Grim topic people. But I want input from an intelligent crowd. What caused it? Guns? Bad parenting? Racism? Nazism? No decent & available school mental health program? Do we need mandatory mental health screening in our schools? Talk to me people.
What caused the shooting?
Well, obviously, it’s that VIOLENT game with lots of BOMBS and stuff in it. What’s the name again…
Oh yeah. Minesweeper.
More than anything else, it is the easy access to guns that lead to this sort of thing. Sure, the bombs could have caused many more deaths, but chances are they never would have brought in any bombs if they didn’t have guns to make them feel like tough guys in the first place.
And this is just my opinion, I have nothing on hand to back this claim up.
I am however a little alarmed how quickly that great Satan the internet is brought up by the politicans and news readers. I’m unsure how many deaths are directly related to surfing the web, but the numbers of deaths caused by guns is staggering. I was also somewhat amused by the number of talking heads who described the teen killers as …behaving like teens! Mood swings, depression, feelings of alienation. Oh my! <br.Clearly the answer we need is more controls on teens. Random searches, rounding of groups of misfits and jail time for loners. And it will be easier to push that through Congress than any intelligent gun control bill.
.Clearly the answer we need is more controls on teens. Random searches, rounding of groups of misfits and jail time for loners. And it will be easier to push that through Congress than any intelligent gun control bill.
I have to wonder about the shooter’s families. How could the boys buy the guns and ammo, and plot this without their families knowing? I presume they kept the guns and ammo at their homes.
What kind of families did they come from? I saw the shooters’ homes on TV and they lived in nice, upper middle class neighborhoods. I wonder what their parents do for a living, and if the shooters had sisters/brothers?
Actually…
I’m firmly of the belief that what caused the first well-known incident of this kind was simple insanity… the second well-known incident of this kind by a lesser portion of insanity fueled by media sensationalism… and so on down the line.
The next time this happens, I am more than content at this point to lay 100% of the blame on the media (although I’ll specifically exclude from blame whichever daily in Chicago deliberately opted to run the story on page three rather than on the front page).
Seriously, I don’t hold the written press particularly accountable; this was certainly a tragedy that needed reporting. Where I really reserve my ire is the scum-sucking producers of the daily tabloid and talk shows, which do more to plant ideas like this in weakened heads than any movie, comic book, video game, or musical artist could ever dream of.
If we, as a society, are desensitized to violence and other tawdry afflictions of the spirit, you can really look no further for an answer than Hard Copy, Inside Edition, A Current Affair, Jerry Springer… These programs have made pop-culture icons of pathetic fools like Tonya Harding, Amy Fisher, the Bobbitts, David Koresh, and lots of other people who, frankly, didn’t deserve the attention.
The only bad publicity, after all, is NO publicity.
~jon
Man, can I kill a thread, or what?
~jon
I heard that yesterday, May 18, in 1927 some man in Michigan killed about 30 kids and a couple of adults in a school, then killed himself. He set off dynamite in the school building. I think he was a school board member and angry about local tax increases for schools. What a nut!
So, school violence is not all that new. This sounds worse than the Colorado shootings last month. Although, we are experiencing an outbreak of shootings by students, so it is different.
This one was (brain) dead from the very beginning, Jon. I hereby resolve to flame every single cretin who posts mundane, pointless drivel in what should be a forum for people with an axe to grind.
Pansy-assed hand-wringing belongs in MPSIMS.
As to the CO shootings, GET OVER IT, assholes!
I agree this topic probably belonged in MPSIMS, but you are wrong saying ‘Get over it’. This is a current topic with a lot to discuss. It is still headline news. Clinton is visiting Colorado to meet with the victims’ relatives today, a month after it happened. School shootings and bomb threats have become a national crisis. The nation will be talking about this tragedy for years, Nickrz. Better get used to it, asshole.
Emotionally stable adults will not be talking about it for years. Professional hand-wringers, anyone who can make a buck off it, and idiots such as yourself will be. Get thee to MPSIMS where you belong, lest I bring the full force to my intellect to bear on thee, cur.
Heh-heh. …full force of my intellect… (snicker)
I would have to agree that media does play a big role… remember all those students across the country getting suspended for talking about blowing up their school or shooting after the columbine incident? Maybe they thought they could instill fear among other students or in some twisted way get respect. I dont know the reasons behind the shooting, like most teens, the smallest problem can seem too much to bear(suicide) maybe they wanted fame, thinking they couldnt live up to expectations, maybe they thought they could make their mark, a true urban legend. What I was pissed about was the police, there I was watching the whole thing unfold on TV… officers just going around the building, looking and wasting time, in my opinion. Those kids just went in and started shooting, the were not taking hostages, just going on a terminator-style rampage. If I was the first officer on the scene, I would have IMMEDIATELY went into the school and stopped those two.(yes, with force if neccessary) I noticed how the officials didnt “catch” the suspects until AFTER they killed themselves, it is so vital to get in there as fast as possible in that situation, I would gaurantee more lives would have been saved, I would much rather have them target me, (with weapon) than helpless students.
