# Another Theater Shooting **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 24, 2015, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-theater-shooting/726025 "2015-07-24T05:23:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-theater-shooting/726025/1 "2015-07-24T05:23:46Z")
[Link](http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/24/us/louisiana-theater-shooting/index.html) In Lafayette Louisiana. The shooter was a 58-year-old white man, who killed himself. Two others dead, 7 injured at least one very critical. I post this because I used to live in Lafayette - and in fact when we got married we lived about three blocks from the theater, which wasn’t there 37 years ago. Scary. I hope everyone else survives and recovers. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-theater-shooting/726025/2 "2015-07-24T14:23:36Z")
I hope this isn’t too hijacky, but I’ve been getting the “update” about this since the wee hours of the morning (update in quotes because nothing new has been said since the first time I heard about it) and it’s striking me as very strange that the event is always described as “a 58 year old white man goes on a shooting rampage in a Louisiana theater”. Why the need to mention his race, or his age for that matter? He’s not at large so we don’t need a physical description, there’s been no indication that it was race related. It’s just so conspicuous every time I hear it, and I mean every time I’ve heard it it’s always stated the same way. Anyone else notice / puzzled by this? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-theater-shooting/726025/3 "2015-07-24T14:27:54Z")
I’m getting a case of outrage fatigue. OK, two innocents died. Yes, it’s a shame and they didn’t deserve it, nor did the injured deserve their fate. But a shitload more will be killed in traffic accidents today. There will be more single murders in the next hour. So every time there are multiple killings, we’re supposed to lose our shit? So they culprit was killed, fine bay all means see if others were involved. Important local news item yes, national news item no. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-theater-shooting/726025/4 "2015-07-24T14:43:42Z")
I’m getting desensitized too, I’m afraid. Two dead and seven injured just doesn’t faze me anymore. It’s getting to the point where the body count has to be in the double-digits for me to click on the headlines. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-theater-shooting/726025/5 "2015-07-24T14:54:25Z")
If you guys have become desensitized to a shooting that just happens to take place in a theater (as opposed to an alley, or highway, or an apartment building) then what is the media going to endlessly cover for the next several weeks to make you watch/read/listen? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-theater-shooting/726025/6 "2015-07-24T14:57:28Z")
Probably more people were (fake) killed in the movie they were watching. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-theater-shooting/726025/7 "2015-07-24T14:59:08Z")
What are the criteria for it being terrorism? Number of bodies? Ethnicity of gunman? I haven’t seen the outcry about Obama not calling it terrorism yet, so this must not qualify. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-theater-shooting/726025/8 "2015-07-24T15:09:24Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Probably more people were (fake) killed in the movie they were watching. Doubtful, I believe it was a Rom-Com. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-theater-shooting/726025/9 "2015-07-24T15:16:54Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > If you guys have become desensitized to a shooting that just happens to take place in a theater (as opposed to an alley, or highway, or an apartment building) then what is the media going to endlessly cover for the next several weeks to make you watch/read/listen? Rachel Dolezal shooting up the Prairie View, TX police force while wearing a “Vote for Donald Trump!” t-shirt would be enough to get my attention. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-theater-shooting/726025/10 "2015-07-24T15:23:19Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I’m getting a case of outrage fatigue. OK, two innocents died. Yes, it’s a shame and they didn’t deserve it, nor did the injured deserve their fate. But a shitload more will be killed in traffic accidents today. Such as [this one](http://www.wdrb.com/story/29624097/five-killed-in-i-65-crash-near-lafayette-indiana) outside Lafayette, Indiana. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-theater-shooting/726025/11 "2015-07-24T15:26:18Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I’m getting a case of outrage fatigue. OK, two innocents died. Yes, it’s a shame and they didn’t deserve it, nor did the injured deserve their fate. But a shitload more will be killed in traffic accidents today. There will be more single murders in the next hour. So every time there are multiple killings, we’re supposed to lose our shit? So they culprit was killed, fine bay all means see if others were involved. Important local news item yes, national news item no. I… I, um… I agggrr… I aggrrrrr… I agggrrre. I agree with **BobLibDem**. There, I said it! Now, let’s all just forget this ever happened and go on our merry way. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-theater-shooting/726025/12 "2015-07-24T16:13:09Z")
Just like the last shooting, the only people talking about it are using it to further their own agenda. So far we know he’s white and male. Apparently the theater was a “gun free zone” so the gun rights folks love that. People who look to blame all the ills of the world on white men are loving it too. Amy Schumer fans are impressed by her heartfelt tweet. And now apparently he has links to Westboro and white supremacy… but whether those are just internet links in his favorites folder or he was a secret wizard have not yet been determined. Someone stabbed a bunch of family members the day before. I don’t think anyone even noticed, because it doesn’t fit anyone’s agenda so much. I suppose they could use the “see people kill even without guns” but admittedly I haven’t seen this. I haven’t really seen much of anything despite the fact that there were more victims and that most were children. