CT School shooting

[Ramona]

An hour ago Shirley Phelps Roper tweeted that WBC would picket Sandy Hook school to 'sing praise to God for the glory of his work in executing justice.'

I wouldn't be surprised at all if this is the "straw" for folks when it comes to these nasty people....

[JesusFightClub]

Och, let them do their thing. The WBC are just like that.

I do not love this but such is their nature.

[emmiedahl]

Uh-oh, Emmiedahl and I are about to push poor Judy and her friends over the edge.

I think we ran them off. I loved the collective gasp when I pointed out that Christian nations are more violent.

[Witsec7]

Debate score card:

EmmieD = !!!Eleventy!!!

Tighty Righties= Zilch

[Austin]

I think we ran them off. I loved the collective gasp when I pointed out that Christian nations are more violent.

:D

Good. Going to take a break from all the insanity and go to dinner and movie with my hubs.

[miffy]

I'm sure these guys will turn up if the WBC decides to picket.

[GiggleOfGirls]

The NYT is reporting that they were first graders - 6 and 7 year olds :cry: I have a 5yo and a 7yo so either way it hits really close to home :(

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/nyreg ... anted=all&

Also that the shooter's mother was killed at her house, not at the school. So, I can't even fathom why on earth he then went to an ELEMENTARY school and messed with a class of first graders...

[LostSamurai]

I am devastated beyond words.....Jesus Christ.....the two littlest Samurais are this age and younger.

I hate this world sometimes. And less than two weeks before Christmas!

But I'm also horrified at how the media has been eating this up to where they're getting their facts wrong and had the balls to film upclose some poor woman who found out that their child was among the dead. Jesus people...give the poor parents some privacy for Fuck's sake....

And of course the assholes who are dying to blame this from the usual causes of video games to 'THERE IZ NO GOD IN THE SCHOOLS'.

No God would've allowed this....and I bet those fundie c**ts like Zsu and her ilk are probaly eating this shit right up.

[CallmeChaCha]

I heard about this yesterday during my lunch hour. As soon as I saw the words "elementary school" on the news website, it took every inch of will power I had to not cry at work. I don't have children myself and I can't even begin to imagine how the families must feel. Suddenly, nothing else mattered. It didn't matter that I hate my job, or that I missed my exit on my way home, or even that it was Friday. All I could think about was the babies. Babies that will never learn how to tie their shoe laces. Will never experience a first kiss. Will never talk back to their parents. Babies who already had Christmas presents wrapped under a tree or hidden in a closet waiting for Santa to bring them. Or who already had a plane ticket ready to visit family elsewhere. This makes me so sad. The only thing I worried about yesterday was that some dumb-ass co-worker of mine who supports gun rights (and I have a lot of those) would make some f-ed up comment. No one did and I'm hoping in the coming weeks no one will.

My thought are with the families of these babies, and everyone else who has been affected both directly and indirectly by this terrible tragedy.

[lilwriter85]

Aww fuck the WBC. I think there is a big chance than they won't picket.

[BravaAmica]

I wouldn't be surprised at all if this is the "straw" for folks when it comes to these nasty people....

I hope so. I hope the WBC goes away.

[BravaAmica]

I'm sure these guys will turn up if the WBC decides to picket.

The Patriot Guard can only counter-protest military funerals. IIRC, something about their non-profit status.

ETA: I think it'd be great if they did, but I don't think this particular group will protest. I hope there are good people that will, though.

[Witsec7]

The Patriot Guard can only counter-protest military funerals. IIRC, something about their non-profit status.

ETA: I think it'd be great if they did, but I don't think this particular group will protest. I hope there are good people that will, though.

it is my understanding that the patriot guard serve as a human shield for mourning families so that the WBC folks cannot impose upon the grief stricken. PG has been at several LE and armed forces funerals here in Boregon. Some of the folks are instate and others travel miles to provide this service.

ETA: The PG only does military and LE funerals at the request of families.

[emmiedahl]

My community put up a pretty big counter protest to the WBC. It was a good thing because it brought out a lot of support for the family of a young man from the local NA tribe. The family and tribe were outraged and wanted the counter protest. There was another funeral here that they came to, but the family requested no counter protest or attention, and I don't think the news even covered it. I wonder which would be better for these families. Perhaps they will skip the funeral/burial service thing entirely. I would be considering that if I had a child involved in this.

A local church hosted them the first time and even had a reception for them. The church got some serious bad PR from that. No one wants anything to do with them anymore. Surely decency demands that the WBC skip this one and stick to internet bloviating--it is one thing for adults who volunteered to be in a war, but another type of tragedy entirely for children sitting in desks at a school. Surely they know that this is not what Jesus would want. :(

[weirdghostboo]

The Huffington Post has an article on all the names being released: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/1 ... 07354.html

All the kids that were killed...they were mainly kindergartners and first graders. Their lives hadn't even begun yet and they were killed, with their last feelings being complete fear. And there are wackos out there like Victoria Jackson, Mike Huckabee and the WBC saying this is what America gets?!

