A few months ago when Civic Skunkworks new podcasts came out, one of the things that struck me most was in the gun episode hearing President Obama list major gun incidents (starting at 11:32 at the link above). Lists like that are such an integral part of how we define a society. At the time, it made me think of the list of ships in the Iliad. But you can also think of the list of who begat whom in the Bible. Or the 10 Commandments. You can think of the bill of rights. You can think of your new year’s resolutions that you’ll often list publicly if you want a more modern one.
These lists tell us about a society. The mass shooting list is one that defines American in the last few decades. It’s one that even if we can’t get our heads around how large it is, even if we don’t know all of them, we know plenty of the particulars. Even as we grow numb to some of it, we can remember where we were when we heard about many of the shootings on the list.
Today we can add Orlando to the list of mass shootings. Another goddamn mass shooting. It goes with Cafe Racer, and Newtown, and Aurora, and Columbine, and Fort Hood, and whatever comes next.
Islam.
Pretty much.
But San Bernardino and Orlando have more or less trumped your plans to use Charleston to political advantage.
See what I did there?
Authorities are calling it a “well organized” terrorist attack. The shooter, Omar Mateen, was inspired by ISIS and the Boston bombers. He chose a venue that would maximize casualties. His weapon was an AR-15. America’s GOP-inspired policy of ready access to guns makes it easy for terrorists to carry out attacks on our soil. This guy has been known to law enforcement for several years, and now the question is where and how he got his weaponry.
@1 You are lower than dirt.
@1 yes, you reduced human tragedy into algorithm data points for conservative political gain or loss.
I don’t care if gun enthusiasts have an huge arsenal of guns if they can assure me that none of those guns will be used to hurt my family or me. If they cannot, then I want reasonable gun regulations to keep guns out the hands the crazy and the criminal. I know that it’s impossible to stop all all gun violence without taking all guns, but like abortion, we can reduce gun violence to a minimum if we tried.
A reasonable start would be getting rid of assault weapons.
@2 A “well-organized” (or for that matter, “well-regulated”) peckerhead is still a peckerhead.
Reports are in that he was on the terrorist watch list and purchased his weapon legally just last week. We can assume the plan was set before he got the weapon.
Hmmm there was a bill in Congress to ban gun sales to people on the terrorist watch list. Wonder what happened to that?
Maybe the Texas Lt. Governor (R) was referring to that bill when he tweeted “Reap what you sow.” Oh who am I kidding. Assholes gonna asshole, right “appreciate the congrats?”
@ 5
Better, you might think that it was the Second Amendment that put a gun into this guy’s hands, but it was probably the First and Fourth Amendment protections afforded him that prevented the FBI from being able to keep him from owning one. We’ll find that out soon enough.
Just think, Better: There are probably going to be some people who claim it’s ‘reasonable’ to violate First and Fourth Amendment protections if it’s necessary to prevent someone from exercising Second Amendment rights.
And, ideology aside, you’ll have a bit of trouble disagreeing with them.
Are these events on the list?
Concord
Lexington
Shiloh
Gettysburg
Wounded Knee
Greasy Grass
Centralia Massacre
Lawrence, Kansas
Northfield, Minnesota
Bienville Parish May 23, 1934
All of them mass murders on American soil.
All underneath could be who we are. A criminal act has happened. Terrorism. I think we are leaping to a conclusion awfully fast. Then again we have often done that.
Everyone of my above mass murders was preventable. Some less so than others. It’s not the tool but the men and women who wield them. Just because someone is questioned by an FBI agent or other law enforcement isn’t by any amount of the imagination reason to tell that person you can’t have a firearm, and that is not going to prevent them from acquiring one.
The ancients knew there are monsters. We pretend they come from the outside, but those monsters are here among us, they are in fact some of us, at least some of the time.
Get ready for it…the NRA and their Republican lackeys will soon blame the victims for not being armed for self protection.
Mark Adams farted… Terrorism. I think we are leaping to a conclusion awfully fast.
How Mark Adams? The moron called 911 and pledged allegiance to ISIS during the call! http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/12/.....ar-mateen/
This is why you DUMMOCRETINS are SCUM. When the full reported evidence even on libtard sites like CNN demonstrates terrorism, morons like Mark Adams always claims otherwise!
