Are you seeing this shooting news from CT??

listening right now

sad very sad

They just said that an entire kindergarden class is "unaccounted" for. This is unthinkable. They said they may have someone else in custody. I cannot wrap my mind around this.

There's been a rise in this kind of violence lately. I can only imagine it's a either the holidays are driving people over the edge with the economy the way it is, or it's those lunatics that actually believe the 21st is it and they are carrying out their sick fantasies.

No matter which it is, or whatever the reason, there's no excuse.

I have a gut feeling we haven't seen the last of this kind of thing.

I can't even imagine a entire classroom full of K's being wiped out. It's not something my mind can wrap itself around.

This is why I don't turn on the TV anymore ... I heard about it first here.

foxwolfen


Its not sad. It is sick. It is repugnant. It shows how corrupt the American soul is. Yes their are social problems, but the biggest one is guns. I will not engage in further debate about gun control except to say that all arguments supporting the right to own guns are either delusional, grossly inaccurate, or outright lies (and no its not just the last twenty years). Disgusting. Yes, I am angry.

 Sharke- I totally agree. Foxwolfen-I am as disgusted and angry as anyone. It is truly a sad state of affairs when young innocent children are killed for no reason.

 I don't think this is the time for a political discourse over guns but rather a time to look more deeply into what motivates a person to commit violence on innocent children irregardless of the methods used.

 Not sure if you remember the Nickle Mine shootings several years back. It happened less than 2 miles from my house.What seemed like a totally normal common salt of the earth guy just decided to kill Amish school children.Sad...really sad. Believe it or not the community has really recovered well since then.

  I think something deeper is up here. We as a society need to get to the bottom of it.

 Being globally connected has some real advantages and some real disadvantages. It means that someone evil who is a few bricks shy of a load can learn that killing people is one of the most attention getting things they can do.
 
It means we all know about it right away.......Not necessarily always a good thing. Of all the millions of actions taking place on this planet right now both good and bad this happens to be the one thing at this moment on the news attracting all the attention. Some sicko who has chosen probably the most evil way a person can leave this world.The families deserve sympathy and loving attention, but this wack job should be dumped off the side of a cliff and watched rot.

Personally, I think violent video games have contributed more to this than guns.  Guns have been around for 100's of years.  This is pure evil.  A desensitation to the value of human life.  This kind of evil would use what ever it could to destroy human life.  We never use to think of a commercial airliner as an instrument to kill thousands, but is also a tool for distruction. We need to figure out what in society is causing people to become these monsters and focus less on what object or tool is used to do the killing.  Evil will find a way to do evil.

Don't ask for whom the bell tolls....
 
I just feel like crying for now.

The culture in America is changing rapidly...and not for the better.  Violent TV, reality TV, lack of parenting, violent video games, economic woes, our value system, lack of morals, rampant narcissism, not paying attention, what we accept as "normal behavior", and deteriorating educational standards (amongst a bunch of other factors) all are contributing America's decline... in my opinion.

Maybe 12/21/2012 (the end of the world) is not a bad thing.

I own several guns, and not once in all the years I've owned them did I ever get the slightest notion of killing someone.

Of all the screaming matches, and bloody lips I received from my x-wife, I never once thought of hitting her back, or shooting her, or stabbing her, or anything like that.

The point is, and I shouldn't have shared that, but I'm kind of emotional right now, I'm still sickened by what I've read ... the point is ... if you are going to pave a path of devastation like this, you're going to do it with whatever weapon you can find. A shovel, knife, home made bomb, driving a car in the classroom, taking them hostage and slowly doing your thing.

To sit here and get on your soap box about your personal agenda of gun control and insult 314 + million people living in The United States who are sickened and heartbroken over this, not to mention the families of those involved, well, please, drop dead. You're worthless. And blocked.

It hurts. Numbing myself is the only way I can deal with it . ...sorta 

Bub


I own several guns, and not once in all the years I've owned them did I ever get the slightest notion of killing someone.

Of all the screaming matches, and bloody lips I received from my x-wife, I never once thought of hitting her back, or shooting her, or stabbing her, or anything like that.

The point is, and I shouldn't have shared that, but I'm kind of emotional right now, I'm still sickened by what I've read ... the point is ... if you are going to pave a path of devastation like this, you're going to do it with whatever weapon you can find. A shovel, knife, home made bomb, driving a car in the classroom, taking them hostage and slowly doing your thing.

To sit here and get on your soap box about your personal agenda of gun control and insult 314 + million people living in The United States who are sickened and heartbroken over this, not to mention the families of those involved, well, please, drop dead. You're worthless. And blocked.

