Gun Violence Part 2: Thoughts and Prayers STILL Don't Work

[AmazonGrace]

Thank God this FBI agent was armed so he could protect everyone in case there was a shooting. 

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[onekidanddone]

Somebody pulled a BB gun at my daughter's middle school today.  She didn't even know about it, but I got the email just after it happened. Now I can't breath and I don't want her to go back to school for the rest of the year. The principal said the gun puller won't be coming back to school, but where is he? Will he be left alone or supervised? I hope he is locked up or at least under 24 hour watch. 

I don't know what to do.  I told her to run or hide. Grab her friends and run the fuck out of there. She said said if she ran the shooter could still get her. Her idea was to put her hands up and talk the person down. Be nice to them.  Then she asked if a BB can pierce her body.

FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK. She is 14 years old! The only thing she should worry about on the last weeks of middle school is what dress to get for the formal, getting her yearbook signed or passing that last algebra test.

I think I need some Xanax or a swig of vodka. Don't worry I'm not going to do both I just need to be numb right now. But I can't be. She is in her room cramming for her finals, and kind of escorted me out of her room so she could study. She didn't seem to want to talk about it.

 

[mamallama]

I think we need a cyber hugs emoji.  I'm so sorry your daughter had to experience this and I'm sorry you had to, too.

[Audrey2]

17 hours ago, mamallama said:

I think we need a cyber hugs emoji.  I'm so sorry your daughter had to experience this and I'm sorry you had to, too.

I agree- I know some use the love icon, but it can be tough deciding to use it when the poster is posting something painful, that it may be perceived as loving the situation, not the poster, as intended.

[onekidanddone]

Well fuck fuck fuckty fuck. My kid's 8th grade dance has been "postponed" because of a threat to "shoot off a gun". Again I say Fuck fuck fucking fuck.

Oh and fuck you NRA

[fraurosena]

8 minutes ago, onekidanddone said:

Well fuck fuck fuckty fuck. My kid's 8th grade dance has been "postponed" because of a threat to "shoot off a gun". Again I say Fuck fuck fucking fuck.

Oh and fuck you NRA

I wtf'ed your post not because the dance got postponed, but because there's a fucking idiot who apparently thinks it's quite normal to threaten to shoot off a gun. WTF!

 

[onekidanddone]

 

18 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

I wtf'ed your post not because the dance got postponed, but because there's a fucking idiot who apparently thinks it's quite normal to threaten to shoot off a gun. WTF!

 

There is  more to tell: Apparently there was a brawl, somebody had their arm broken and somebody had weapons. Now my kid doesn't want to go to the awards/graduation ceremony because none of her friends are going. Everybody is skipping in protest. I want her to go she can show she is taking a stand against fear and intimidation. 

I don't have the whole story and won't until kid comes home. 

[mamallama]

My heart goes out to your daughter.  I can't imagine having the happy events of growing up marred by threats of violence.  

[GreyhoundFan]

 

[fraurosena]

Anyone who isn't convinced the Russians bought the presiduncy is living in an alternative universe.

NRA = Now Russian America.

 

[AmazonGrace]

Guns don't kill people, witchy spells kill people

 

[laPapessaGiovanna]

55 minutes ago, AmazonGrace said:

Guns don't kill people, witchy spells kill people

 

They need to stop smoking whatever they are smoking.

[47of74]

 The Kent State gun nut fornicated up on Twitter and is getting some loving from the internetz now...

Quote

Kent State Gun Moll Tweets Beach Trip to Desecrate Flag, Drink Liberal Tears. Replies are Hilarious.

Here's the tweet she sent out...

 Twitter is letting her have it over her disrespect of the flag.

I think this is my favorite...

 

[AmazonGrace]

Well if she WANTS to drink salty human excretions who am I to stop her.

