School shooting

[Conundrum]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...ticut/1769367/

2:01PM EST December 14. 2012 - NEWTOWN, Conn. -- A lone gunman killed 26 people at an elementary school here, including 18 children, in a terrifying early Friday morning shooting spree.

The Associated Press and local media reported the shooter, an unidentified 20-year-old adult male with ties to the school, was also dead inside Sandy Hook Elementary School. A second person was in custody and undergoing questioning. Two handguns were recovered at the scene. Mayor Mark Boughton said several victims had been taken to local hospitals.

This is so horrible

[Daft Punk]

It seems like every time one of these occurs, I only become more emotionally affected by these stories. My thoughts go out to the children, and their parents in this incident.

[Baron D'Holbach]

Just go ahead and call the thread for where it's going to inevitably go: gun control.

[jdurand]

K-4 grade

5-9 year-olds.

[Baron D'Holbach]

Gunman's mother was the kindergarten teacher.

Looks like someone else is dead in his home.

[Cisalpine]

It's irrational I know, but I'm making hubby go pick up my little one as soon as school's out. I feel a great need to squeeze the heck out of her.

My heart breaks for all of them.

[Conundrum]

I also feel horrible for those kids who survived. Having to deal with something like that so young is unimaginable.

[dooglash sontoosh]

What the ******* ****.

That's just sick man

[RobinLocks]

He should have done the world a favor and just attempted to kill himself, failed, and ended up mutilating himself beyond repair. That would have been nice.

If you hate your life, and get a feeling of 'let me go out and take out my frustration on others, Grand Theft Auto style', just kill yourself.

The amount of counseling some of those kids will have to go through, the night fears, the hindrance of their future development...no one is worth that. Especially not someone as pathetically cowardice as Ryan Lanza.


Edit: Image Gallery Post-Shooting.

[JD70]

Just go ahead and call the thread for where it's going to inevitably go: gun control.

Not really... My concern is.. I don't really care.

Have I become that jaded that I don't care? Is it because this happens all the time? The news only reports these things when it happens in an affluent neighborhood. The only time a'Murica actually cares. But for me I have become jaded and numb to these stories. Is it just me or do other people feel this way? Nothing will be done or worse everyone will overreact.

For me now... There is no government... There is no one who speaks for me and none to listen.
They cry for the child who died today, but would gladly send that child to die for a lost cause.
War on Drugs, War on Terrorism, War in a Foriegn Land.
All children die. Does the government really care when a child dies?

The media feeds on death and wants more. The public wants reality shows.
We are all guilty of feeding on 15 minutes of fame.

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?

[LuckyGurrl]

Not really... My concern is.. I don't really care.

Have I become that jaded that I don't care? Is it because this happens all the time? The news only reports these things when it happens in an affluent neighborhood. The only time a'Murica actually cares. But for me I have become jaded and numb to these stories. Is it just me or do other people feel this way? Nothing will be done or worse everyone will overreact.

For me now... There is no government... There is no one who speaks for me and none to listen.
They cry for the child who died today, but would gladly send that child to die for a lost cause.
War on Drugs, War on Terrorism, War in a Foriegn Land.
All children die. Does the government really care when a child dies?

The media feeds on death and wants more. The public wants reality shows.
We are all guilty of feeding on 15 minutes of fame.

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?

No, I am not entertained. These were LITTLE kids. What had they ever done to anybody? How could they have possibly deserved something like this? I have two real weaknesses, little kids and animals. They are the only things I will go out of my way to help no matter what. And I hope there is a special place in every hell you believe in for people who deliberately hurt them.

This kind of thing was what kept my father in agreement with my mother about the benefits of homeschooling. It is also one of the reasons that my children, if I ever have any, will not attend school. More and more people seem to be losing the ability to see anything besides themselves, to think anything matters but themselves. It is a sad commentary on the human species. We are losing our humanity and can't even see it. And we just keep pushing ourselves along the same road without trying to figure out what the hell has happened to us. The people who should be trying to figure it out are so caught up in themselves and what their bosses or co-workers or neighbors or whatever will think that they are too fearful to even begin to look at the problem much less actually try to figure it out and find a solution.

I do not want reality shows. I pretty much despise them. I am not one of the mindless mass that will accept the opiate of their sheer stupidity and be blinded to everything else. I would rather watch a blade of grass grow or watch a pot of water heating to boil. Either is more entertaining than watching people make idiots of themselves.