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-theater-shooting/726025/13 "2015-07-24T16:30:05Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > Just like the last shooting, the only people talking about it are using it to further their own agenda. So far we know he’s white and male. Apparently the theater was a “gun free zone” so the gun rights folks love that. According to CNN… > [@](#): > > Some clues are starting to emerge. They include posts on political bulletin boards from a man who identified himself as Houser, with a matching age and longtime hometown of Phenix City, Alabama. > > He has a profile created by the website Tea Party Nation. And on [PoliticalForum.com](http://PoliticalForum.com), he left hundreds of messages espousing anti-government, anti-media views. Something for everyone’s agenda! ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-theater-shooting/726025/14 "2015-07-24T16:38:54Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I hope this isn’t too hijacky, but I’ve been getting the “update” about this since the wee hours of the morning (update in quotes because nothing new has been said since the first time I heard about it) and it’s striking me as very strange that the event is always described as “a 58 year old white man goes on a shooting rampage in a Louisiana theater”. Why the need to mention his race, or his age for that matter? He’s not at large so we don’t need a physical description, there’s been no indication that it was race related. > It’s just so conspicuous every time I hear it, and I mean every time I’ve heard it it’s always stated the same way. Anyone else notice / puzzled by this? I suspect they did it because they didn’t want anyone to think it was a typically terrorist act - though it seems white shooters seem to have a proclivity for theaters. The movie, by the way, was the Amy Schumer movie “Trainwreck,” so I doubt there were many killings in it. Though I wonder what this guy was doing in this movie. As of last night the cops were not releasing the name so that they could go investigate his house or apartment and car without press interference. Yeah, plenty of people get killed in cars and in bad neighborhoods, but you don’t expect being at risk in a theater in a good part of town. We assumed this place was north of Lafayette near the mall - when my wife looked it up on Google maps. zoomed out a bit, and the street we used to live on showed up, we were shocked. It’s a few miles from the university also. Off to find more. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-theater-shooting/726025/15 "2015-07-24T17:11:20Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Why the need to mention his race, or his age for that matter? He’s not at large so we don’t need a physical description, there’s been no indication that it was race related. > It’s just so conspicuous every time I hear it, and I mean every time I’ve heard it it’s always stated the same way. Anyone else notice / puzzled by this? [It’s because the guide to a shooting response](http://wp.production.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/files/2015/07/AllDudes.jpg) is unofficially mandated by race. If anything refutes the claims about a post-racial America, the immediate and almost unconscious assignment of shooter motives based on race is a pretty clear refutation. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-theater-shooting/726025/16 "2015-07-24T18:23:09Z")
It is disturbing how desensitized we are all becoming. This story was on page 11 of my local paper this morning. How often are these shootings happening now…every week? Twice a week? If there’s a shooting in a public place every day, how long till we start shrugging those off? ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-theater-shooting/726025/17 "2015-07-24T18:24:44Z")
I’m personally of the opinion that the media attention provided to these incidents is a large part of what drives unstable people to commit them. If I were king, I’d prohibit the news media from identifying the person, or providing any details that might enable people to discern the identity of the person. The only exception would be if the shooter was still at large, and the public needed to be made aware of what the suspect looked like. But once he was captured or dead, the ban would immediately go into effect. As a disincentive, any references to the suspect (say, reports about the trial) would refer to the suspect as “Stupid Moron,” or something equally insulting. If you must distinguish between multiple such incidents, a system would be used where the first such person of 2015 would be reffered to as Stupid Moron 2015-1, the second would be Stupid Moron 2015-2, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-theater-shooting/726025/18 "2015-07-24T18:53:59Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > I’m personally of the opinion that the media attention provided to these incidents is a large part of what drives unstable people to commit them. > > If I were king, I’d prohibit the news media from identifying the person, or providing any details that might enable people to discern the identity of the person. The only exception would be if the shooter was still at large, and the public needed to be made aware of what the suspect looked like. But once he was captured or dead, the ban would immediately go into effect. > > As a disincentive, any references to the suspect (say, reports about the trial) would refer to the suspect as “Stupid Moron,” or something equally insulting. If you must distinguish between multiple such incidents, a system would be used where the first such person of 2015 would be reffered to as Stupid Moron 2015-1, the second would be Stupid Moron 2015-2, and so on. I started a [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=760121)recently making this very point, especially when the shooter has stated somewhere that he did it for a political/ideological reason. Those who disagreed with my suggestion seemed to think I was advocating censorship by some government entity, when what I was really promoting was responsible journalism. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-theater-shooting/726025/19 "2015-07-24T18:58:47Z")
I knew the movie was a Rom-Com because it was only thing I was curious about. I should feel more horrible about that. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-theater-shooting/726025/20 "2015-07-24T19:42:47Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I suspect they did it because they didn’t want anyone to think it was a typically terrorist act - though it seems white shooters seem to have a proclivity for theaters. See, I figured the reason they’ve begun doing it is because almost every piece of ‘news’ detailing the so-called shenanigans of any minority leads with race, it’s only appropriate to now call out while people too. You know, so we can all only equate humans’ behave with their lineage. As to age, I just thought they detailed that with everyone. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-theater-shooting/726025.md?page=2)