# Multiple Shootings At Fort Hood **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 5, 2009, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-shootings-at-fort-hood/516472 "2009-11-05T21:09:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-shootings-at-fort-hood/516472/21 "2009-11-05T23:05:48Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > The possibility does exist, however unpleasant it may be, that this was a planned act of terrorism, and that he has a Muslim name is not altogether unimportant. Let’s wait and see. He has an Arabic name. There’s no such thing as a Muslim name. Islam is not a language, and most Muslims are not Arabic. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-shootings-at-fort-hood/516472/22 "2009-11-05T23:06:50Z")
> [@fuzzypickles](#): > > It’s terrorism, plain and simple. Doesn’t matter which euphemism the media uses, or whether the nutjobs use a handgun or a car bomb – it’s terrorism. How do you know it’s not schizophrenia? > [@](#): > > Hardly irrelevant, IMHO. If it can be established that the shooter(s) motive was religious, that would definitely raise the question of whether or not it’s appropriate to enlist Muslims into the armed forces during what’s basically a Holy War against Islam. This is exactly the kind of garbage I was afraid of. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-shootings-at-fort-hood/516472/23 "2009-11-05T23:08:58Z")
Jeez! man! They’re saying the gunman was a mental health professional! WTH? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-shootings-at-fort-hood/516472/24 "2009-11-05T23:10:08Z")
Yes, it could be a planned political act – a “terrorist” act – to what end, I don’t know, but to react by kicking all Muslims out of the US Armed Forces would be an utterly asinine (and unconstitutional) response. We are not in a fucking “holy war,” by the way. That’s just total, gibbering insanity. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-shootings-at-fort-hood/516472/25 "2009-11-05T23:10:19Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > He has an Arabic name. There’s no such thing as a Muslim name. Islam is not a language, and most Muslims are not Arabic. Your post is nothing but pedantry, and does not mean that his name is unimportant. So kindly stick to the topic at hand. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-shootings-at-fort-hood/516472/26 "2009-11-05T23:10:39Z")
> [@Kid\_A](#): > > He was a major…what does that mean? Experience, etc.? A Major is an O-4, the fourth officer grade and what is known as a field grade officer. He would ordinarily be in charge of a company, composed of multiple platoons, potentially a few hundred men. Typically he would have somewhere between 7-10 years in before achieving that rank, although I believe it can happen faster than that. I might have gotten some of the nuances wrong as I am not in the Army, but you get the point. He’s been in for a good bit, at least since when this thing kicked off. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-shootings-at-fort-hood/516472/27 "2009-11-05T23:13:25Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > He has an Arabic name. There’s no such thing as a Muslim name. Islam is not a language, and most Muslims are not Arabic. I’m not trying to be picky here, but what would you call Muhammed Ali as opposed to Cassius Clay, if not a Muslim name? It’s the name he chose when he converted. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-shootings-at-fort-hood/516472/28 "2009-11-05T23:16:44Z")
He was a mental health professional (don’t know more than that) and he used to work at Walter Reed Hospital in D.C. He was an MD per CNN ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-shootings-at-fort-hood/516472/29 "2009-11-05T23:17:37Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > I’m not trying to be picky here, but what would you call Muhammed Ali as opposed to Cassius Clay, if not a Muslim name? It’s the name he chose when he converted. He chose an Arabic name for religious reasons. He didn’t convert to Islam, by the way, but to the Nation of Islam, which is a separate religion (though he has now converted to Sunni). The thing is, just because someone has an Arabic name doesn’t mean they’re necessarily Muslim. There are a lot of Arab Christians in the world, and in the US. I can even think of one really prominent, government mucky muck who’s a Christian but has an Arabic name. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-shootings-at-fort-hood/516472/30 "2009-11-05T23:19:14Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > He was a mental health professional (don’t know more than that) and he used to work at Walter Reed Hospital in D.C. Since he was a Major, he might have been a commissioned doctor. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-shootings-at-fort-hood/516472/31 "2009-11-05T23:21:57Z")
> [@fuzzypickles](#): > > Hardly irrelevant, IMHO. If it can be established that the shooter(s) motive was religious, that would definitely raise the question of whether or not it’s appropriate to enlist Muslims into the armed forces during what’s basically a Holy War against Islam. Can we shift off to th’ pit now, so that this comment can receive appropriate analysis? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-shootings-at-fort-hood/516472/32 "2009-11-05T23:22:31Z")
> [@fuzzypickles](#): > > Hardly irrelevant, IMHO. If it can be established that the shooter(s) motive was religious, that would definitely raise the question of whether or not it’s appropriate to enlist Muslims into the armed forces during what’s basically a Holy War against Islam. Should we then kick out all the Christians if we are fighting a Christian enemy, then? ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-shootings-at-fort-hood/516472/33 "2009-11-05T23:26:49Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > We are not in a fucking “holy war,” by the way. That’s just total, gibbering insanity. Then what the fuck are we doing in Iraq/Afghanistan??? The spectre of WMD’s turned out to be false, and GWB himself claimed to be taking orders from God directly. > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Should we then kick out all the Christians if we are fighting a Christian enemy, then? If the purpose was to wipe out Christians entirely, then yes, absolutely. You don’t recruit soldiers who share the same point of view as the enemy you are trying to destroy, that would be utterly stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-shootings-at-fort-hood/516472/34 "2009-11-05T23:28:11Z")
All Muslims share the views of al Qaeda? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-shootings-at-fort-hood/516472/35 "2009-11-05T23:28:16Z")
It’s now being reported that Hasan was going to be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said he was upset about his impending deployment, which argues against the terrorist angle somewhat. He previously worked at Walter Reed [This New York Times story casts a little doubt on the idea that there were multiple shooters.](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/us/06forthood.html?_r=1&hp) Hasan used two guns and shot mostly other soldiers at a facility where they do paperwork prior to deploying. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-shootings-at-fort-hood/516472/36 "2009-11-05T23:28:18Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] He has an Arabic name. There’s no such thing as a Muslim name. Islam is not a language, and most Muslims are not Arabic. > [@Ogre](#): > > Your post is nothing but pedantry, and does not mean that his name is unimportant. So kindly stick to the topic at hand. [/QUOTE] The distinction is important. You may have a European last name, and yet not be a Christian. I don’t think he said that the name was unimportant, just that it does not automatically equal Muslim. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-shootings-at-fort-hood/516472/37 "2009-11-05T23:29:47Z")
If people want to argue about the purpose of wars and other current events, please take it to Great Debates or the Pit. Let’s save this thread for reactions to what happened a couple of hours ago at Fort Hood. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-shootings-at-fort-hood/516472/38 "2009-11-05T23:30:33Z")
That’s correct. It is not fair to conclude from his name that he must be Muslim. He may be, but people with Arabic names can also be Christians, or atheists or Scientologists. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-shootings-at-fort-hood/516472/39 "2009-11-05T23:32:49Z")
ABC news said it was one person and he was a Muslim. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-shootings-at-fort-hood/516472/40 "2009-11-05T23:33:31Z")
He got his M.D. from Damascus University. Lisenced in VA. Scheduled to be deployed to Afganistan. Looking a little less likely to be politically or religiously motivated, but we won’t know until we hear from the other two suspects. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-shootings-at-fort-hood/516472.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-shootings-at-fort-hood/516472.md?page=3)