[Chumpanzie]

Since the government cannot place a ban on being a total ahole, there really isn't anything that could have been done to stop this tragedy. The killer was quite obviously pissed about something, probably because of something he felt society and his parents did to him, so he decided to go out in a blaze of horrific glory. Of course the kids didn't deserve their fate, but in some way, perhaps our society does deserve it. The electronic age has pushed us all so far from actual human contact that killing a bunch of kids is hardly different from mowing down some pedestrians in a video game, with the exception that when the game is over, no one ever gets to play again. The media runs these loops of devastation over and over and over until part of all of us becomes desensitized, couple this with the promulgation of violence, lifelike and intense violence, in other forms of media, and it really is no surprise that massacres are happening more often.

The only way to possibly change our direction would be to change our views on some things and to return to a more Camelot like era when people actually had connection with each other on a real level with mutual respect for others in general. Then, and only then, might we have a chance of reducing the pressures which are placed on people so close to the edge of breaking that they go on a rampage with the final push.

[5m4llP0X]

The news was mentioning that the people actually knew the kid was mentally ******. So this wasn't just some "I'm angry!" shooting. This was "I jerk off to guns and ammo while looking at pictures of mutilated kittens" shooting.
We also still have not become that desensitized to violence that mowing random people down is like pushing up on a joystick. Proof: Penn and Teller's Bull**** did an episode on it. If you want to argue that parents need to put more effort into teaching kids right from wrong, I'm right there with ya. But computers aren't the downfall of society.

[LuckyGurrl]

Sadly PEOPLE are the downfall of society. People are vultures waiting to scavenge the societal corpse for their own gain. You can try to throw in things like computers or games but in the end they are just props... It IS people. There is no sense of family or community anymore. It's all about ME and I WANT and what I want, I want NOW. Boils down to selfishness and greed of one type or another.

[Chumpanzie]

Pox, you're missing a key point, violent video games may not make you and I more likely to kill real people, but then again maybe we're not naturally psychotic, or maybe we're big enough to deal with the bullies and pressures of society with greater ease than those weaker than us. The bottom line is that no one thing is to blame for horrors such as these recent events, but rather a culmination of many smaller things. Proliferation of guns, violent movies and games, desensitization, lack of respect, socioeconomic pressures, lack of proper care and guidance of those inappropriately equipped to deal with these issues, and the general apathy we as a society have regarding bad behaviors are all factors. I could also make a case that excessive tolerance of mentally ill people and the systematic dismantling of facilities and programs designed to help or institutionalize them is also a greater cause.

[beefy]

The media really needs to back off on coverage of this crap. The idiots that do this are ****** up in the head and attention seeking. They see the other idiots that do these things and then they think it's their one last way to get attention before they end their miserable lives. They want to be remembered and have everyone realize how messed up they are.

And guess what? The media plays it round the clock and starts talking about how the shooter had problems. They say how it wasn't his fault, they talk about his mental state and how it wasn't right. He will live on forever in people's memories and when we celebrate the deaths of those people. It's just screwed up.

Stop the media attention. Have a quick blurb about the incident every day and mention when one of the 2 press releases are where all details are given (after everything is found out), and don't say anything about his mental state. Just say he was a ****** up person that will rot in hell. Take the attention away from them. That's about the only way to try to limit these ********.

Unfortunately, we're all doing exactly what he wants right now by discussing this. There is no other reason to do something like that besides attention.

Also, it wouldn't hurt if people would be able to stop them from killing themselves, and instead 'accidentally' break their backs in the struggle for the gun. They obviously wanna die but if they see there's a big chance they'll end up living, and in a wheelchair or as a quadriplegic, they may rethink what they're doing for attention.

[Bahara]

Just go ahead and call the thread for where it's going to inevitably go: gun control.

It should lead to a discussion about creating a better mental health system but never does.

[The Cat Goddess]

The media really needs to back off on coverage of this crap. The idiots that do this are ****** up in the head and attention seeking. They see the other idiots that do these things and then they think it's their one last way to get attention before they end their miserable lives. They want to be remembered and have everyone realize how messed up they are.

And guess what? The media plays it round the clock and starts talking about how the shooter had problems. They say how it wasn't his fault, they talk about his mental state and how it wasn't right. He will live on forever in people's memories and when we celebrate the deaths of those people. It's just screwed up.

Stop the media attention. Have a quick blurb about the incident every day and mention when one of the 2 press releases are where all details are given (after everything is found out), and don't say anything about his mental state. Just say he was a ****** up person that will rot in hell. Take the attention away from them. That's about the only way to try to limit these ********.

