Binghamton: What is sad is that this is not a "shocking" occurence anymore.

[Bluebear]

Nursing homes, universities, wherever... I hear a story like this and I'm very sorry for the deaths, but massacres have now become routine. What a world.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Hey! The RW Fanatics have convinced those people that the only way to win back

the country, is to kill everyone who does not agree with you...

[Bluebear]

3. It does seem to be the preferred solution. Shoot 'em up and kill yourself.

Out in a blaze of bullet glory :(

[Mike Daniels]

5. Except that most mass shooting have nothing to do with politics period

What's more disturbing is that people seem more inclined to take out a bunch of innocents who have no connection to their "issues" before they pull the trigger on themselves.

[rvablue]

11. That "people" in your post should be changed to "men."

Don't remember any females in the recent past going on mass shootings of innocent bystanders.

As a society, we have to figure out and deal with the reasons why men are doing this.

And, yes, I know. It's a tiny minority of men. But it is still ALL men.

[BrklynLiberal]

12. "Disagree" does not imply a political argument. ANY disagreement is

most easily settled by shooting people....so say many of the voices and talking heads on RW media.

[Echo In Light]

6. An attitude that is prevalent even on internet forums

[Mojorabbit]

2. It has been this way as long as

I have been alive. I remember the Manson murders in my younger years. The going postal killings after that and so on. History books are full of the same. Nothing new under the sun.

[SoCalDem]

4. Isn't that the sad truth?

Angry, disturbed people with guns can do a lot of harm to innocent people, and hijack the whole news media for days...and in the end..no solution, no explanation , no solace..just funerals and endless commentary from every "quasi-expert" in the US:(

[gratuitous]

7. Why should it be sad or shocking?

Well, sad, maybe. But shocking at all? Not a bit of it. Welcome to the United States, home of the High Church of Redemptive Violence. In some places, violence is a last resort in a desperate situation. Not in the U.S. of A., baby! We use violence as a first, last, and everything-in-between resort. We love violence. You make a movie with someone getting sliced and diced in a cuisinart, and your movie might, might get a PG-13 rating; more likely a PG rating. (A naked boobie? Off to R-rated movieland for you! But that's another rant entirely.)

And violence isn't just for movies, check out the selection at an electronic game store. Everything goes violent and the ratings are meaningless. No clerk will stop an eight-year-old from renting or buying the latest offering in the Grand Theft Auto series. We're so inured to violence, we barely even notice it anymore. How about real life situations? From the highest levels of government down to the meanest hovel in the poorest part of town, violence is the preferred method of dealing with any problem. We launch "pre-emptive" wars against nouns. Our lawmakers listen attentively to the most deranged, most scared people in the room, and tailor laws to suit their fantasies of retributive, redemptive violence.

And we have the fucking gall to be shocked when citizens, awash in violent language, images and policies, flooded with free and easy access to the most violent products on the planet, put all that violence into practice? That's what's shocking.

[Bluebear]

8. You crystallized the issue in one post.

[BrklynLiberal]

13. "the High Church of Redemptive Violence."

Superb post. Hits it right on the head.
Wish I could recommend your post.

[Forkboy]

14. "No clerk will stop an eight-year-old from renting or buying the latest offering in the GTA...."

Not true. While I'm sure it happens, many stores won't do that without a parent present, including the one I worked at back then, a major software store. In other instances the store CAN'T stop them, they don't have the power to enforce ratings (technically I'm not sure we did either, we just did so anyways).

I certainly agree with the overall gist of your post however. The myth of America is one filled with violence.

[TheWraith]

15. 'Scuse me, but we had violence long before we had violent entertainment.

Trying to blame movies and videogames is a cop out. People aren't lemmings, they've got free will. And yeah, there actually are restrictions based on video game ratings.

[tekisui]

9. It is sad that it ceased to shock.

Another day, another mass shooting.

[malaise]

10. Isn't that the truth

One a week for the past three weeks. Actually this is the second one this week after the poor senior citizens on Sunday. But hey guns don't kill. :sarcasm:

[Fire1]

16. Well, now days it doesn't take much for someone to go over

the edge.