Comments Section Of News Article On Self-Defense Shooting.

[GreenStormCloud]

Most online news outlets now have a comments section where readers can speak their minds on the stories. We post numberous stories about self-defense shootings. It is worth taking a look at a typical comments sections.

I have chosen this particular story precisely because there are few details. More will likely become available later, but for the moment there isn't much. By choosing a story with few details I hope to keep the discussion from getting off into side issues, and concentrate on the posting public's reaction.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/6E9AE3DAA944ACAB862576B6004AF0B0?OpenDocument

Man shoots, kills suspected burglar in north St. Louis
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/25/2010

UPDATED, 9:45 a.m. Monday

ST. LOUIS -- A man shot and killed someone who apparently was breaking into a home early today in north St. Louis.

The shooting happened about 3:40 a.m. in the 1900 block of East College Avenue, about two blocks east of O'Fallon Park.

The first officer to arrive said he found a man who had been shot and was unresponsive. Police held the shooter at the scene for questioning and summoned evidence technicians.

A police spokeswoman confirmed only that homicide detectives were sent to the scene but released no more details on the incident.

About 10 minutes after the shooting, police called out tracking dogs and were looking for two women seen running west down an alley in all-black clothing. Police said the women were wanted for a possible burglary at the same address on College. It's unclear if the women were connected to the break-in and the death of the suspected burglar.

Now let's look as a bunch of the comments. At this time there are 60+ comments, and more being posted.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/emaf.nsf/comments?ReadForm&db=stltoday%5Cnews%5Cstories.nsf&docid=6E9AE3DAA944ACAB862576B6004AF0B0

Hopefully a good shoot and criminals career cut short. Undoubtedly many unsolved crimes suddenly solved.

Nice, one less piece of garbage walking the planet

Some good news for a change.

NICE! Just had to go steal some stuff that wasn't yours. Hope it was worth it you loser. We need a few more endings like this one!

The only thing I don't like about this story is it doesn't happen enough. Just hope the shooter doesn't get in trouble. Let's call what he did community service.

Well, we can be sure that he won't be breaking into any other houses.

click click... not my house either.

So what's the problem here? Tag him, bag him and bury him. Done!

That is pretty representative of the general postings. But there are some who are not happy. About twenty posts in we find:

The only thing that would make this story better would be a picture of a golden calf.

Come on everyone, bow down and worship your gun at the alter of the cult of the firearm.

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AND HE IS ANSWERED:
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We don't worship our firearms. But, with your attitude, it wouldn't surprise me to read about you having to beg for you and your family's lives at the hands of some thug that broke into your home.

you are seriously deluded. No one worships their guns, but we do hold our 2nd Amendment rights, and our God-given right to protect ourselves and our loved ones in as high a regard as you hold your 1st Amendment rights to express yourself and to be exposed as the moron that you obviously are. By the way please feel free to post your address, so that the criminals can feel comfortable breaking into a gun-free household...

Hey, once again Atlas is spewing BS. Hope you NEVER need the protection from either the police or a legal firearms owner. You don't deserve it.

Some are liberals

I'm a progressive liberal with a .357 Magnum, and a willingness to use deadly force in a situation such as the one reported. The stereotype of social liberals as limp-wristed wimps isn't even close to accurate.As for the shooter in this case--you go, guy!

Hate to see anyone have to end someone else life. I will tell ya though if you try to come into this liberals house you will get the pleasure of feeling that hot lead travel through your chest.

I read all the comments. Only one comment, the one shown above, was against the resident, the others were varying degrees of supportive to outright cheering. OK, mostly cheering. (A few posts strayed into side issues, legal points, defination of words, etc.


Gun Control Advocates, this is the public climate into which you are trying to push your laws.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

1. LA LA LA LA ...

We can't hear you!!!
teh Gunz R' teh devil!

(grabber logic)

[old mark]

2. I rather liked the comment about begging a thug for your family's lives...

I worked in a prison, drug and alcohol programs and a mental hospital and met a lot of thugs. I know something about how such people "think", and never want to have to beg one of them for anything.
I still don't understand why Dems who favor freedom in all things get all cramped up when it comes to freedom of choice about owning guns.

I am a progressive liberal and I carry a .45 automatic.


mark

[spin]

3. It's easy to say that you would easily blow some fool away...

if he was breaking into your house and endangering you or your family.

Before you decide to own a firearm for self defense, you should ask yourself one very important question. "If attacked by individual who wish to seriously harm me or others, am I willing to shoot to stop the attack even if it results in the attacker's death."

Don't own a firearm for self defense if you can't honestly answer, "Yes." (Note: this is not an easy question because shooting someone goes against most peoples morals and principles.)

But shooting someone is the last thing you ever want to do. The legal problems that result may bankrupt you and possibly put you in jail. Even if the authorities consider your actions to be justified and don't press charges, in many states you may be sued in civil court.

Shooting another person often results in psychological problems for the shooter. The shooter may suffer depression, guilt or suicidal thoughts. Lack of sleep or even sexual dysfunction may result.

But if you do use a firearm for self defense in a responsible manner you or someone else may survive the attack without serious injury. There are no guarantees, but at least you have a better chance. Often, merely showing your firearm may defuse a bad situation, although I don't recommend showing your firearm unless you are pulling the trigger. Many other states have laws making it illegal to "brandish" a firearm, which implies waving or pointing a firearm in a wild or reckless manner.

The bottom line is that shooting someone is not easy and there is no reason to glorify it.

[GreenStormCloud]

4. Absolutely true, and well worth reminding people of.

I am conficdent that "spin" and the rest of the gunnies understood my reasons for posting, but for anybody else who may not understand, I shall specifically restate them. There is no conflict between my agreement here and my quoting all of those posts that glorify the killing of that burglar.

My point in this thread was to demonstrate the public mindset.

[burrfoot]

5. This is actually a rather tame set of

response postings. I'm a liberal who owns all the way from a .22 derringer to an AR-15ish in .223, I have a CCW, and I believe that if it came to it I'd do what was necessary to protect myself or others in a life/death situation.

However, I'm often disgusted by the posts that people put up in those response columns. I think you guys have hit the nail on the head with the idea that a lot of people really don't (apparently) stop to consider the repercussions of taking the life of another human being.

I'm NOT saying that it doesn't sometimes need to happen- but some of the comments I read make me sad for the state of the American mindset and offended on the part of gun owners everywhere who take the time to realize and prepare for just what the hell they're getting into.

I continually hope that they are not a representative sample of the population and that, further, they're a bunch of armchair assholes of which few, if any, actually own firearms.

:evilfrown: :evilfrown: