# Seattle massacre: What I blame Hollywood for **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 28, 2006, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-massacre-what-i-blame-hollywood-for/350314 "2006-03-28T22:53:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JonScribe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3be4f8/32.png) [@JonScribe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonScribe)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-massacre-what-i-blame-hollywood-for/350314/1 "2006-03-28T22:53:17Z")
No, I don’t blame Hollywood, in general, for violence such as what happened in Seattle this Saturday. The blame can be spread across a much wider spectrum. What I do blame Hollywood, specifically action movies, for is this: From the Seattle P-I: "Killer’s taunt: ‘There’s plenty for everyone’ " [Link.](http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/264580_shootfolo28.html) It’s bad enough Huff was motivated to kill at least six people before killing himself, but Jesus H., why do these people think they have to utter witticisms in the midst of a rampage, like they were Arnold Schwarzennegger or Vin Diesel. It makes you wonder if these twisted individuals are so divorced from reality that somewhere deep in their subconscious they think they’re playing a part in a movie and that everyone will get up when the director yells “Cut. Print.” And while I’ve got your attention: Fuck the NRA. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-massacre-what-i-blame-hollywood-for/350314/2 "2006-03-28T23:02:29Z")
> [@JonScribe](#): > > What I do blame Hollywood, specifically action movies, for is this: > > From the Seattle P-I: "Killer’s taunt: ‘There’s plenty for everyone’ " [Link.](http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/264580_shootfolo28.html) > > And while I’ve got your attention: Fuck the NRA. What’s the NRA got to do with this? Just as a datum for your own personal reference, the NRA substantially agrees with the first portion of your post. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-massacre-what-i-blame-hollywood-for/350314/3 "2006-03-28T23:03:00Z")
Movies don’t kill people. People do. ---
**Author:** ![Greenback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/2bfe46/32.png) [@Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-massacre-what-i-blame-hollywood-for/350314/4 "2006-03-28T23:06:16Z")
But people kill people in movies ergo people are compelled to kill people in real life. I saw Bugs Bunny take one of those Acme[sup]tm[/sup] dimensional holes and place it right in front of the Wile E. Coyote. I hope no one does that to me. ---
**Author:** ![JonScribe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3be4f8/32.png) [@JonScribe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonScribe)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-massacre-what-i-blame-hollywood-for/350314/5 "2006-03-28T23:16:17Z")
> [@UncleBeer](#): > > What’s the NRA got to do with this? Just as a datum for your own personal reference, the NRA substantially agrees with the first portion of your post. Eh, never mind, **Unc**. I withdraw the comment. I learned early on on this board that debates over gun control are futile gestures. Just chalk it up to exasperation. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-massacre-what-i-blame-hollywood-for/350314/6 "2006-03-28T23:19:27Z")
Fair enough. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-massacre-what-i-blame-hollywood-for/350314/7 "2006-03-29T00:54:06Z")
> [@JonScribe](#): > > It makes you wonder if these twisted individuals are so divorced from reality that somewhere deep in their subconscious they think they’re playing a part in a movie and that everyone will get up when the director yells “Cut. Print.” _All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players._ - William Shakespeare, As You Like It I’m not throwing that out as a justification or anything; it just came to mind. And there’s some validity to it – hence, we get [Famous Last Words](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famous_last_words). What brought that to mind was the morbid quote I once read, spoken by James French just before he was electrocuted: > [@](#): > > How about this for a headline for tomorrow’s paper? ‘French Fries’ ---
**Author:** ![JonScribe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3be4f8/32.png) [@JonScribe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonScribe)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-massacre-what-i-blame-hollywood-for/350314/8 "2006-03-29T01:11:07Z")
That’s kind of what I’m wondering: Was this guy thinking it would be amusing if he could shoot up a bunch of people and then toss off a movielike remark. “Dude, you know what would be funny, like if I shot the shit out of a bunch of people and I’d be all like, ‘There’s plenty for everyone.’ That’d be so cool.” C’mon, the guy got his jollies shooting at a fiberglass moose a few years before. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-massacre-what-i-blame-hollywood-for/350314/9 "2006-03-29T05:01:00Z")
Five bucks says the guy was holding the gun in that really cool sideways style, too. ---
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-massacre-what-i-blame-hollywood-for/350314/10 "2006-03-29T05:08:09Z")
That ghetto/matrix mode of grip is for pistols… As for his shotgun/rifle grip … generally not sideways. The person responsible for all this is the actual shooter. Not the media, Not the NRA, Not raves, … just him. Hope he burns in Hell, where ol’ Scratch will cheerfully fire round after round of various rounds and shells into his sensitive regions. ‘Cos Ol’ Scratch _has got plenty for everyone_. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-massacre-what-i-blame-hollywood-for/350314/11 "2006-03-29T06:19:10Z")
