# This Wedks's awful Mass Murder **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 4, 2019, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-wedkss-awful-mass-murder/838157 "2019-08-04T04:52:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-wedkss-awful-mass-murder/838157/81 "2019-08-06T06:06:42Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > 75% of mass shootings in which (per the NY Times) **the shooters are black.** > [@Why does the media portray mass shooters as mostly white men?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-media-portray-mass-shooters-as-mostly-white-men/837043/8): > > nearly three-fourths of\*\* victims and suspected assailants\*\* whose race could be identified were black In which SlackerInc somehow decides that victims and shooters are the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-wedkss-awful-mass-murder/838157/82 "2019-08-06T07:55:19Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > People do not murder because they are black. Saying such is a horrible sick racism. That would be. Who said that? ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-wedkss-awful-mass-murder/838157/83 "2019-08-06T08:31:14Z")
> [@Gary\_Kumquat](#): > > In which SlackerInc somehow decides that victims and shooters are the same thing. In which Gary demonstrates that he apparently doesn’t understand the grammatical function of the word “and”. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-wedkss-awful-mass-murder/838157/84 "2019-08-06T11:46:19Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > In which Gary demonstrates that he apparently doesn’t understand the grammatical function of the word “and”. In this example, **Gary** , the conjunction “and” is used by the writer to rebut his own claim. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-wedkss-awful-mass-murder/838157/85 "2019-08-06T12:08:40Z")
…in which **Slacker** couldn’t defend his misunderstanding and mischaracterization of a NYT article in GD, and thus tries to take it to a Pit thread to throw out there. At least he can feel more free here to make proclamations about his belief in the inferiority of black people. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-wedkss-awful-mass-murder/838157/86 "2019-08-06T13:52:59Z")
I watched/listened to a ton of news yesterday: NPR, CNN, PBS and MSNBC…and 99% of the coverage was about El Paso, domestic terrorism, white nationalism – virtually nothing about Dayton. IMHO - the media has latched onto a narrative that’s relatively straightforward and lends itself to discussion. Dayton looks more like a Columbine scenario, and they don’t know what to say about random lunatics. I can’t blame them – I don’t know, either. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-wedkss-awful-mass-murder/838157/87 "2019-08-06T14:02:23Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > That would be. Who said that? So what are you arguing? ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-wedkss-awful-mass-murder/838157/88 "2019-08-06T17:43:02Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > So what are you arguing? I’m _observing_ (not arguing really—it’s pretty undeniable) that “De Blasio’s reversal demonstrates the very awkward place political correctness puts politicians and media outlets in when it comes to the 75% of mass shootings in which (per the NY Times) the shooters are black.“ As the Cincinnati anti-violence activist (himself black) they quoted said, “White folks don’t want to say it because it’s politically incorrect”. But black folks like him then put pressure on politicians and the media to not ignore black victims of these alarmingly common mass shootings. So my “argument”, I suppose, is for the media and politicians to throw aside political correctness and engage with the facts as they arise. That doesn’t require making some kind of hyperbolic proclamation that “people murder because they are black”. Since the vast majority of black people (black women especially) do not and would not ever murder anyone, that is an untenable proposition. But we should stop conveying the impression that mass shootings are some sort of uniquely white sickness. (An impression I had erroneously believed to be true a month ago.) Although it does seem that the white shooters tend to have better aim! I doubt there is any inherent biological reason for this — maybe it’s just about better access to shooting ranges. Just to be clear, in case you haven’t been reading my posts in other threads, I do believe Trump has blood on his hands for the El Paso shooting, and as I am strongly backing Beto O’Rourke for president, I’m glad he is saying so without mincing words. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-wedkss-awful-mass-murder/838157/89 "2019-08-06T18:02:08Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > But we should stop conveying the impression that mass shootings are some sort of uniquely white sickness. (An impression I had erroneously believed to be true a month ago.) I don’t think “conveying” this impression has ever been widespread. Shooting lots of people is not unique, or particularly common, for any particular race or other group, aside from young-ish men (if I understand the statistics properly). Purposefully shooting lots of strangers in a public place, due to rage at society or a hateful ideology, is mostly (but not uniquely) a phenomenon with young-ish white men, AFAIUI. And that’s the kind of shooting that gets the most attention, both because it’s relatively new in terms of occurring frequently, and less intuitive to understand than crime/turf/gang-based shootings. None of this conflicts with the NYT article. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-wedkss-awful-mass-murder/838157/90 "2019-08-06T18:06:27Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I’m starting to think that Trump and his advisors and media see the path to electoral victory in 2020 in a full blown violent race war. They seem to be stoking one very nicely. So, it’s: 1. Hold a Rally. (Don’t pay for it of course) 2. Make inflammatory ‘Fire in a Burning Theater’ statements about shooting people. 3. Spread Youtube video clips of those statements repeatedly to the ‘faithful’. 4. Wait until one Bubba is stupid enough and well armed enough to commit Mass Murder there. 5. Smirk like a scummy rotten orange and wave from Air Farce One. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-wedkss-awful-mass-murder/838157/91 "2019-08-06T18:07:28Z")
