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It finally happened in my hometown

RaleBulgarian

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Today, a “disgruntled long time city employee” here in Virginia Beach murdered 11 people, and injured 6 others (including 1 police officer) at a public works building located at the city’s government complex.

Thankfully, police response was almost instant as the city police headquarters is located just a few buildings away.

I’ve seen enough terrible events like today’s play out around the country for years now to know that it was possible to happen here, but it is still a shock. For those unfamiliar with my adopted hometown, it is the most populated city in VA, but is considered one of the safest. We have a large active and retired military population, and civilian populace that pride ourselves on friendliness and patriotism. In many ways, a modern large version of “Mayberry”.

There is no safe place anymore. Know that.
 
RaleBulgarian said:
There is no safe place anymore. Know that.
Click to expand...

Always knew it. I guess that's why I travel well. Only fools think the state can provide personal security.
 

The last news report I read, noted the killer is dead-the report didn't list the cause-suicide or copicide . What do you think is the reason for this Current nastiness. Sure, we had Charles Whitman when I was a kid (IIRC he had a brain tumor) and then later the "Zebra Killers" and then the "Son of sam" but these bezerkers seem more common. Or is it because 40 years ago, we didn't have 24/7 news and the internet?
 

The police got him. They ran into the danger as they are trained to do.

No word yet on the murderer’s motive. From what we can tell so far, it’s just another crazy with guns. Personally, I do believe that many of these nut jobs want to go out in a blaze that will get attention
 

Turtle Dude, more people have died so you and the rest of the gun-hugging Bubbas and Jim Bobs can have your silly "freedumb" to feel like a bad*** with your silly guns. What do you have to say for yourself?
 

Do you think the increase in attention, these assholes get, with the modern news cycle, is a major change from 30-50 years ago?
 
AtlantaAdonis said:
Turtle Dude, more people have died so you and the rest of the gun-hugging Bubbas and Jim Bobs can have your silly "freedumb" to feel like a bad*** with your silly guns. What do you have to say for yourself?
Click to expand...

That's so stupid I am laughing at it. intelligent people understand this country was full of guns long before I was born and even the most frantic of gun haters cannot change that. So rather than whining about gun owners being responsible for a societal norm-that has existed over 200 years-(and of course what really motivates people like you is that you hate the politics of those of us who support gun rights for honest citizens), why not do something a bit more constructive.
 
TurtleDude said:
Do you think the increase in attention, these assholes get, with the modern news cycle, is a major change from 30-50 years ago?
Click to expand...

Certainly they get more attention because there’s so much more constant media today, which I believe probably creates a perverse attraction for crazies.
 
RaleBulgarian said:
Certainly they get more attention because there’s so much more constant media today, which I believe probably creates a perverse attraction for crazies.
Click to expand...

Remember the term going "postal". That's probably what happened here.
 

Really sorry this has stained life, and I am no stranger to it either, of course.
I just don't know what else to say, we're all here for you.
 

That's an interesting question at the close. Always worth pondering again...
There's been a slight downtick in most violent crime but I believe there's been an uptick in mass incidents of this type in recent years.
 
AtlantaAdonis said:
Turtle Dude, more people have died so you and the rest of the gun-hugging Bubbas and Jim Bobs can have your silly "freedumb" to feel like a bad*** with your silly guns. What do you have to say for yourself?
Click to expand...

That's aimed at me too, and I'm on the Left.
Let the record show, for all you on the right, this is me...saying that I do not support Atlanta Adonis on his view, just because he is a progressive, also on the left.

As the Bell System lady used to say:
PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF IT.
 
Checkerboard Strangler said:
That's an interesting question at the close. Always worth pondering again...
There's been a slight downtick in most violent crime but I believe there's been an uptick in mass incidents of this type in recent years.
Click to expand...

I believe you are correct. Some of the downtick in violent crime is based on tough sentences in the late 80s early 90s for crack dealers and repeat offenders. Prior law enforcement exposure doesn't seem to apply to these active nutcases-few of them have done something prior to them going bezerker that would have caused them to be incarcerated. Though it is interesting to see-after a mass shooting-so many people say-"gee i figured the guy would going to do this" or "looking back-yeah there were plenty of signs the shooter was a nut case"
 
AtlantaAdonis said:
Turtle Dude, more people have died so you and the rest of the gun-hugging Bubbas and Jim Bobs can have your silly "freedumb" to feel like a bad*** with your silly guns. What do you have to say for yourself?
Click to expand...