You know what I blame this on the breakdown of? Society. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-massacre-what-i-blame-hollywood-for/350314/12 "2006-03-29T07:43:13Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > You know what I blame this on the breakdown of? Society. Meh, I’m gonna go with the old standby and blame it on video games. Oh, and the rock music that all the kids are listening to nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![Cerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@Cerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerri)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-massacre-what-i-blame-hollywood-for/350314/13 "2006-03-29T11:00:04Z")
/ok, slight hijack here You know…I _must_ be getting old…as in "_GET OFF MY LAWN, YOU GODAMN KIDS!!!_ old…because I read the linked article, and in the depths of my cynical, twisted, apparently slowly-rotting brain, what pissed me off most about the article was: > [@](#): > > Kyle and Kelley Moore said they allowed their 14-year-old daughter, Melissa, to go to raves as long she came home by her 3 a.m. curfew. Saturday morning, the ninth-grader never made it back. What the fuck kind of parents let their 14-year old daughter go to rave parties till 3 AM?!? /moves her rocking chair out to her porch, the better to yell at those damn kids from ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-massacre-what-i-blame-hollywood-for/350314/14 "2006-03-29T11:14:45Z")
> [@Cerri](#): > > /ok, slight hijack here > > You know…I _must_ be getting old…as in "_GET OFF MY LAWN, YOU GODAMN KIDS!!!_ old…because I read the linked article, and in the depths of my cynical, twisted, apparently slowly-rotting brain, what pissed me off most about the article was: > > What the fuck kind of parents let their 14-year old daughter go to rave parties till 3 AM?!? > > /moves her rocking chair out to her porch, the better to yell at those damn kids from Here, pull up a spot next to mine. I’ve already got my shotgun (loaded with rock salt, dontcha know!), and I’m working on wearing my pants _reaaal_ high, just so I’ve got the Crabby Old Man™ walk thing going when I stand up to wave my cane at those damn kids and their music… With their hippin’ and their hoppin’, and their groovin’ and their boppin’, and it gives 'em the Brain Damage, y’hear! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-massacre-what-i-blame-hollywood-for/350314/15 "2006-03-29T13:21:01Z")
> [@JonScribe](#): > > And while I’ve got your attention: Fuck the NRA. And not just the NRA - don’t forget garden supply stores and Little League Baseball: > [@](#): > > At a news conference Monday, police displayed some of the weapons Huff had with him: a machete, a gold-colored aluminum baseball bat… And since the reporter referred to the killer carrying a “semi-automatic handgun”, question - are there other types of handguns being sold these days? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-massacre-what-i-blame-hollywood-for/350314/16 "2006-03-29T13:34:46Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > are there other types of handguns being sold these days? Yes. Revolvers are still quite popular. Single shot handguns are also sold, but they are pretty specialized hunting or target arms. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-massacre-what-i-blame-hollywood-for/350314/17 "2006-03-29T13:36:07Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Yes. Revolvers are still quite popular. Single shot handguns are also sold, but they are pretty specialized hunting or target arms. Damn it. There are also one or two shot derringers available. Most of them are cheap-ass crap. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-massacre-what-i-blame-hollywood-for/350314/18 "2006-03-29T13:50:58Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Yes. Revolvers are still quite popular. Single shot handguns are also sold, but they are pretty specialized hunting or target arms. I was thinking in terms of the popular perception of “semi-automatic”, meaning guns capable of firing in rapid succession each time the trigger is fulled, which most revolvers seem to be these days - though I suppose technically “semi-automatic” involves ejection of a shell as well. I had the impression the reporter used the term “semi-automatic” to imply that the handgun carried (used?) in the rampage was an unusually dangerous weapon. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-massacre-what-i-blame-hollywood-for/350314/19 "2006-03-29T14:52:45Z")
> [@JonScribe](#): > > What I do blame Hollywood, specifically action movies, for is this: > > From the Seattle P-I: "Killer’s taunt: ‘There’s plenty for everyone’ " [Link.](http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/264580_shootfolo28.html) Fucking pop culture references are ruining society and killing our youth! ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-massacre-what-i-blame-hollywood-for/350314/20 "2006-03-29T15:20:37Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > You know what I blame this on the breakdown of? Society. “We’ll be charging them as well.” > [@Jackmannii](#): > > I had the impression the reporter used the term “semi-automatic” to imply that the handgun carried (used?) in the rampage was an unusually dangerous weapon. My impression is that reporters typically have even less of a grasp about the operation of firearms than they do of proper use of English grammar and appropriate communication style. And given the egregious grammatical and editorial errors I found last time I read _The Los Angeles Times_, that’s not much. Stranger [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-massacre-what-i-blame-hollywood-for/350314.md?page=2)