Nickrz: If you’re gonna paraphrase Shakespeare, credit him. And your wit would be hard pressed to crush a mosquito. " Away, Parasite!"–Ben Johnson’s “Volpone”
Neobican: you used far too many words to say “I, Neobican, haven’t a clue as to what I’m talking about.”
And exactly how were the police supposed to know exactly what was happening inside? How would the police be of assistance if they got themselves killed at the outset?
And, FTR, the expression is “I would have immediately gone into the school.”
Who the heck cares? Isn’t that their job? They have body armor, etc., I can’t believe that two little shitheads got to wipe out all those innocent kids without a fight from the police. I wonder why the powers that be are so willing to send in troops/whoever to be killed in military conflicts–but when it comes to something like this-PLEASE! If the police are too afraid then they should give the parents their stuff and then we’ll see.
Popokis: you seem to be forgetting about the bombs those two killers had placed in the building. It takes more time to safely disarm and remove a bomb than it does to detonate the thing.
Good point Monty!
Neobican, what a brilliant idea. Let’s send armed cops barging into a situation that is unclear except for the fact that one or more unknown assailants are shooting the place up.
Can I assume that you would defend their actions had they stormed into the school, shooting a few innocent kids, setting off a couple of bombs (killing a few more innocent kids), and getting themselves killed (how much help is a dead cop)?
It always amazes me that there are those who sit back in their cozy little office jobs and pretend to be experts on the SWAT job description.
These were trained professionals who handled the situation correctly and probably saved a few lives by strategical tactics and the lack of Rambo-style stupidity.
There is a reason they are SWAT team members and a reason you are not. Let’s keep it that way, m’kay?
>^,^<
KITTEN
He who walk through airport door sideways going to Bangkok. - Confucius
Oh really? Were you in my living room? I WATCHED IT HAPPEN LIVE ON TV.
Hello! McFly! If the police had no clue what was going on inside, why were they there in the first place?
Another stupid question - It is their job to protect innocents from gun-weilding maniacs. They are trained for it, and have the weapons for it. They are to enforce the law, one of which is that it is illegal to kill people. Like I said, if I was there, I would rather they try to target me, one who can defend/attack than helpless students.
NO, it was not.
How can you be so sure trained cops/swat team is going to shoot innocent kids? The bad guys are the guys WITH THE GUNS. Those kids were not on the lookout for cops, they were not taking hostages, they were randomly shooting! With all the walls and rooms, there should have been enough cover for officers, aiding in their defense. Again, I would rather the gunmen focus on me, not students.
OH REALLY?? Saved lives??? Get a clue!!! THEY FOUND THE GUNMEN DEAD! How did they save lives by waiting until they commited suicide? Did ya think they might come back from the dead to squeeze off a few more rounds?
Gee, thats too bad. If I was there, lives would have been saved because I would not have allowed them to shoot any more innocents BEFORE THEY SHOT THEMSELVES. This whole affair was a piss-poor example of police action, all they can do now is learn from it.
Oh well, golly gee I guess that makes all of us experts. At least those of us who watched it on the TV.
You still don’t have a clue.
Well let’s see. . . . Could it be the fact that they were called to the school for a multiple shooting/hostage situation??? Go figure.
Hello? McDoofus? They knew someone or a couple of someones were in that school shooting the place up but they did not know who or how many or the situation, but hell, let’s just blast our way into the building blindly and hopefully figure out the target once we are inside.
No, another stupid quote. It is their job to protect innocents from gun-welding maniacs and if you had a clue, you would understand that “protecting innocents” involves more than a shoot 'em up Rambo-fest. It involves learning what type of situation they are faced with and then planning strategic maneuvers to handle the situation intelligently.
Besides, you will never “be there” because people like you are dangerous and screened out in the process of hiring SWAT members.
Oh, yes it was.
Yeah, that would be intelligent. Send the SWAT team shooting into a schoolful of hundreds of panicking kids running in pandemonium, not knowing who the gunman(men) are or if there are hostages who could be put into jeopardy. Or better yet, how about the SWAT team inadvertently setting off one of the explosives and wiping a few dozen kids out with the explosion?
These are things that need to be learned BEFORE you burst into that type of situation.
Again, you will never “be there” to put yourself in the line of fire.
No, you get a clue. Had the SWAT members stormed into that school blindly, more kids could have been killed by cross-fire or explosives.
If the SWAT members used your backassward logic, you can rest assured that the news broadcasts in the days following the tragedy would have include interviews and investigations as to why so many more lives were lost due to the negligence of the SWAT team.
Can I ask where you get your experience other than the experience you derive sitting on your ass in the Lazyboy watching Diehard movies?
Yet again, you will never “be there”.
Please tell me you are NOT a gun owner, please?
>^,^<
KITTEN
He who walk through airport door sideways going to Bangkok. - Confucius