So another low-life loser decides to gain fame by shooting people..

[Virginia Dare]

when will the media stop giving these cretins the attention they crave? This asshole should forever remain anonymous. Who gives a shit what he told his neighbor, or that he broke up with his girlfriend, or lost his job. He's a murdering punk, that's all I need or want to know about him.

I'm so sick of this shit.

[trotsky]

1. Was thinking the exact same thing on last night's news.

They even dutifully reported that the killer's suicide note said he wanted to "go out in style." Well thank you media for granting him that wish.

[alarimer]

2. I am so sick of these things happening

Too many guns, too easy access to them. When someone says, "Well, he could have used a bomb", I just ask them how readily available explosives are. They are not, at least compared to guns.

[groovedaddy]

3. How do you or can you (or anyone) identify someone who is "on the brink?"

I agree about the sensationalism crap.
2 friends of mine mother was the first killed in a disgruntled (and very sick) employee's shooting rampage that left 10 dead (including the shooter). There were signs and threats, that, taken seriously, could have prevented this.
And what about the shooters at Columbine? They took videos of themselves walking past their parents, who are sitting at the table reading the paper, while the "boys" have guns poking out from their black overcoats. The parents are oblivious. They posted stuff on the internet about what they were up to.
There are reasons to pay attention to these situations, maybe even through the media, in hopes in preventing this stuff from happening.

[Virginia Dare]

10. I'm not saying that the community shouldn't examine the circumstances..

which brought this person to commit these acts. But giving him national fame for his actions is heinous.

[groovedaddy]

12. It's freedom of the press, man. In bad taste, but what can you do?

Boycott the networks / press / advertisers?

[goddess40]

4. male sense of entitlement + easy access to guns

or was he another mentally ill person who didn't get treatment because it was unavailable
or was he someone who had been bullied to the point of temporary insanity

We don't know yet but they are all issues we need to deal with.

[ThomWV]

7. Think so? Sounds shallow to me.

[goddess40]

28. Just one of many possibilities

Men that beat and sometimes kill their wives or girlfriends do so because they feel as a man they are entitled to own their women. It goes back to the time when men bought their wives with dowries. That includes the "obey" portion of the wedding ceremony or that women take the man's name when they marry (it was a transfer of property).

Gangs that defend a raped girlfriend, sister, mother revenge it by raping a women that belongs to a rival gang - not because they love the women but to damage the property of their rivals the same way their property was damaged.

[atreides1]

5. So did you know the gunman

I understand your digust with what happened, but to automatically label him as a "low-life loser" would be the same as me describing you as something unpleasant, which would be unfair because I don't know you.

I'm surprised considering from most of your posts that I have read, you seem to be the kind of person who doesn't jump to snap judgements, and who will take the time to look at all aspects of something before you start to slam someone.

Yes he's a murderer, was he a punk, was he a loser, was he even an asshole, I don't know I never met the kid.

But you're entitled to your opinion, have a nice day.

[Virginia Dare]

8. I guess anger at the senseless taking of innocent lives got the best of me..

I understand this person most likely had problems, but I'm addressing the media sensationalism of it all, which seems to reward this person's solution to his feelings of despair.

It's a beautiful winter wonderland here in Northern Virginia, so I'll try, you too..:hi:

[Dorian Gray]

23. I don't know...

I think that, despite whatever pain he might have been feeling, his inclination to take the lives of others... strangers... for no other reason than to "go out with a bang!" marks him as a low-life loser.

Or, if it makes you feel better, a total psychotic shit-bag.

[Le Taz Hot]

6. It's ALL tragic,

including a young man, so severely mentally and/or emotionally disturbed that he could commit an act like this. Vilify him all you want but there's a mental health crisis in this country and until we address it and fund treatment, we'll see more of this.

[Virginia Dare]

9. I'm mostly villifying the media for giving him what he apparently wanted..

and it's disrespectful to his victims IMO.

[sendero]

11. The mental health crisis..

... in this country is silent RAGE that occassionally breaks loose.

This guy saw no reason to live and while pondering that he decided to punish everyone for making that so.

