# No thanks, I'll take my chances with the psychopath. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 23, 2012, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135 "2012-07-23T14:22:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 23
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/441 "2012-07-27T15:24:12Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > But thanks for askin’. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > but thanks for asking. Snap. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/442 "2012-07-27T15:25:31Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > ETA: Oh, and I see **kwims** has pulled Stupid Rhetorical Trick #512: declare victory in the face of defeat. In a posting manner and overall logic-free argument style very reminiscent of our late and very unlamented cardboard tube enthusiast. (Strokes chin thoughtfully) It’s all the fault of those damn hippies isn’t it Kwim? This sort of thing just never happened in the 50’s. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/443 "2012-07-27T15:34:11Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > It pretty much goes hand-in-hand with the “I alone fully understand reality and everyone who opposes me is a dogma-blinded sheeple” argument. As we’ve seen multiple times this summer. [Sheeple](http://xkcd.com/610/), you [say](http://xkcd.com/1013/)? ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/444 "2012-07-27T15:41:45Z")
> [@tagos](#): > > In a posting manner and overall logic-free argument style very reminiscent of our late and very unlamented cardboard tube enthusiast. Correction: Paper towel tube. Cardboard tube enthusiasts [are awesome](http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2003/03/10). ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/445 "2012-07-27T15:46:14Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Correction: Paper towel tube. > > Cardboard tube enthusiasts [are awesome](http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2003/03/10). They truly are. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/446 "2012-07-28T20:32:14Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > How do you murder someone with a GDP? By dropping it on their head I guess. Sorry for leaving my participle dangling all out there in the open like that (if that’s the correct mistake). All the poor, scarred children… I also meant PPP per capita. > [@kwimby](#): > > Whether or not you agree with how anyone prioritizes, emphasizes or indulges in their risk taking activities, be it driving, skydiving, or attending late night movie venues or bathtub safety practices, you have no right to force them to see it how you do. Uh, I’m fairly sure Constitution, blessed being that it is, propitiations in its direction and all that, allows for regulations in driving and how one attends late night movie venues (specifically, whether they plan on carrying an AR-18 in for effective enjoyment). ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/447 "2012-07-30T00:32:53Z")
> [@gamerunknown](#): > > You’re far more likely to be murdered in the US than in any other country with a GDP higher than $31k. How does that make you feel? Can you provide a breakdown of that statistic with a particular emphasis on urban v. rural murder rates. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/448 "2012-07-30T00:37:13Z")
You’re 44 times more likely to die of cancer in a given year than you are to be murdered. And that’s just a generic number. You or I are vastly less likely to be murdered than say, gang members. ---
**Author:** ![kwimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@kwimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kwimby)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/449 "2012-07-30T18:48:05Z")
Just dropped in to check in on the bitchfest, peeps!! > [@gamerunknown](#): > > Uh, I’m fairly sure Constitution, blessed being that it is, propitiations in its direction and all that, allows for regulations in driving and how one attends late night movie venues (specifically, whether they plan on carrying an AR-18 in for effective enjoyment). I’m fairly sure (no wait a minute - I am absolutely positive!) Colorado’s preemptive state CCW law trumps all local CCW ordinance for the purpose of concealed carry. And, I might add, the “No Guns” sign displayed by Cinema 16 has no legal penalty apart from trespass, in the event a person carrying concealed fails to leave the premises after being asked to do so. Under the circumstances of the subject matter at hand, failed at being lost in the bitchfest nonetheless, I seriously doubt anyone would have asked that night. “please Mr. Dirty Harry, would you mind leaving right away now that you’ve shot the bad guy because you know, we don’t like guns here.” Riiiight. WTF is an AR18? Blithering idiots. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/450 "2012-07-30T19:07:12Z")
> [@HansGrosse](#): > > I pray I never end up in a theater with you if some crazy madman like Holmes drops in. The last thing a scared, confused civilian needs is to get pegged in the head by some dude with good intentions but poor judgment and shitty aim. It would be so much more comforting to be killed by the spree shooter instead? ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/451 "2012-07-30T19:53:23Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > It would be so much more comforting to be killed by the spree shooter instead? “Giant Douche” vs “Shit Sandwich”? Neither is an appealing option but, yeah, it would be a tiny bit more comforting to be killed by a spree shooter than a would-be hero. At least then, nobody would be trying to defend the good intentions of my killer to justify his incompetence in killing innocent bystanders. ---