That if you get murdered, I hope its with a knife




3 points for me
 

AA mainly posts nonsense on gun issues-as was the case of the post you were addressing. He seems to claim that gun ownership only recently became widespread and only because of the NRA and GOP voters
 
TurtleDude said:
Do you think the increase in attention, these assholes get, with the modern news cycle, is a major change from 30-50 years ago?
Click to expand...

I don't actually think so, because getting your name in the papers, or on the radio or TV, happened 30-50 years ago just like it does today. The delivery method and the overall quality is changed, but the press has existed for ages.

My friends and I still talk about the day our old junior high school shop teacher bought a brand new Mercedes, and then proceeded to drive to the White House and crash it through the gates. That was in 1971, I think.
He was on WRC-TV Channel 4 local news, and on NBC Evening News, and in the paper the next day, and he was all over the radio, too.
So I really don't get your point.
 

The guy that drove into the local courthouse didn't make front page or even some newspapers.
 
TurtleDude said:
I believe you are correct. Some of the downtick in violent crime is based on tough sentences in the late 80s early 90s for crack dealers and repeat offenders.
Click to expand...

And some might equally be attributed to the disappearance of lead in our gasolines, paints and even a lessening of it in the solder in all the pipes and all the circuit boards in all the electronics we owned.

Less lead in the water and air and much of the rest of the environment was shown to also result in less violent crime.

But I suspect you probably don't believe in that.
 
TurtleDude said:
Do you think the increase in attention, these assholes get, with the modern news cycle, is a major change from 30-50 years ago?
Click to expand...

I think that's part of it. I also believe some of it has to do with the mind altering drugs being force fed to young males. Then there's video games where life becomes meaningless. You shoot somebody, hit reset, and they magically pop up again.

What I do know is that I grew up in an era where guns were easily available to anyone. Guns were not locked up. Yet it never occurred to anyone to shoot up the school.
 

It is not just my point--many others have said the same thing

Why America Is Prone to Mass Shootings

(this is an anti gun source btw)

here also seems to be a copycat effect by mass shooters. In a study published in July, researchers reported that school shootings and mass shootings occur in clusters. On average, each school shooting inspires 0.22 other school shootings, and each mass shooting inspires 0.3 additional mass shootings. (The fractions simply represent that not every mass shooting will lead to another. For every five school shootings, the researchers said, one is inspired by a past school shooting.)

Absent a sudden shift in gun policy, decreasing the notoriety of mass killers may be the best defense. Media reports should focus on the victims and not name the killers, Muscari said.

"Don't give them their fame," she said.


The media should stop making school shooters, like the Parkland perpetrator, famous - Vox


n ABC News investigation in 2014 found that in the 14 years after Columbine, at least 17 school shooters — and 36 other students who threatened rampages that were averted —directly cited the Columbine shooting or its perpetrators as partial motivation for the attack. In short, making perpetrators famous has consequences.
 

Some claim that the decline of the Roman Empire was due to lead in the pipes the south lost the civil war due to southern soldiers rarely wearing shoes while growing up-meaning most of the rebels had hookworm (which causes a loss of energy )
 
TurtleDude said:
AA mainly posts nonsense on gun issues-as was the case of the post you were addressing. He seems to claim that gun ownership only recently became widespread and only because of the NRA and GOP voters
Click to expand...

Oh bullcrap.
The guy at the local milk and egg store had a pistol under the counter because he closed late at night.
The gas station guy had one too. So did almost every liquor store guy I ever knew.
Quite a few people in our little neighborhood in Bethesda had guns. We had a gun in the house.
I knew guys who carried one in the glove box of their cars or trucks for years without ever getting into a hassle, both in Maryland and in Minnesota.

Two of my "bestest" friends in the world (Mac and Debbie) when I was a young man had a pistol...and they were total hippie freaks.
One of their friends upstairs was a Vietnam vet guy who had "a ton o' gunz", according to Debbie.



And I won't have a bad word said about these two, they were very dear, I miss them both terribly.
 

If I recall, the lead singer for Iron Butterfly-Doug Ingle- (his drinking binge lead to "In a Gadda-da Vida") was big into hunting and guns
 
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