Sux to be Mark Adams!
Now onto checkmate, the latest dipshit of HA DUMMOCRETIN… It farted… Reports are in that he was on the terrorist watch list and purchased his weapon legally just last week.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/.....story.html
The operative word was on a terrorist watch list checkmate. Mateen was removed probably by political correctness! Once again the libtard sites it visits and then drops the DIPSHITTIUM didn’t cover the correct information!
Move on from Mateen, nuthin new to learn here.
It really sux to be a dipshit checkmate. The latest nasty toilet of HA DUMMOCRETINS!
Pud @ 11- If the Republican congress move to limit arms sales to those on the terrorist watch this might have been different. But those folks do not want to do anything lest the President get some credit. Obstructing him is their highest goal- the Country be damned.
Really K2? When Obummer makes everything a political issue even when he was a junior senator, how was the opposition to react? And since Obummer claims credit for everything others do on his watch what say you?
You still forget Mateen was NOT on the terrorist watch list. So what does that argument portend above? Now why was that? Why did political correctness happen with Mateen?
Turns out the Islamo-terrorist crowd doesn’t like gay people
@8,
“We’ll find that out soon enough.”
Yeah. You promised the same fuckin’ thing last time.
You were wrong then, too.
And somebody tell that worthless racist Fuckwad troll to STFU until it goes back to the Friday night comment thread and cleans up it’s fucked up lying mess. So completely lost on the thread it’s hysterical. Fuckin’ wrong on every conceivable count. Shot first, blew up it’s head, squirted ink, called everyone a liar twenty times, then doubled down on being a complete dumbshit, racist, liar itself.
Spectacular.
Click.
@14 turns out right wing conservative American Republican freedom fighter crowd don’t like gay people just like the Islamic-terrorist crowd. What a beautiful thing to share as commonality. Both of the those terrorist groups like to be haters. Cut from the same religious cloth.
So Oregonian moron @16,
James Woolsey the former CIA director didn’t make that claim? Spectacular mindset you possess here moron!
So you pollute this thread because no one will read your puke in that thread? This thread about someone who hates Israel and one you look up to; Omar Mateen. Omar hated Israel as much as you do! He was an ISIS lover. Decided to kill a whole bunch of unarmed people. We learned yesterday he treated women poorly like DUMMOCRETINS do. Used them for his pleasure. Hated uppity black people like you and other HA DUMMOCRETINS here. Was a registered DUMMOCRETIN! Explains his hatred for uppity black people. We see it here on HA DUMMOCRETIN commentary. Took out his aggression on others like DUMMOCRETIN do. Used Saul Alinsky tactics without probably ever reading Saul Alinsky. Used the emergency 911 system to pledge allegiance to ISIS like you pledge allegiance to evolution.
Omar Mateen, another Radical Islamic Jihadist butt DUMMOCRETIN can’t say that! Seems Obummer’s ISIS cleanup is failing us again. First San Bernadino, now Orlando! 50 people dead and where is the Oregonian moron’s head? Spectacularly stooooooooopid as always!
KAAAAAAAAAAAAAABLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Very interesting that Omar Mateen worked for a major DHS contractor… http://counterjihad.com/isis-i.....ontractor/
PuddyCommentariat: Seems Omar had gun license approvals and could purchase any gun he wanted. Seems Obummer’s FBI due to political correctness didn’t jacket his electronic folder to inhibit his future gun purchases! Thanks Eric Holder. This too is lost on the Oregonian moron!
Of course this is lost on the Oregonian moron and others.
@14,
Turns out violent, ignorant, racist pieces of shit will do whatever philosophical back flips needed in order to give “noble” motivation to run-of-the-mill bigotry.
The proof is right in front of you.
17, 20
Don’t forget Western governments’ foreign policy over the past 100 years or so. Those actions are just other of the dominos that fell into place, leading to the attack in Orlando.
Islamo-terror is not going to end until Muslims decide to end it. All our meddling has done is create and sustain Islamo-terrorism. Get out of the Middle East and let Muslims change Islam. Interference by the West just creates more Islamic terrorism.