I'll live with the TSA, I just don't understand mass-murder

[feather]

Re: I'll live with the TSA, I just don't understand mass-murder

It's kinda simple to me. Given a choice I'd face a knife than a gun anytime.

[floridaorange]

Re: I'll live with the TSA, I just don't understand mass-murder

[dusk]

Re: I'll live with the TSA, I just don't understand mass-murder

This is a must read....

'I Am Adam Lanza's Mother': A Mom's Perspective On The Mental Illness Conversation In America

[Highsteppa]

Re: I'll live with the TSA, I just don't understand mass-murder

I pretty much agree with everything said except for the last sentence. I see both being an issue, not just the mental health access and (implied) underfunding.

[bigtimm]

Re: I'll live with the TSA, I just don't understand mass-murder

My dad owns about 7 guns for hunting

That's interesting. What does he hunt?

[sbando]

Re: I'll live with the TSA, I just don't understand mass-murder

^God is mostly right on every point.




Guess who's Beretta's major stock-holder? Yep, the Vats.

[chuckc]

Re: I'll live with the TSA, I just don't understand mass-murder

in the state where I live Florida we are about to issue our one millionth concealed weapons permit. that means 1 out of every 19 people in FLA are packing heat and you dont know it. what is this country coming to.

i recently read that semi automatic weapons (like the ones in the shooting) where banned in the US up till 2004 when it then expired. might be a good place to start.

[sbando]

Re: I'll live with the TSA, I just don't understand mass-murder

It didn't exactly expire, Dubia fixed it.

[feather]

Re: I'll live with the TSA, I just don't understand mass-murder

Let me tell you a story. The day after Columbine, I was interviewed for the Tom Brokaw news program. The reporter had been assigned a theory and was seeking sound bites to support it. "Wouldn't you say," she asked, "that killings like this are influenced by violent movies?" No, I said, I wouldn't say that. "But what about 'Basketball Diaries'?" she asked. "Doesn't that have a scene of a boy walking into a school with a machine gun?" The obscure 1995 Leonardo Di Caprio movie did indeed have a brief fantasy scene of that nature, I said, but the movie failed at the box office (it grossed only $2.5 million), and it's unlikely the Columbine killers saw it.


The reporter looked disappointed, so I offered her my theory. "Events like this," I said, "if they are influenced by anything, are influenced by news programs like your own. When an unbalanced kid walks into a school and starts shooting, it becomes a major media event. Cable news drops ordinary programming and goes around the clock with it. The story is assigned a logo and a theme song; these two kids were packaged as the Trench Coat Mafia. The message is clear to other disturbed kids around the country: If I shoot up my school, I can be famous. The TV will talk about nothing else but me. Experts will try to figure out what I was thinking. The kids and teachers at school will see they shouldn't have messed with me. I'll go out in a blaze of glory."


In short, I said, events like Columbine are influenced far less by violent movies than by CNN, the NBC Nightly News and all the other news media, who glorify the killers in the guise of "explaining" them. I commended the policy at the Sun-Times, where our editor said the paper would no longer feature school killings on Page 1. The reporter thanked me and turned off the camera. Of course the interview was never used. They found plenty of talking heads to condemn violent movies, and everybody was happy.

Elephant :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews

From Nov 7 2003.

[foreks]

Re: I'll live with the TSA, I just don't understand mass-murder

^God is mostly right on every point.




Guess who's Beretta's major stock-holder? Yep, the Vats.

imagine the USA is world's biggest arms manufacturer and exporter.

[floridaorange]

Re: I'll live with the TSA, I just don't understand mass-murder

the military industrial complex is huge here. We make the weapons, sell them to other countries thereby creating the demand to engineer newer better weapons. The cycle is endless.

That's interesting. What does he hunt?

Nothing anymore. But when I was growing up we would turkey hunt before Thanksgiving. He wasn't a big hunter, but we have a lot of land with hogs, pheasant, doves, duck, etc. He mostly hunted turkey, some pheasant, a few hog hunting trips, and duck a couple times. He was never a deer hunter.

[DancingQueen]

Re: I'll live with the TSA, I just don't understand mass-murder

Stuff like this is absolutely heartbreaking. Every time I hear about this on the news I cry....I can't even imagine what would posess someone to do something so senseless....those poor sweet angels and the brave teachers who lost their lives trying to save as many as they could....utterly heartbreaking.

i don't understand why the gun laws haven't changed in the US. I know the NRA has a lot of power and control in the government, but even the members need to see it is time for a change....life isn't the same as when the constitution was written.

[chuckc]

Re: I'll live with the TSA, I just don't understand mass-murder

..life isn't the same as when the constitution was written.

your exactly right. seems to me that those in the gov. sometimes forget that. its not the wild wild west anymore.

[dusk]

Re: I'll live with the TSA, I just don't understand mass-murder

This sums it up .... exactly how I was feeling and unable to express.

Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee's sub-committee.What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful. They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert!These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness. The following is a portion of the transcript:"Since the dawn of creation there has been both good & evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers." "The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field.The villain was not the club he used. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain's heart. "In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA.I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's murder I would be their strongest opponent.""I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy-it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room.Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. "I wrote a poem that expresses my feelings best. This was written way before I knew I would be speaking here today:"

Your laws ignore our deepest needs,
Your words are empty air.
You've stripped away our heritage,
You've outlawed simple prayer.Now gunshots fill our classrooms,
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question "Why?"
You regulate restrictive laws,
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand,
That God is what we need!

"Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, soul, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and reek havoc. Spiritual influences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact.What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occurs politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties.We do not need more restrictive laws." Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.Political posturing and restrictive legislation are not the answers. The young people of our nation hold the key. There is a spiritual awakening taking place that will not be squelched! We do not need more religion. We do not need more gaudy television evangelists spewing out verbal religious garbage. We do not need more million dollar church buildings built while people with basic needs are being ignored.We do need a change of heart and a humble acknowledgment that this nation was founded on the principle of simple trust in God!" "As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, He did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right!I challenge every young person in America, and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him. To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA- I give to you a sincere challenge.Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone! My daughter's death will not be in vain! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!"

[unkle]

Re: I'll live with the TSA, I just don't understand mass-murder

No, it was good black humor.

Got it.