I'm not pro-gun but at this point I don't think it even matters whether you're pro or anti. It's like blaming heavy metal or horror movies or video games. I've listened to heavy metal and horror movies all my life and I couldn't hurt someone unless they seriously threatened me or my loved ones. Similarly, I grew up in a house where there were guns - but I never touched one and never even thought about it.

We blame those things because we refuse to accept that human nature isn't always all sunshine and rainbows, and that some of us are seriously screwed up and totally lack empathy.

Whether we blame evil spirits, the devil, the tv, music, guns, video games, the decay of moral standards, it's all the same - placing the blame on things. 


I don't know. Acts like these sicken me yet I don't want to be comforted. I don't want interchangeable explanations to try and make me feel better, or something that I can blame to help take off the edge. I want to be sickened by such horror when it happens, always, I don't want to come to terms w/ it.

We blame those things because we refuse to accept that human nature isn't always all sunshine and rainbows, and that some of us are seriously screwed up and totally lack empathy.

well said, Rain.

This act of violence is sickening.  My heart is heavy for the children and the parents and families of those affected and I pray for their peace in this time of great tragedy and loss.

Unimaginably horrific.

MakeShift


Personally, I think violent video games have contributed more to this than guns.  Guns have been around for 100's of years.  This is pure evil.  A desensitation to the value of human life.  This kind of evil would use what ever it could to destroy human life.  We never use to think of a commercial airliner as an instrument to kill thousands, but is also a tool for distruction. We need to figure out what in society is causing people to become these monsters and focus less on what object or tool is used to do the killing.  Evil will find a way to do evil.

I'm gonna have to rebuttal here because I am sick and tired of hearing that well-worn excuse! Media is always to blame for what happens in society. Ever stopped to think that media may be try to tell society about itself?


And to make matters worse, not saying this is right, but people get mad when movies are made about this tragedies, Again, I didn't say that was/is right, but how can hollywood be able to get people to open there eyes? I'm sure you know the altered opening to DKR when the Aurora shooting happened. This is bad because that film will forever be associated with that shooting. 


Remember the emergence of plane films during/around 9/11 or such films before 9/11, that are somehow associated with 9/11. I'm surprised the "Assassinate The President" movies don't get blasted because you would think they give someone the idea to do that, but how many presidents have been assassinated, but we don't hear the "media" excuse? What Presidential film was out when JFK was assassinated? (As Obama said: Gotta put aside the politics. I agree with him, but I think it'll only last for a moment)

Of all the modern shootings in this country, the media is the villian! I wonder if hollywood needs to make such a film for people to realize that though the media feeds the problem that they aren't the problem. Hollywood could tell there audiences to be nothing but do gooders, but there will always be someone to ignore this. Will it then be the media's problem? And media I include: Movies, TV and games as you mentioned.

Bowling for Colombine after that shooting, the aforementioned DKR "stickers" after that shooting. All the psyche-babble! "Oh, he was quiet, a loner, not-a-people person. He watches violent films and plays such videogames. I am an adult and am all those things, but I'm not going on a killing spree for no reason whatsoever. I was raised better than that nor am I stupid or ignorant since I know the difference between what's real and what's not. It'a the same excuses and going into how this is reflected in the media ...

There are films and tv shows that are just like this: 

Here you have a man/woman that is so awful; yet, there's a reason for the awfulness. IOW, psycho-analyzing what is wrong. Either it's: "I was abused as a child/My parents left me/I never saw my parents/I'm mad at the world because I didn't get what I want. These characters are what you call gray characters. Now, is the society a product of these stories or are these stories a product of what occurs in society?

The gender wars: Men are dogs - women are princesses. The countless/endless double-standards (usually voiced by women). Heck, I saw a video where both sexes were in a bar, but the roles were reversed. Girls were acting immature and the guys were acting like gentlemen (until they got around their guy friends). One guy slapped the spit out of a woman who touched him inappropriately/ Do you know what I said when the appropriate was posed: "What if the roles were reversed? Would we see equal or different treatment?" I said, "Guys would still get hosed!" and I pointed to when one slapped that very eager woman who touched him. How loud would the physical abuse cry get? Or when the man argues with his woman though she deserves every bit of it? He's wrong? Custody battles are won by the mother when the child needs BOTH parents.

All these things you see in the media, but we see and hear about them in the real-world, too! So, the BS about how the media is solely responsible is just that BS! I might be wrong, but out of all the shooters I've played (and I've played quite a few) children weren't the victims! magine the uproar companies and developers would get if they made games like this. Some already get uproar with the Adult oriented games they come out with (and I don't mean the ones that used sexuality to sell, but the act of sex and such itself) I wouldn't be surprised if they as well as films/tv shows were blamed for people becoming sexually active - persuing permiscusity!

Children/Teenagers are the way they are because the parents don't teach them anything! No disrespect is intended to the shooter's mother (may she and all other victims RIP) but if she didn't hold his feet to the fire - or if not her - somebody in his life - no wonder this happened! Am I blaming her? No. note I said, if somebody was in his life. She was (maybe she wasn't, but she's not here.) Where's his father?

I realized what I wrote in this last two paragraphs, but it proves my points about misplaced anger. Why are people violent? I don't know, but I'll be damned if I believe that if the media wasn't violent, the world wouldn't be.

I understand influences, but to use a less tragic analogy: Someone who's been sheltered. You know good and well that once s/he has been release into the world, that person is going to run wild. The country-bumpkin vs. city dweller. The bumpkin's lived where it's been quiet pretty much nothing going on, but goes to the city and is mortified by all the busy-ness as chaos that is city life or perhaps it's where s/he wanted to be.

You're right about the disensitizing (except when it comes to children and this is also seen in the media). However, I don't believe inbeing so disensitized that you become stupid. Yet, remember that audience that watched "The Peaceful Hollywood Movie?" There's one that said: "It's garbage!" completely ignoring it's message, but you blame the movie (makers)? Yeah, okay! You make something for the adults and kids go get it or convince their Adult Parents to get it for their kids and they do because the child will throw and tantrum and hurt them badly (for a respectful term)

So, who's wrong here? It ain't 100% the media fault. People are just violent or at least have that side in them. Everybody gets angry and whatnot, but it's about how you channel it.

I just heard that the mother died due to an argument she and her son were having! The world needs some serious anger management classes, but even that may not solve the problem. It's not the media! The consumer never has to buy what is being sold, but the seller gets blamed! Makes no damn sense!

So, you think that those that don't grow up violent, but enjoy shooters (players/developers) should be penalized because of what such things could cause? Yet, all of us take medicine regardless of all the side-effects. It's true, that things could be worse, but playing it safe (in some situations) isn't always the answer. I blame the POS that is "political-correctness." If not, you wouldn't have a reason to justify any action. Guy cheats on a girl, she should get mad and leave him, but give him a piece of her mind first; yet, a girl cheats on a guy, he has no justification for yelling or leaving her. (You see the in the media, too).

Girl yells at guy: "You go girl! You tell him, sister!" Guy yells at girl for the same thing: "Get away from this mofo! He ain't worth it!" Yet, both were wrong and should be yelled at!

Whatever is shown in the media tells us alot about our society - IOW, the media is a reflection of our society. We only villify it because we don't like what we see in the mirror! (not the other way around) The late MJ wrote a song called "Man in the Mirror" and it couldn't be anymore appropro and the associated video takes that even further! 

Lyrics Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdIUzBoowbQ
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PivWY9wn5ps

Or I'll throw in Christina Aguilera's "Reflection."  This song is more about the individual self which asks the question: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzHR0IErM60 (The entire song though I only posted the first chorus) This tune really says alot ...

Who is that (person) I see
Staring straight back at me?
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?

Again, I'm not disagreeing about the influence  media has on society, but isn't it monkey-see, monkey-do when interacting to mirrors? If I put my left hand up, the right hand gpes up in the mirror, but a hand goes up. period - makes no difference which. Playing the mirror game with a partner? Same thing!

So, the real question is: Who should change? Society! When this happens, everything else will, too. The mirror media) only mimics what it is exposed to (society) If you (society) don't like it, well, that is on you! This part I do agree with!

It's sad how society thinks it's blameless when it's not!

I think some of you have already touched on this. 

It isn't just American culture that has seen this errant and tragic behavior. Unfortunately this is the second shooting in a weeks time (Clackamas Town Center Mall, Portland area), the third high profile shooting (Aurora, Colorado) by young men in their 20's this year in America.
This is not a recent problem in the US we have mass killings of innocents going back well over a hundred years. The earliest accounted slaying of children in America dates back 1764, in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. And I am sure we can find similar incidents throughout history on multiple continents.


The fact is that these acts are perpetrated by sick individuals with no empathy for the grief they are causing. My heart goes out to the parents of those children lost and to the families of the adults who perished as well.