**Author:** ![kwimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@kwimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kwimby)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/452 "2012-07-30T20:18:59Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Neither is an appealing option but, yeah, it would be a tiny bit more comforting to be killed by a spree shooter than a would-be hero. Dead is dead. Bob is taking his chances with the psychopath. G’night Bob. Don’t forget to leave your Glock at home in case you get sucked into any deadly firearms encounters! Hey guess what?! News leaks showed digital re-creation software processed ballistics and other crime scene evidence to show the gunmanbacked to an OUTSIDE WALL the whole time he was engaged in his mass killfest. Can we call this a bitchfest about a killfest now? Only person behind a missed shot towards Holmes would have been a police officer entering through the same door Holmes did. You would be all for that then, right?! Blather on… ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/453 "2012-07-30T22:16:40Z")
Feeling lonely, were we? ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/454 "2012-07-30T22:39:46Z")
Meh, leave off. He’s got to do something other than “polish” his “gun” all day. ---
**Author:** ![kwimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@kwimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kwimby)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/455 "2012-07-30T22:40:42Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Feeling lonely, were we? Bored. (yawn) :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![kwimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@kwimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kwimby)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/456 "2012-07-30T22:42:37Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Meh, leave off. > > He’s got to do something other than “polish” his “gun” all day. Run out of cloth, Bob? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/457 "2012-07-30T23:38:55Z")
> [@kwimby](#): > > Bored. (yawn) :rolleyes: Try sitting on it until it goes numb, then you pretend it’s your imaginary girlfriend’s hand. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/458 "2012-07-31T00:16:28Z")
How’s that not just trolling now? For fuck’s sake, he’s obviously just trying to rile people up now. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/459 "2012-07-31T00:19:52Z")
Hey, it’s not that The Stranger[sup]TM[/sup] isn’t kind of cool, but wouldn’t say it “riles me up.” ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/460 "2012-07-31T00:42:28Z")
Hey **kwimby** , I know nothing I can say will change your mind. But perhaps [hearing from a veteran who has served in both Iraq and Afghanistan](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/26/opinion/an-arms-race-we-cant-win.html) will make you reconsider? [QUOTE=Andrew Jensen] As a veteran, should I register for a concealed-carry license and always be armed? Even then, would I, as a trained rifleman, really be able to shoot a single person through a cloud of tear gas in a movie theater full of people screaming and running? What if I started shooting and there was another person with a gun in the crowd? \ The common argument made by gun-rights advocates is that they “don’t want to be in a one-way firefight,” which argues for not restricting the sale of things like semiautomatic weapons, high-capacity magazines and tear-gas grenades. Their contention is that the only real way to stop dedicated shooters is for there to be plenty of other shooters around. Those who truly believe that need to be carrying a gun right now, wherever they are. They need to keep it closer than I kept my weapon in Iraq. \ The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has compiled a 62-page list of mass shootings since 2005. What’s striking is that there isn’t a single example of a concerned bystander with a concealed-carry permit who stopped a mass shooting. [/QUOTE] This is a man who lived with a gun for two years. He’s making the same points that so many others in this thread have made. He’s been trained to react in violent situations, something most people in the US with a CCW have not been. He has been trained to shoot, and is experienced in shooting, in terrible conditions, and he doesn’t think he could have made the shot that you claim would be easily possible. He’s not on your side. I suspect even this won’t be enough to move you, but it might help a few others rethink their positions. [For the record: I’m not against people having guns or even CCWs. But I also think better training should be required and that stricter controls over the types and numbers of weapons a single person owns are critically necessary. And I don’t think you, or anyone else in that theater, would have been able to do anything about the shooter even if you did have a gun with you.] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135.md?page=24)