[laPapessaGiovanna]

https://twitter.com/00meatball/status/1008388367841681408?s=17

Edited June 22, 2018 by laPapessaGiovanna
The damn tweet doesn't embed

[AmazonGrace]

 

[Destiny]

Another day, another shooting. This one is just developing, in Maryland at a newsroom. I wonder how much the Orange Menace's anti media rhetoric has fed into this event.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-gazette-shooting-20180628-story.html

[AmazonGrace]

Thoughts and prayers:

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[AmazonGrace]

Another stalker misogynist with a gun 

 

[ALM7]

On 5/25/2018 at 2:08 PM, fraurosena said:

Thankfully the three people who were shot are in good condition. The shooter was very obviously mentally ill, but still had an active licence as an armed guard. And of course this is being used as fodder by the NRA for their 'good guys with a gun' argument, and nobody is saying anything about the fact that a man who says a demon possessed squirrel is following him and he was recently attacked by his refrigerator should not have had access to firearms in the first place...

Poor bastard was killed for being mentally ill.

Armed bystanders gun down Oklahoma City restaurant shooter

 

:: my bold above ::

@fraurosena, you're one of my fav posters, I absolutely mean no disrespect in my response.  I would also like to establish I'm a progressive/liberal, I abhor the NRA, and I aggressively organize and fight against my states ridiculously insane gun laws.  

However; I would like to add to the published news accounts of this story. 

I have been to this restaurant / recreational-sport district too many times to count.  It has restaurants, walking/bike trails, and a large lake shore immediately in front of the restaurants and walking/bike trails.  In other words, a very open area, however; due to the lake shore, and a very busy expressway, there are not a lot of escape routes.  One is literally sandwiched between the lake and expressway.

True, the shooter, never entered the restaurant, he chose to target the victims, a woman, and two young girls, as they entered the front door area of the establishment.  Then he ran ...

He ran towards the area that had many people enjoying the trails, lake front area etc., he was still armed with his gun. At this point, the two individuals referenced in the article, shot him.  

At the time he was shot, his mental state wasn't known. The number of guns and rounds wasn't known. What was known at that time, he had just opened fire on patrons of a restaurant, and he was headed towards others in an outdoor rec area. Those in the direction he was running, wouldn't have a chance to escape.

My take is ...

• We now know he was mentally ill, and desperately needed intense medical/mental help.
• He was allowed by the state to legally carry a fire-arm, in-spite of the fact he suffered from a severe mental illness. [There were reports authorities were notified of his illness]
• Two individuals, legally licensed in this state, were able to defuse the situation. Thankfully they didn't shoot an innocent victim in the process. 

He was killed because he opened fire on innocent victims. Yes, he was mentally ill, and this illness probably played a major factor in his decision to shoot his victims. This is exactly why we should sincerely and progressively help those that suffer mental illness, for their sake, as well as others.

Personally, I'm an advocate of very strict gun laws. I'm against my states open and concealed carry laws. I'm sick of the "thoughts & prayers" line delivered by our law-makers and their minions.

Anyway, I just wanted to share the lay-out of the complex, and what a potentially lethal situation could have played out. 

Honestly @fraurosena, it terrifies me to know so many people in my state are touting their guns around in establishments, parks, their cars etc., knowing most couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from 10 feet.  I know this, I am very careful to remove myself from situations involved in conflict. If someone cuts me off in traffic, fine, they will never know it bothered me ... in Oklahoma, they might shoot you! 

 

Edited June 29, 2018 by ALM7
words...

[candygirl200413]

White male shooters and history of misogyny/domestic violence. The cycle will never end. 

[47of74]

11 hours ago, AmazonGrace said:

Another stalker misogynist with a gun 

 

Then Ramos got all pissy because the Capital Gazette did an article on his arrest and sued the paper for reporting on the truth.  (Or what he and Branch Trumpvidians everywhere call defamation);

A friend of mine found the opinion from that case.

https://courts.state.md.us/sites/default/files/import/appellate/unreportedopinions/2015/2281s13.pdf 

 

 

[fraurosena]

13 hours ago, ALM7 said:

:: my bold above ::

@fraurosena, you're one of my fav posters, I absolutely mean no disrespect in my response.  I would also like to establish I'm a progressive/liberal, I abhor the NRA, and I aggressively organize and fight against my states ridiculously insane gun laws.  

However; I would like to add to the published news accounts of this story. 