Edited to add the subject

[EyeQueue]

But I'm also horrified at how the media has been eating this up to where they're getting their facts wrong and had the balls to film upclose some poor woman who found out that their child was among the dead. Jesus people...give the poor parents some privacy for Fuck's sake....

QFT.

I thought the same thing when they were showing all of the terrified children being led out of the school, and the horrified parents on phones, etc. That's some private, traumatic shit that shouldn't be splashed all over the media, IMHO. At least blur the kids' faces so you can't see their terror and confusion.

[mirele]

I'm thinking that if you're going to have guns, they have to be licensed and insured.

I know this is heresy for gun owners, but fuckit. I have another deadly weapon--a car--and to drive, I need to have an up to date license and current insurance. It's the first thing the cops ask for when you get pulled over.

Insurance companies are wondering what they're gonna be able to do for money when they can't charge an arm, a leg and a liver for health insurance. Well, tell the homeowners they insure that if they keep guns, they're going to have to pay for a special rider on their insurance.

I got a headache yesterday when this started. I've alienated two people I know, one guy for nearly 20 years, because I told them both flatly that "No Restrictions Whatsoever" is not an answer to the problem of gun violence in this country. I'm 52 years old and as the firepower available to the average citizen gets more and more deadly, the kill rates go up and up. We had this problem in 1981 when Ronald Reagan was shot and nothing was done. We STILL have this problem.

It's time to address it. Because little kids should be able to grow up and we shouldn't be cowering in fear that our neighbors are packing heat.

ETA: Shirley Phelps Roper is a c*nt and I hope if the WBC shows up, they get a severe punishment. I do believe they've misread the mood of the country.

I'm just waiting for the Vulture Ministers of Scientology to show up to offer touch assists and to take away people's ebil psych drugz. (I wish I was being sarcastic. They did show up after the Virginia Tech massacre. Assholes. And they do want to get rid of psychiatric medications. Fuck 'em.)

[Austin]

A fund has been set up by friends of Emilie Parker's family, a little six-year-old sweetheart who was murdered yesterday in the school shooting. If anyone is interested, the instructions for giving are here:

https://www.facebook.com/EmilieParkerFund

To donate at America First Credit Union or PAYPAL:

Instructions on the Emilie Parker Memorial Account at America First Credit Union (account #5001359). For AFCU members making a transfer, select the Savings as the type of account, and the last name on the account is Parker. For non AFCU members, the AFCU routing number is 324377516. This account has been shared by several Utah media outlets and

can be trusted.

To donate via PAYPAL: Use the email - brookeprothero@yahoo.com

The funds will go to support Robbie and Alissa, in taking time off work to be with family, any medical expenses, in flying to Utah to arrange and plan a funeral. Thank you to everyone for this outpouring of love. Your kind words and prayers are so needed and appreciated.

[lilith]

And Mr LiaS is still at it

[lilah]

If WBC choses to protest (and those guys probbly will, they are the worst kind of fame whores) I am sure there will be some kind of community response where ala Angel Action http://eatromaine.com/1/laramie-angels.html or something to block them from view.

[ILoveJellybeans]

Children are too precious to be "protected" by guns. Gold isnt going to freak out and start running around panicking if someone enters the room with a gun, so it wont end up getting shot by the person who is trying to protect it, as it isnt alive. You dont need to keep guns locked away and potentially unreachable in an emergency around gold, as gold isnt alive and able to find the gun and play with it and accidentally kill someone and have to live with that for the rest of its life, like a child would. Gold is protected by security guards who have training when it comes to using weapons, children are protected by parents and teachers, who dont know how to act in an emergency. If you shot someone in front of gold, its not alive to be traumatized by this, like a child will.

Guns didnt protect these children, someone with a gun killed these children.

If the teachers had guns, as well as the danger of having guns in a classroom, it makes it more likely that more people would die, as its hard to get a good aim amongst chaos and panic, as well as children running around trying to get away. The thing that saved some of the children in this school was the smart thinking of a teacher, who hid her class in closets in the classroom, and when the gunman came in, she told him that the kids were in the gym. He killed her and moved on, and none of her class were harmed. Im sure there are other stories to come out of heroic things that the teachers did to protect their pupils, and none of them involved guns.

[BoomerLynn]

I'm arguing on a similar fb topic right now:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =1&theater

Wow. I cannot believe some of those comments. Glad to see several voices of reason mixed in though.

[Austin]

Wow. I cannot believe some of those comments. Glad to see several voices of reason mixed in though.

Yeah, today is not the day to hope that fb will restore your faith in humanity, it seems.

[Gil]

[Sprocket]

I have no words. :o

Actually I do have words, but I'm too pissed off to make them even remotely cohearent.