Unfortunately, we're all doing exactly what he wants right now by discussing this. There is no other reason to do something like that besides attention.

Also, it wouldn't hurt if people would be able to stop them from killing themselves, and instead 'accidentally' break their backs in the struggle for the gun. They obviously wanna die but if they see there's a big chance they'll end up living, and in a wheelchair or as a quadriplegic, they may rethink what they're doing for attention.

Actually, I don't mind focusing on the victims and the survivors.

I recently saw a bit on one of the people who were shot in the theater in Denver... how well he was recovering, etc. Not once was "gun control" or the shooter mentioned. This is the kind of report that works well.

Report there was a shooting. Report that people were killed. Even report that "the shooter" (never name them) was killed or captured. But that's it. Focuse on the people, not on the killer.

[Chumpanzie]

I don't think it's necessarily attention seeking in the way that people do stupid stunts to post on YouTube, I think it's more along the lines of "well, I'm desperate, I hate the world/myself/someone enough that I can't handle my thoughts anymore so I want it to end and make <them> feel pain". What I worry about is the elevation of body count that has become all too commonplace in these tragedies. Years ago, when the Kent State shooting happened, people freaked for YEARS about the issue because it was unheard of and at that time only a dozen or so people were killed. Today, sad to say probably due to video game violence, people are not just going out to kill their oppressor, but as many other people as possible at the same time. Like any of us trying to beat our most recent "high score" I worry nutjobs are thinking "**** it, that last guy did it and only got X bodies, I can totally do it better and take out X++ bodies."

Again, it's not just guns or society or mental health care, it's bits and pieces of all of it which have combined into a perfect **** storm.

[Baron D'Holbach]

This kind of thing was what kept my father in agreement with my mother about the benefits of homeschooling. It is also one of the reasons that my children, if I ever have any, will not attend school. More and more people seem to be losing the ability to see anything besides themselves, to think anything matters but themselves. It is a sad commentary on the human species. We are losing our humanity and can't even see it. And we just keep pushing ourselves along the same road without trying to figure out what the hell has happened to us. The people who should be trying to figure it out are so caught up in themselves and what their bosses or co-workers or neighbors or whatever will think that they are too fearful to even begin to look at the problem much less actually try to figure it out and find a solution.

I do not want reality shows. I pretty much despise them. I am not one of the mindless mass that will accept the opiate of their sheer stupidity and be blinded to everything else. I would rather watch a blade of grass grow or watch a pot of water heating to boil. Either is more entertaining than watching people make idiots of themselves.

Hiding from the world in a home-schooled environment isn't the answer.

There's too much valuable life experience to be learned just from being around a bunch of new people your age each year for anyone to ever have to be relegated to fear-induced homeschooling.

[JD70]

Hiding from the world in a home-schooled environment isn't the answer.

But when you are home schooled you always get to date all the hot girls in your school.

[Ms. Evil]

Not really... My concern is.. I don't really care.

Have I become that jaded that I don't care? Is it because this happens all the time? The news only reports these things when it happens in an affluent neighborhood. The only time a'Murica actually cares. But for me I have become jaded and numb to these stories. Is it just me or do other people feel this way? Nothing will be done or worse everyone will overreact.

For me now... There is no government... There is no one who speaks for me and none to listen.
They cry for the child who died today, but would gladly send that child to die for a lost cause.
War on Drugs, War on Terrorism, War in a Foriegn Land.
All children die. Does the government really care when a child dies?

The media feeds on death and wants more. The public wants reality shows.
We are all guilty of feeding on 15 minutes of fame.

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?

I agree with this completely! My fabo wall is filled with other moms saying how they cried and cried and how horrible it all it. I read the news on it, shook my head, and went back to what I was doing. This is nothing new. This isn't about gun control or video games or that damn music kids listen to today. The problem is our society itself.

Is it sad? Yes. It is also sad when grown men go to war and die. It's sad when the US kills school children in other countries. Our entire society is ******. This is why I have a tv, but no channels come in. We watch DVDs we pick out. The whole purpose of every tv show you watch is the commercials. That's it. If it weren't for advertisers buying those 30 second spots in between whatever bs is on, you wouldn't be watching anything. The saddest part is that they sell information... and that information they sell is what makes us so jaded.

It is a sad commentary on the human species. We are losing our humanity and can't even see it. And we just keep pushing ourselves along the same road without trying to figure out what the hell has happened to us.