I have been to this restaurant / recreational-sport district too many times to count.  It has restaurants, walking/bike trails, and a large lake shore immediately in front of the restaurants and walking/bike trails.  In other words, a very open area, however; due to the lake shore, and a very busy expressway, there are not a lot of escape routes.  One is literally sandwiched between the lake and expressway.

True, the shooter, never entered the restaurant, he chose to target the victims, a woman, and two young girls, as they entered the front door area of the establishment.  Then he ran ...

He ran towards the area that had many people enjoying the trails, lake front area etc., he was still armed with his gun. At this point, the two individuals referenced in the article, shot him.  

At the time he was shot, his mental state wasn't known. The number of guns and rounds wasn't known. What was known at that time, he had just opened fire on patrons of a restaurant, and he was headed towards others in an outdoor rec area. Those in the direction he was running, wouldn't have a chance to escape.

My take is ...

• We now know he was mentally ill, and desperately needed intense medical/mental help.
• He was allowed by the state to legally carry a fire-arm, in-spite of the fact he suffered from a severe mental illness. [There were reports authorities were notified of his illness]
• Two individuals, legally licensed in this state, were able to defuse the situation. Thankfully they didn't shoot an innocent victim in the process. 

He was killed because he opened fire on innocent victims. Yes, he was mentally ill, and this illness probably played a major factor in his decision to shoot his victims. This is exactly why we should sincerely and progressively help those that suffer mental illness, for their sake, as well as others.

Personally, I'm an advocate of very strict gun laws. I'm against my states open and concealed carry laws. I'm sick of the "thoughts & prayers" line delivered by our law-makers and their minions.

Anyway, I just wanted to share the lay-out of the complex, and what a potentially lethal situation could have played out. 

Honestly @fraurosena, it terrifies me to know so many people in my state are touting their guns around in establishments, parks, their cars etc., knowing most couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from 10 feet.  I know this, I am very careful to remove myself from situations involved in conflict. If someone cuts me off in traffic, fine, they will never know it bothered me ... in Oklahoma, they might shoot you! 

 

Oh my, I'm flattered that I'm one of your fav posters @ALM7.   And please don't worry , I don't read any disrespect in your thoughtful response at all. Plus, I don't have the exclusive rights to the truth! 

I also have to admit that I rather enjoy discussions where we all give our own perspectives and opinions on a subject because I find that it broadens my mind and educates me on all manner of things. Disagreeing with each other isn't always a negative thing. Therefore, I'm glad you shared your insight into this situation. 

All that said, I don't think we're actually disagreeing on this subject. Because I agree with you, this shooter absolutely was killed because he opened fire on innocent victims. And yes, the people who shot him prevented worse from happening. Also true is that they had no way of knowing what the shooter's mental state was. The fact that they killed the shooter can be considered a 'good' thing as they acted with good intentions, and acted to prevent further loss of life. In that sense, they were the 'good guys' here. Even though saying that plays right into the NRA argument, there is no denying the fact they saved lives.

The point I was trying to make, and which you also make in your post, is that due to his mental illness, the shooter should never have been able to have access to guns in the first place. Because he was mentally ill, and because he had access to guns, he had the means to become the shooter of innocent victims. But, precisely because of his mental illness I cannot in all conscience put the stamp of 'the bad guy' on him. To my mind, he too is a victim here. Not an entirely innocent one, but a victim nonetheless. His death, and those of his innocent victims, were preventable. None of them had to die. Nor should anybody have had to become the killer of a mentally ill person.

The real bad guys here, in my opinion, are those idiots who made it lawful for the shooter to have access to guns (and who, in all probability, also made it impossible for him to get the psychological help that he needed). They, together with the NRA who paid the idiots to do it, are the real perpetrators here. In a meta-sense, they are the ones that have the blood of those innocent victims on their hands. And the blood of the shooter too. And even (but I'm speculating here) the ptsd of the 'good guy's' who stopped the shooter, and all those that were witness to it.

I've said it before, and this probably won't be the last time I'm saying this, but I'm absolutely appalled that you have to live in fear of your very lives, that you constantly have to be on your guard because every vigilante and his grandmother have the right to open and concealed carrying of arms. It sickens me that you can't even stand up for yourselves because you might get shot for doing so. I can try to imagine, but never fathom how it must be to have to live that way.