 or something along those lines - in a drainage canal adjacent to the school, and was then seen entering the school "with a long rifle and a backpack". He was wearing body armor. I wonder what kind of rifle it was.

Why does it matter what kind of rifle it was?

 

[Stacyhs]

And that was some of the flatest, mealy-mouthed, cliche'-drenched nonsense I have ever heard come from a politician.

Thoughts and prayers...

We should do something...

Anyways, later y'all.

Complete faceplant.

Yeah, this is just some of the "flatest, mealy-mouthed, cliche'-drenched nonsense" ever heard from a politician:

"I am sick and tired of it. We have to act and don't tell me we can't have an impact on this carnage," he said, referring to the recent mass shootings in Texas and Buffalo. "What in God's name do you need an assault rifle for except to kill someone? Deer aren't running through the forest with Kevlar vests on, for God's sake. It's just sick."
"Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Where in God's name is our backbone?"
"For God's sake, we have to have the courage to stand up to the industry. Here's what else I know. Most Americans support common sense laws common sense gun laws."
"We have to make it clear to every elected official in this country, it's time to act," he said. "It's time for those who obstruct or delay or block the common sense gun laws."

You're just using this as another opportunity to take a cheap shot at and bitch about Biden.

 

[Cain]

I wonder what kind of rifle it was.

The kind that gets the job done.

 

[Warp12]

I think the primary focus being on "assault weapons" is a mistake. I think more widespread restrictions on age of purchase, training and licensing requirements, checks/waiting periods, etc. are of more value.

The ideas of banning guns in general are just pie-in-the-sky stuff. Screeching about that is a waste of time, and counter productive.

 

[Delphic Oracle]

Yeah, this is just some of the "flatest, mealy-mouthed, cliche'-drenched nonsense" ever heard from a politician:



"I am sick and tired of it. We have to act and don't tell me we can't have an impact on this carnage," he said, referring to the recent mass shootings in Texas and Buffalo. "What in God's name do you need an assault rifle for except to kill someone? Deer aren't running through the forest with Kevlar vests on, for God's sake. It's just sick."

"Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Where in God's name is our backbone?"

"For God's sake, we have to have the courage to stand up to the industry. Here's what else I know. Most Americans support common sense laws common sense gun laws."

"We have to make it clear to every elected official in this country, it's time to act," he said. "It's time for those who obstruct or delay or block the common sense gun laws."

Telling us "we" have to do something? WE ELECTED YOU TO LEAD MOTHER ******!

Our opponents are "the lobby" and "the industry", nebulous, ephemeral conceptual entities.

A vague appeal to "make it clear" to politicians.

Yeah, I'll write my Congresscritter. Right after I send my thoughts and prayers.

You're just using this as another opportunity to take a cheap shot at and bitch about Biden.

The bald hypocrisy of your statement is such that I ask the mods to please leave it right here where everyone can see it.

Don't you even ******* presume to taint my motive on this.

 

[smartcooky]

What does ANYONE outside of the military and law enforcement need an assault or assault style weapon for?

To make them feel like their dick is bigger?

 

[Dr.Sid]

I think the primary focus being on "assault weapons" is a mistake. I think more widespread restrictions on age of purchase, training and licensing requirements, checks/waiting periods, etc. are of more value.

The ideas of banning guns in general are just pie-in-the-sky stuff. Screeching about that is a waste of time, and counter productive.

Indeed. And registration. Every owner has to be responsible for securing his guns. And there has to be possibility to take them from him, if he loses his license.

 

[Delphic Oracle]

I like a nice, capitalist approach to this because it would be delicious irony.

Firearms insurance required to take possession. Miss payment: surrender firearm. Annual mental health evaluation, results to impact your premium payment. Gun gets stolen and used to kill/injure/threaten/rob someone, you pay big time. Verified proof of safe 3rd-party storage (for sport shooting/hunting) waives responsibility. And so on...