Looking at this society, this media, this culture, I don't see these incidents slowing down much less stopping.

[Virginia Dare]

13. Me either, unfortunately...n/t

[BridgeTheGap]

14. Mall gunman called quiet and depressed - ap

BELLEVUE, Neb. - A high school dropout with a criminal past, Robert A. Hawkins had struggled to overcome depression. But friends thought he was making strides.

Then, about two weeks ago, he lost his girlfriend. A week later, it was his job. His friends worried he would regress.

"He was a very helpful young man, but he was quiet," said Debora Maruca-Kovac, a surgical nurse whose family took in Hawkins after her 17- and 19-year-old sons befriended him.

"He didn't cause a lot of trouble. He tried to help out all the time," Maruca-Kovac said. "He was very thankful for everything. He wasn't a violent person at all."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071206/ap_on_re_us/mall_shooting_gunman

[KharmaTrain]

15. The Hazards Of Modern Living

Appauling as it may be, we see this scenario more often than we dare to openly discuss. The first word that came to mind when I saw the first reports was "lone wolf" and "alienation"...what appears to be a common thread of most of those who commit these sensational crimes. They feel they need to make a "statement"...make their mark somehow to show up someone or just cry out to a lifetime of pain and frustration that manifested itself in yet another display of social outrage.

The corporate media doesn't help matters as they make these stories ideal for a glory seeker. They attract millions of eyes in a hurry and their instant "anal-isis", wall-to-wall coverage and then endless follow-ups just add to the lure of someone looking to make the "ultimate statement".

Alienation is a major problem in this country...it's what leads ot polarization and the overall apathy I encounter. People who don't want to be bothered cause they feel no one listens or cares. And one desperate act does feed the next. Unfortunately I have seen a lot of young people who look to the future and can't see how or where they fit in. Unfortunately as times get worse so will the desparation.

[H2O Man]

16. After John Lennon

was killed, Yoko asked that people not speak the name of the person who killed him. I think that she was making an important point. And I think you are making much the same point.

[BOSSHOG]

17. He was just exercising his second amendment rights

[underpants]

18. Hey come on, it's not like he got fired from ARBY'S are anything

:eyes:

Yeah they are really just raising the bar for the next sack of shit who wants to "be remembered"

[Annces]

19. low-life loser

If people paid him this much attention before he died, he would not be a low-life loser.

[gatorboy]

20. Firearms: The instant 15 minutes creator

[mdmc]

21. GUNS are the ultimate leveler / allows the weak to talk to the powerful

They can fire you and revoke your health insurance. The bank can take your home and car. Your girl can dump you for the rich jock. Family can abandon you.

There really is no other way to get even is to live well (the best revenge is a well lived life). If that is not an option...

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

22. Honestly, this stuff scares the shit out of me.

There's a guy who works in my building that comes in every day, says nothing unless work related, stares you down when you walk past him, occasionally mutters "Morning" if you say hello.......I have no idea what his exact job is or how his performance is, but I hope nobody ever decides to fire him. I just get a bad feeling about this one guy in a building of almost 1500 people.

[mdmc]

24. The sheeple eat up this kind of news.

The media is a business - they sell a product. They wouldn't cover this stuff if the sheeple weren't interested.

I, myself, do not follow these stories. All I know is there is another shooting and we need to either arm ourselves or protect ourselves with police and regulations.

The only real solution is universal health care that covers mental health.

[Virginia Dare]

25. Luckily, I don't watch the morning "news" shows..

I'm sure they had all had an "exclusive" sit-down with anybody they could find who may have had casual contact with this guy. By tonight we'll know what he had for lunch yesterday.

Meanwhile we have a criminally insane man in the White House who is showing strong signs of alcohol and/or drug addiction and the press has absolutely no interest.

I wonder what bizzaro world I'm living in sometimes...:banghead:

[mdmc]

26. courage my friend

peace and low stress

[madokie]

27. you know I wonder sometimes if maybe there is such as a thing as to much

pain and gore portrayed in video games and television like some has been warning about for years. the desensitization thingy