I finally steeled myself\* and watched CFSG’s address. Honest to Og, I must admit that I was startled at how much he deceeded (is that a word?) my lowest expectations: no emotion, none of his characteristic tinyhand gestures, a delivery that suggested he’d just stoked up on 'ludes, body language that screamed “I don’t want to be doing this” — even his color was off. I’m 90% certain that Disney could have created a better audioanimatronic president in an hour or two. And then there was the content. Nothing whatsoever about guns, and only one mention of white supremacy (and that in the context of how it must be renounced by “we as a nation,” not “I as a [putative] human being”). The rest was a mishmash of the internet, violent video games and mental health. I wonder who convinced him, obviously against his will, that he had to get up in front of a TelePrompTer and read what it said. And whether they wish they hadn’t. (Also see that he’s scheduled to be in El Paso Wednesday. Wonder what he’ll throw at the natives.) \*With coffee, not liquor. Unfortunately. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-wedkss-awful-mass-murder/838157/92 "2019-08-06T18:09:12Z")
Andy, the fact remains that some black activists cry foul at the differing level of attention, putting PC pols like De Blasio (and PC voters like you) between a rock and a hard place. Are you no longer disputing the characterization of shootings with four or more victims (dead or wounded) as “mass shootings” now that De Blasio endorses this definition? Nate Silver also used it on the most recent 538 podcast. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-wedkss-awful-mass-murder/838157/93 "2019-08-06T18:15:37Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Andy, the fact remains that some black activists cry foul at the differing level of attention, putting PC pols like De Blasio (and PC voters like you) between a rock and a hard place. Disagreement from a black person (if there is any actual disagreement, which I’m far from certain of) doesn’t put me or anyone “between a rock and a hard place”. It’s okay to disagree. It’s not some tragedy or catastrophe or something. I think you have a highly distorted view of how liberals and progressives actually think and make decisions. > [@](#): > > Are you no longer disputing the characterization of shootings with four or more victims (dead or wounded) as “mass shootings” now that De Blasio endorses this definition? Nate Silver also used it on the most recent 538 podcast. Boring semantics. The phenomenon discussed in the media most frequently is this mostly-new type of rage/ideology-based shootings, usually targeting strangers in public places. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-wedkss-awful-mass-murder/838157/94 "2019-08-06T18:15:55Z")
I think that trying to make the divide by race is a red herring–what really needs addressed is that, basically, ALL mass shootings are done by men. Women just don’t do this. And it’s disingenuous to try to blame mental illness because that’s not it either–women have, statistically, less access to mental health care and of all women black women have the very least and yet they do NOT commit mass shootings. Men are the problem. Let’s start there. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-wedkss-awful-mass-murder/838157/95 "2019-08-06T18:21:15Z")
Agreed. I wonder if the politically correct feminists and social scientists who decry “gender essentialism” would object in this case. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-wedkss-awful-mass-murder/838157/96 "2019-08-06T18:29:50Z")
It’s not a matter of gender essentialism, it’s an artifact of a patriarchal society that decrees that white men are the ne plus ultra of humankind and therefore above reproach and entitled to whatever they can get away with. Fix that attitude, start training boys to be humans rather than insisting they be MANLY MANLY MEN and a lot of this would go away, along with a lot of rape, incels, intimate partner violence and child abuse. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-wedkss-awful-mass-murder/838157/97 "2019-08-06T18:49:07Z")
Nonsense. But that’s a good illustration of what we are up against with the “nurture only” crowd. You need to read the book _The Blank Slate_ by Steven Pinker. ETA: Funny how you went right back to “white men” even though black men are doing a helluva lot more shooting. And in your very next post after saying it wasn’t about race! But you just can’t help it, it’s a reflex. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-wedkss-awful-mass-murder/838157/98 "2019-08-06T18:50:46Z")
Do you handwave like that because it wafts the stink of your own ass closer to your nose so you can enjoy it properly? ---
**Author:** ![Taesahnim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/taesahnim/32/84_2.png) [@Taesahnim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taesahnim)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-wedkss-awful-mass-murder/838157/99 "2019-08-06T18:58:20Z")
\*\*This Wedks’s awful Mass Murder \*\* I’m assuming you are referring to the 59 people shot in Chicago, 7 of whom died, correct? > **[59 shot, 7 fatally in Chicago weekend shootings](https://abc7chicago.com/chicago-shootings-in-crime-fatal/5443785/)** > > Shootings across the city of Chicago this past weekend have left seven people dead and another 52 people wounded. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-wedkss-awful-mass-murder/838157/100 "2019-08-06T19:03:55Z")
> [@Taesahnim](#): > > \*\*This Wedks’s awful Mass Murder > \*\* > I’m assuming you are referring to the 59 people shot in Chicago, 7 of whom died, correct? > [59 shot, 7 fatally in Chicago weekend shootings - ABC7 Chicago](https://abc7chicago.com/59-shot-7-fatally-in-chicago-weekend-shootings/5443785/) No, we’re talking about the many more people that were killed by a mere two shooters, one of whom was a white supremacist Trump supporter, in El Paso and Dayton. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-wedkss-awful-mass-murder/838157.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-wedkss-awful-mass-murder/838157.md?page=6)