We are boiled frogs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_frog

[Ichabod Crane]

I agree with this completely! My fabo wall is filled with other moms saying how they cried and cried and how horrible it all it. I read the news on it, shook my head, and went back to what I was doing. This is nothing new. This isn't about gun control or video games or that damn music kids listen to today. The problem is our society itself.

Is it sad? Yes. It is also sad when grown men go to war and die. It's sad when the US kills school children in other countries. Our entire society is ******. This is why I have a tv, but no channels come in. We watch DVDs we pick out. The whole purpose of every tv show you watch is the commercials. That's it. If it weren't for advertisers buying those 30 second spots in between whatever bs is on, you wouldn't be watching anything. The saddest part is that they sell information... and that information they sell is what makes us so jaded.

Americans enlist knowing that their (usually) misguided government and/or brass is going to screw up or is going to intentially screw them over at some point, and they still join. They are armed to defend themselves and their fellow soldiers and, simply, to kill those that would to kill them.

Sometimes weapons and bullets go astray and kill innocents. The US is not alone in this, and it is the rare story of there being evidence that children are specifically targeted by the United States military.

To equate those scenarios with a demon entering a grammar school and systematically executing 5 year olds at close range doesn't add up for me. The concentrated area of the school (two rooms) and lethality of the attack, so very few wounded and so many dead, means these kids were huddled in their room, probably decorated with Holiday pictures they had colored the day before, and were killed one by one as they watched their friends die before them. Lambs in a barrel. One can know that their last thoughts were of their wanting their mom and dad there to protect them, and when it was their turn nobody came. I'm wrenched thinking of their parents that surely know this, it would wreck my life forever.

I had trouble getting to sleep thinking about this (couldnt stop), if you only shook your head and went back to whatever you were doing, I should envy you I guess.

What I'll say I agree with you on is that society is too sick to survive and it is, in my opinion, slowly dying. Be ready for it.

[Lurk]

Shockingly, I'd have to agree with Ebol there.

Kids die much more horrible deaths over in 3rd world countries all the time. This seems more sad to us since it's closer to home and these were cute white kids which makes for a different PR sort of thing, but in the grand scheme of things, doesn't really affect much.

[Ms. Evil]

To equate those scenarios with a demon entering a grammar school and systematically executing 5 year olds at close range doesn't add up for me.

The attacker wasn't a demon. He was a human. What made that 20 year old kid want to kill his mother, drive to the school, kill adults and kids, and then turn the gun on himself? Was it that he was just an evil man? Did the devil make him do it? No!

He was a 20 year old kid. For him to have done that means he was in a lot of pain. We may never know why he did it, but there are people out there that know. Reports from neighbors list him as disturbed.

So who's to blame? The 20 year old? Sure- he's the one that pulled the trigger. His mom? Sure, let's blame her too. The neighbors that noticed a problem and did nothing, the company that made the gun, the guy on the assembly line that put it together, the guy that sold it, the makers of the bullets, the government for allowing people to have guns, Xbox for selling violent games, the guy that draws the images for the games and the guy that does the voice overs, Marilyn Manson for the music he produces, his publicist, the radio djs who play it... should I go on?

Society itself is the culprit. And who is society? It's all of us.

[Baron D'Holbach]

The murderer was either autistic or had Asberger's according to his brother.

There's no such thing as demons but he was certainly demonic in his actions.

[Ichabod Crane]

The attacker wasn't a demon. He was a human.

There's no such thing as demons but he was certainly demonic in his actions.

Really? The fact I called him a demon is the part of my comments that we feel a need to discuss? People on these forums call people ******** all the time, but nobody points out that their targets are not really rectums.

Society itself is the culprit. And who is society? It's all of us.

Mmmm, deep thought there. I should also add that I declare myself not guilty.

[Ms. Evil]

Really? The fact I called him a demon is the part of my comments that we feel a need to discuss? People on these forums call people ******** all the time, but nobody points out that their targets are not really rectums.

I just said the guy wasn't a demon. You totally missed the rest of the things I said. Wake up.

Mmmm, deep thought there. I should also add that I declare myself not guilty.

May you live with yourself and feel secure in that the rest of your days.

I forgot this one before.

What I'll say I agree with you on is that society is too sick to survive and it is, in my opinion, slowly dying. Be ready for it.

I have a lighter ready to light the fuse of the bomb that destroys our society. As it is, no one alone can fix things. I am doing my part though. What I teach my children about life is my contribution. I don't teach them that they are powerless, that their ideas don't count, that they can't change anything, they never hear me say "that's just the way things are". I teach them to question everything, to look at the world in different perspectives, to seek out the truths and never accept half assed answers. If I could do more, I would.

