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cleanhippie

(19,705 posts)
Fri Jul 20, 2012, 03:34 PM Jul 2012

The top five most painfully self-serving reactions to the Aurora shooting

Within hours of the tragic shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado last night, politicians and others rushed to stake out the tragedy as their own. Some pointed to the senseless murders as proof of their beliefs, while others have used it as an opportunity to gather donations and expand their mailing lists. Others have simply been unable to resist the powerful urge to rush to their computers or smart phones and say, “I told you so!” as loudly as they can.

5. Iranian-American author and activist Reza Aslan. Aslan took to Twitter early and often this morning to make pointed jokes about the killings. “Guy shoots, kills 16 ppl in a Colorado theater last night but don’t worry folks he wasn’t a Muslim so obviously this is not terrorism,” he quipped just after 10:00 a.m., when most people were first waking up to the news.

4. Huffington Post blogger Cindy Handler. Every time there is a headline-grabbing mass shooting, responsible gun-owners everywhere groan inwardly and brace themselves for the deluge of hand-wringing columns and editorials calling for more stringent gun laws, as well as the equally self-righteous, defensive pushback that inevitably follows from The People Who Care Way Too Much About Guns. Thank you, Cindy Handler, for not wasting any time whatsoever in getting that process rolling.

Not that Handler doesn’t have a point when she says that law enforcement personnel “could be more effective in their jobs if it weren’t so easy for every idiot and his grandmother in this country to be packing,” but this column could just as easily have run on Sunday morning, couldn’t it? A day or two of reflection before the moralizing starts seems polite, at least. Plus it avoids the appearance of circling the block looking for a crime scene to hastily erect one’s soapbox in.

3. Ditto New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who didn’t even wait to finish his second cup of coffee Friday morning before clambering up on the moral high ground.

2. The Brady Campaign. ...this morning’s petition sign-up seemed like little more than an excuse to gather email addresses.
“I Demand Congress Stop Arming Dangerous People” reads the petition, and who in their right mind doesn’t agree with that?
Of course, an aside at the bottom of the call for petition signatures notes quietly that those who ease their consciences by signing up will automatically be added to the Brady Campaign’s ongoing communications — including, one assumes, calls for donations.

1. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX). Our top honors go to Texas Congressman Rep. Louie Gohmert, who opted for the Jerry Falwell on 9/11 approach, which means to hang all responsibility for a senseless and complicated tragedy on your own personal set of pet issues.
In an interview with The Heritage Founation’s “Istook Live,” the Tea Party congressman blamed “ongoing attacks on Judeo-Christian beliefs” for the Colorado massacre, as well as for the escalating rate of suicides among active duty military personnel.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/07/20/the-top-five-most-painfully-self-serving-reactions-to-the-aurora-shooting/
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The top five most painfully self-serving reactions to the Aurora shooting (Original Post) cleanhippie Jul 2012 OP
Yeah, I just posted a comment on my FB... Wait Wut Jul 2012 #1
+10000 nt Mojorabbit Jul 2012 #4
I went ahead and recc'ed. HooptieWagon Jul 2012 #2
"Hand-wringing." calimary Jul 2012 #3
I think you just proved the authors point. cleanhippie Jul 2012 #5
+1 HooptieWagon Jul 2012 #13
+1 ThoughtCriminal Jul 2012 #7
Sadly Aslan is correct though nadinbrzezinski Jul 2012 #6
Agreed. cleanhippie Jul 2012 #10
How about this headline and lead sentence from Reuters: woo me with science Jul 2012 #8
Tragedies as a result of failed policies are the perfect time for political points. nt Comrade_McKenzie Jul 2012 #9
What failed policies? cleanhippie Jul 2012 #11
Aslan's comment, while certainly painful, isn't self-serving LadyHawkAZ Jul 2012 #12
On that point, I agree. cleanhippie Jul 2012 #14
Agreed! He made an important point CrawlingChaos Jul 2012 #15

Wait Wut

(8,492 posts)
1. Yeah, I just posted a comment on my FB...
Fri Jul 20, 2012, 03:38 PM
Jul 2012

...calling out damn near everyone. These are people that we've lost. Human beings. Not political points.

Kick now, rec when I get to a computer that lets me.

 

HooptieWagon

(17,064 posts)
2. I went ahead and recc'ed.
Fri Jul 20, 2012, 03:47 PM
Jul 2012

Article is spot on. Even a few DUers have set up their soapboxes at the scene of the tragedy.
Look, we don't even know the whole story, or much of the facts yet. Lets wait a few days, let the cops figure out what happened, let the families bury their loved ones, and after the smoke clears (no sick humor intended) we can discuss the causes of what happened and how it can be prevented.

calimary

(80,693 posts)
3. "Hand-wringing."
Fri Jul 20, 2012, 03:53 PM
Jul 2012

Last edited Fri Jul 20, 2012, 05:00 PM - Edit history (1)

Fuck that. I hate that one. Such a snarky, smug put-down. Like insulting someone by saying they're "do-gooders." As if doing good is a bad thing.

The fact is - there are at least 12 people who will never have a future because some nutcase had easy access to ridiculous, over-compensating guns. I mean - is this the Green Zone? WHY does anybody NEED an AK-47 or other kind of machine gun? Why? I don't get it.

 

nadinbrzezinski

(154,021 posts)
6. Sadly Aslan is correct though
Fri Jul 20, 2012, 04:08 PM
Jul 2012

This s a lone wolf...if he was Muslim, this be terrorism...never mind it is.

woo me with science

(32,139 posts)
8. How about this headline and lead sentence from Reuters:
Fri Jul 20, 2012, 04:20 PM
Jul 2012
http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_colorado-shooting-brings-sad-end-to-batman-franchise_1717746

Colorado shooting brings sad end to 'Batman' franchise
Published: Friday, Jul 20, 2012, 21:18 IST
By Lisa Richwine | Place: Los Angeles | Agency: Reuters

High box office expectations for The Dark Knight Rises, the final film in Warner Bros' Batman franchise, were clouded on Friday by a shooting at a Colorado midnight screening of the film which killed 12 people.

The incident, in which a masked gunman opened fire on moviegoers, including children, brings a tragic conclusion to one of Hollywood's most-enduring franchises, as Warner Bros bids to find a new movie franchise capable of matching Batman's box office success.

The Time Warner-owned studio has been Hollywood's King of Franchises for years. Over the last decade, it generated worldwide ticket sales of $12 billion from its Lord of the Rings, Batman, and Harry Potter films.

Eight of the 20 highest-grossing films of all time come from one of those franchises, according to website Box Office Mojo. The Dark Knight Rises will be the last of the Batman series that began in 2005, director Christopher Nolan said.

....

LadyHawkAZ

(6,199 posts)
12. Aslan's comment, while certainly painful, isn't self-serving
Fri Jul 20, 2012, 04:26 PM
Jul 2012

it's the sad truth. The media has tiptoed carefully around the T-word where non-Muslim terrorists are concerned, and no doubt will again this time.

CrawlingChaos

(1,893 posts)
15. Agreed! He made an important point
Fri Jul 20, 2012, 04:45 PM
Jul 2012

And was certainly not "joking" as it was characterized here. I would have hit the 'unrec' button for that alone, if I could have.

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