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grahamhgreen

(15,741 posts)
Sat Feb 9, 2013, 02:23 AM Feb 2013

Social Media Cheers For Anti-Hero Christopher Dorner

On Monday morning, no one was rooting for whomever it was that killed an Irvine basketball coach and her fiancé. But by Thursday morning, things had changed. A lengthy, rambling but shockingly lucid "manifesto" surfaced explaining why the suspected killer and disgraced ex-LAPD cop was going on a killing rampage that has so far claimed three lives. Dorner claims that he was targeting a corrupt and bloodthirsty law enforcement agency—that he said hadn't improved since the days of the Rodney King Riots or the Rampart Scandal—earned him fans.

There are a couple of Facebook pages dedicated to Dorner, including We Are All Chris Dorner, which states: "Christopher John Dorner is the victim of a manhunt and smear campaign. 5 years ago he was fired from the LAPD for seeking to expose corruption within it..." There's the Christopher Dorner Appreciation Society, which posts pictures of police brutality and images from the Rodney King Riots in 1992. It says, "This man's life was ruined for fighting back against a racist culture. We here at C.D.A.S. will always remember his story."
http://laist.com/2013/02/08/christopher_dorner_social_media_che.php
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Social Media Cheers For Anti-Hero Christopher Dorner (Original Post) grahamhgreen Feb 2013 OP
Our Society is So Sick - This is Part of the Decline That Leads to the Mass Shootings dballance Feb 2013 #1
 

dballance

(5,756 posts)
1. Our Society is So Sick - This is Part of the Decline That Leads to the Mass Shootings
Sat Feb 9, 2013, 03:57 AM
Feb 2013

Perhaps Dorner is right about everything he says. Perhaps he was rail-roaded by a corrupt law enforcement agency. The fact remains that he has murdered people and apparently has several more he wants to murder. That is not the way we do things in this country though. You go through your employer's grievance system and/or the courts and accept the outcome. Dorner took his complaints to both and didn't get the outcome he wanted. That's no excuse to go on a rampage shooting the people who you feel wronged you and shooting their families. You accept the verdict of the courts and move on. Moving on could've included writing Op-Eds for the LA Times and other media outlets to try to shine a light on the wrong-doing at LAPD and highlight his plight. If his accusations are true he could've tried to work within the systems we have to be vindicated.

Now we have people rooting for him to kill LAPD officers. If the LAPD is so bad you feel it's okay to have its officers shot then maybe you should do a little internal reflection. Why not get off your twittering asses and do something about it? What have you done other than whine in tweets or on Facebook? If there's a problem then it's your problem as a citizen - not just some one else's problem to deal with.

Along with Dorner we also had, this week, Penelope Soto in court in FL for drug possession. Watching the video of her in court easily leaves one with the impression she was high. She couldn't stand still or answer simple questions. She showed no sense of awareness of the seriousness of being in court on a drug charge. She was a smart-ass to the judge and ended up saying "F**K you" to him while flipping him off. Not surprisingly for those of us still living in the rational world the judge found her in contempt of court and sentenced her to 30 days. Supporters of Ms. Soto have taken to boards, like DU, to decry the awful treatment of her by the judge. How he was aggressive and a jerk. I watched the video several times. The only person whose behavior was inappropriate was Soto's. But never mind facts. People have blasted postings with titles saying the judge violated her 1st Amendment rights. One does not have unlimited 1st Amendment rights. Certainly not the right to tell a judge "F**K YOU" without expecting consequences.

So here we have two cases just this week of people doing blatantly illegal things. From misdemeanor contempt of court to felony murder. In both cases a segment of our "society" has decided that the systems in place to deal with these people are inadequate, corrupt and wrong. All without first-hand knowledge of any of those systems and all the facts surrounding either case. But facts and laws be dammed. Dorner and Soto are heroes because they're fighting for what's right against a corrupt system stacked against them.

This is not a damned movie people. Dorner is murdering people. Ms. Soto could be endangering herself or others with drugs she's not supposed to have. They are not heroes by any stretch of the imagination.

I have no idea when we degraded to this point. But it is my opinion that once we start rooting for the criminals we start to remove the inhibitions people have that prevent them from committing crimes. There could be two kids out there right now, like Klebold and Harris of Columbine fame, watching how Dorner is being idolized by people. It could be just the sort of thing that allows them to arrive at the conclusion that their "last resort" to what they may perceive as a worthless life right now is to go out in blazes and become famous for it. We know how well that works.

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