# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/141 "2012-07-23T20:06:42Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > _Quite a bit fewer_, actually, if you insist on using this syntax. And even then, you’d end up with a world full of didloes and pussies–what do you think would happen then? People would make love and not war? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/142 "2012-07-23T20:06:58Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Okay, you’re being shot at. You see the bullets striking inches from your head. What would you do **Czarcasm**? What about your family right there beside you? You’ve got a gun, a bat and a bible. Your move. What the fuck kind of movie theaters are you going to? ---
**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 23, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/143 "2012-07-23T20:09:04Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Okay, you’re being shot at. You see the bullets striking inches from your head. What would you do **Czarcasm**? What about your family right there beside you? You’ve got a gun, a bat and a bible. Your move. I would have my family duck out of sight and scramble the fuck out of there and I would do the same. If the gunman already knows where I am and I stay put waiting for an optimal shooting solution, I’m dead. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/144 "2012-07-23T20:09:08Z")
I don’t understand how taking a bead and shooting him back, even from a concealed place, is going to somehow save my life. Ok, so the man is shooting an assault rifle into the crowd. I draw my handy-dandy beretta and shoot back. A number of things are going to happen: 1. I miraculously shoot him in the head. He dies. YAY! It would HAVE be a freakin miracle, though, and other people have already stated why…I mean, people are stampeding toward the exit, probably stepping on me as they go, screaming, yelling, panic…and that’s IF they don’t grab the gun from me and administer a no-holds barred beatdown. 2. I shoot him in the arm or the body, maybe incapacitating him, maybe not. If he is not, he immediately turns the gun on me. 3. I miss entirely. He immediately turns the gun on me. Are those seats in the theatre going to stop the hail of bullets? Have I done anything except gotten myself killed (and maybe my family, if they are close by) by waving my non-existent dick? You do know one bullet doesn’t always kill people? Add to this the fellow had armor. So, even if I am the most amazing shot ever, most likely I am not going to hit him in the head, I am going to hit him in center of mass\* and he will just shoot me dead. \*Honestly the times I have been target shooting, and in video games? I tend to aim for the crotch. :embarrassed: ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/145 "2012-07-23T20:09:10Z")
“Thank you and welcome to the Movietime CinemaPlex 30! For the comfort and enjoyment of all patrons, please remember to silence your cell phones and refrain from talking during our feature film! Also, please make sure that the target you’re aiming at in the dark is the bad guy and not one of the 200 other good guys trying to figure out who the bad guy is!” ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2012, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/146 "2012-07-23T20:10:21Z")
> [@ugly ripe tomato](#): > > What he said? “Oh, God, no.” Because, besides all the points listed in \*\*Tarwater’\*\*s most excellent post, as things were happening law enforcement didn’t know if the guy was a loner or working with one or more accomplices and would likely have nabbed anyone waving a gun around. And if God forbid you hit someone besides the gunman, law enforcement isn’t gonna just let you say “oopsie, my bad,” and let you go on your merry way. Does anyone know what what legal consequences there would be if someone started shooting back? Would it be different between if it was a civilian or an off duty law enforcement officer? I assume there would be legal consequences if wannabe Dirty Harry starts shooting back and hit or kills an innocent bystander, but would there also be reckless endangerment charges if Harry starts shooting and hits no one? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/147 "2012-07-23T20:12:41Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > The use of less with count nouns has a history dating back to King Aelfred c. 888 which frankly, makes it about as standard as you can get. If you choose to make the stylistic choice to only use less with mass nouns and fewer with count, that’s your business, but it’s certainly not a ‘rule’. > > [/hijack] Nuts. Shakespeare himself used “From whence” from time to time, still doesn’t make it right. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/148 "2012-07-23T20:13:06Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > What the fuck kind of movie theaters are you going to? Porn. ---
**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 23, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/149 "2012-07-23T20:14:08Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Nuts. Shakespeare himself used “From whence” from time to time, still doesn’t make it right. You might want to be careful arguing with him-we don’t know whether or not he’s an armed hijacker. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/150 "2012-07-23T20:14:23Z")
I think we should stop referring to guys like **Morgenstern** and other tough guys talking about this tragedy as Dirty Harrys. It’s an insult to Clint Eastwood. Call them either Paul Reubens or Fred Willards, since they’re clearly masturbating in a movie theater. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/151 "2012-07-23T20:16:55Z")
What I want to know is how he came in the fire exit. Aren’t those supposed to be locked from the outside? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/152 "2012-07-23T20:18:46Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > You might want to be careful arguing with him-we don’t know whether or not he’s an armed hijacker. Thanks, now I’ll never be able to get on a plane again. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/153 "2012-07-23T20:19:16Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I would have my family duck out of sight and scramble the fuck out of there and I would do the same. If the gunman already knows where I am and I stay put waiting for an optimal shooting solution, I’m dead. Which is exactly what I’ve been saying. Except for one thing. Just before the “I’m dead” I’ll take a shot at him and hope he’s the one who dies. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/154 "2012-07-23T20:20:14Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Which is exactly what I’ve been saying. Except for one thing. Just before the “I’m dead” I’ll take a shot at him and hope he’s the one who dies. So now we’re not in a Tom Clancy shooter, but a turn-based strategy game. ---
**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 23, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/155 "2012-07-23T20:21:17Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Thanks, now I’ll never be able to get on a plane again. What about all those other “Sticklers” that just got put on the list, too? ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/156 "2012-07-23T20:21:20Z")
> [@Sam\_Lowry](#): > > Does anyone know what what legal consequences there would be if someone started shooting back? Would it be different between if it was a civilian or an off duty law enforcement officer? I assume there would be legal consequences if wannabe Dirty Harry starts shooting back and hit or kills an innocent bystander, but would there also be reckless endangerment charges if Harry starts shooting and hits no one? According to Joe (my coworker) it would be involuntary manslaughter if you killed someone, and reckless endangerment if you wounded someone or were shooting but didn’t hit anyone. (wouldn’t matter if it was a civilian or an off-duty LEO) And that’s another reason why the police would not be happy: they’d have to round up everyone who was shooting, haul them to the station, confiscate their weapons, and check to see if they matched up to bullets found in the victims or at the scene. It would chew up a lot of time and manpower that could better be used on the “real” crime. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/157 "2012-07-23T20:21:27Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > What I want to know is how he came in the fire exit. Aren’t those supposed to be locked from the outside? Apparently, he entered the theater, opened the exit, went outside, dressed in his battle gear, and came back in through the blocked open door. People who watched it reported thinking it might be part of the movie premiere. So, obviously he was visible to some degree. ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/158 "2012-07-23T20:22:50Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > What I want to know is how he came in the fire exit. Aren’t those supposed to be locked from the outside? Can’t remember where I saw it, but apparently he came in with the rest of the crowd and sneaked out the fire door, propping it open so he could get back in with the weapons he had stashed in his car. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2012, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/159 "2012-07-23T20:24:00Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Just before the “I’m dead” I’ll take a shot at him and hope he’s the one who dies. “Best to run the fuck away and live to run another day.” Hell yes, I’m a coward. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2012, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135/160 "2012-07-23T20:28:04Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > “Best to run the fuck away > and live to run another day.” > > Hell yes, I’m a coward. No one has argued it isn’t. Returning fire was always presented as a last option when the run part wasn’t possible. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-thanks-ill-take-my-chances-with-the-psychopath/629135.md?page=9)