Everyone who just accepts things as just the way they are is the problem. Those that teach their children to just go with the flow of society to survive is the problem.

[Baron D'Holbach]

IC, what did you want me to respond to?

You were basically just venting because this disturbed you. I figured you needed to; these forums are good for that. The fact that I clarified what you meant by "demon" is really bothering you that much? Chillax, brosef.

[Ichabod Crane]

The fact that I clarified what you meant by "demon" is really bothering you that much? Chillax, brosef.

I misunderstood your intent. I am sorry.

[Baron D'Holbach]

I misunderstood your intent. I am sorry.

[Ms. Evil]

"This afternoon we gather in the quiet of this sanctuary to pay our last tribute of respect to these beautiful children of God. They entered the stage of history just a few years ago, and in the brief years that they were privileged to act on this mortal stage, they played their parts exceedingly well. Now the curtain falls; they move through the exit; the drama of their earthly life comes to a close. They are now committed back to that eternity from which they came.

These children unoffending, innocent, and beautiful were the victims of one of the most vicious and tragic crimes ever perpetrated against humanity. Yet they died nobly. They are the martyred heroines of a holy crusade for freedom and human dignity.

And so this afternoon in a real sense they have something to say to each of us in their death. They have something to say to every minister of the gospel who has remained silent behind the safe security of stained-glass windows. They have something to say to every politician [Audience:] (Yeah) who has fed his constituents with the stale bread of hatred and the spoiled meat of racism. They have something to say to a federal government that has compromised with the undemocratic practices of southern Dixiecrats (Yeah) and the blatant hypocrisy of right-wing northern Republicans. (Speak) They have something to say to every Negro (Yeah) who has passively accepted the evil system of segregation and who has stood on the sidelines in a mighty struggle for justice. They say to each of us, black and white alike, that we must substitute courage for caution. (Mmm) They say to us that we must be concerned not merely about who murdered them, but about the system, the way of life, the philosophy which produced the murderers. Their death says to us that we must work passionately and unrelentingly for the realization of the American dream.

~ Martin Luther King Jr in 1963

[Baron D'Holbach]

Then he got shot. lulz

[Kurtz]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-20723910

A man with a knife has wounded 22 children - at least two of them seriously - and an adult at a primary school in central China.

[Lurk]

I have a lighter ready to light the fuse of the bomb that destroys our society.

Yeah, you're a real one-woman army that's gonna change the world and bring back the French Revolution ideals.

Everyone who just accepts things as just the way they are is the problem. Those that teach their children to just go with the flow of society to survive is the problem.

Funny, that's the same kind of statement that Anders Breivik used in his manifesto.

[Baron D'Holbach]

Well, we figured out why God didn't stop the CT shooting: he wasn't invited.

Seriously watch this lunatic. THIS is your brain on religion:

http://www.skepticmoney.com/god-didn...hool-shooting/

[Principal Brian Lewis]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-20723910

I saw this, and then later in the day found out about the shooting in Connecticut. Then I decided I was better off just not reading the news, ever.

[Kurtz]

I saw this, and then later in the day found out about the shooting in Connecticut. Then I decided I was better off just not reading the news, ever.

At least they're not dead.

[JD70]

Society itself is the culprit. And who is society? It's all of us.

Nice quote. And along the lines of what we were talking about...

It's because of the way the media reports it. Flip on the news and watch how we treat the Batman theater shooter and the Oregon mall shooter like celebrities. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris are household names, but do you know the name of a single victim of Columbine? Disturbed people who would otherwise just off themselves in their basements see the news and want to top it by doing something worse, and going out in a memorable way. Why a grade school? Why children? Because he'll be remembered as a horrible monster, instead of a sad nobody.

CNN's article says that if the body count "holds up", this will rank as the second deadliest shooting behind Virginia Tech, as if statistics somehow make one shooting worse than another. Then they post a video interview of third-graders for all the details of what they saw and heard while the shootings were happening. Fox News has plastered the killer's face on all their reports for hours. Any articles or news stories yet that focus on the victims and ignore the killer's identity? None that I've seen yet. Because they don't sell. So congratulations, sensationalist media, you've just lit the fire for someone to top this and knock off a day care center or a maternity ward next."

[Chumpanzie]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-20723910

A man with a knife has wounded 22 children - at least two of them seriously - and an adult at a primary school in central China.

Wtf were those kids doing at school in China, shouldn't they have been at work?!