With a total of 70 victims (12 dead, 58 wounded), ABC News reports the Aurora, Colorado, movie theater shooting is the worst mass shooting in American history. Still, its aftermath will follow a familiar pattern. Politicians call for unity while the media focuses intensely, but briefly, on the victims, searches the shooter’s background for clues to his motivation, then turns its attention to the perennial debates about guns and partisan political associations. Lost will be any serious national debate about be the real causes of these crimes. (Read the full column at EWRoss.com)
Filed under: Politics, 70 victims, 9/11 attacks, ABC, ABC News, American society, and D.C., anti-Vietnam War, Arizona, Aurora, Batman Rises, Boston, Brian Ross, Brudnick Center on Violence and conflict, Charles Krauthammer, Chicago, Cho Seung-Hui, Colorado, Colorado movie theater shooting, concealed carry laws, concealed-carry permit. District of Columbia, Dark Knight Rises, dead, deranged mind, Ed Ross, ewross, fatherless children, Fort Hood shootings, Gabrielle Giffords, gang violence, go in harm’s way, gratuitous violence, gun homicide rate, gun laws, gun-homicide rates, guns, Illinois, Islamic fundamentalist movement, Jack Levin, James Holmes, Jared Loughner, law-abiding citizen, mass murder, mass shooting, movies, murder and criminology, Neely Tucker, Northeastern University, Norway, Occupy Wall Street movement, psychological causes, rhetoric, right-wing fanatic, robberies, Tea Party activist, television, The Minority Report, the will of Allah, United States, Utøya Island, video games, Virginia Tech shooting, Virginia Tech University; Tucson, Washington Post, worst mass shooting in American history, wounded
LinkedIn Group: U.S. Veteran
Discussion: ANOTHER MASS SHOOTING: ANOTHER ROUND OF RHETORIC
Wonderfully stated as always Ed. I wonder though, have the incidents of these mass-murders actually gone up in our society, or as we constantly find out, is there just more and better coverage and documentation of it. I agree with you that this has little to do with left or right and less to do with gun control itself as evidenced by the fact that he was adept at making other weapons if he chose to do so. He was obviously imbalanced and the up-close feeling of and to death or murder was likely his reasoning for choosing a gun. And as even some of our right-wing, NRA card carrying members have noted, even an armed audience would have stood little chance of effectuating any defense.
I don’t want to give in to terror and live in fear, and I don’t like the idea of the wild west shootouts, so I hope the dialog and exchanges can get past left/right have/have not and come up with some solutions.
Posted by Bob Schecter ★
LinkedIn Group: Defense Industry Network
Discussion: ANOTHER MASS SHOOTING: ANOTHER ROUND OF RHETORIC
May our prayers go out to the families @ this horrific time And the fight for the privilege to represent this thug so agendas can be pushed be stopped Also as the nation is morally embarrassed by the showboating for votes and the demonetization of our second amendment rights @ the 6:30 memorial May God give the President some tactfulness for the sake of the victims families
Posted by Paul Daly
LinkedIn Group: U.S. GOVERNMENT CONNECTIONS
Discussion: ANOTHER MASS SHOOTING: ANOTHER ROUND OF RHETORIC
The article “Another Mass Shooting: Another Round Of Rhetoric” by Ed Ross, Monday, July 23, 2012, discussed in this thread appears to try to present a balanced, thoughtful discussion about what happened in Aurora.
However, as you reach the end of the article, its conclusion is:
“It’s not the availability of guns in American society but the prevalence of countless other factors and negative influences from fatherless children to gratuitous violence in video games, television and movies that should concern us.”
So I ask, why is the availability of guns not one of the factors that may affect the incidence, or degree or violence of these horrible events?
In others aspects of life, with less tragic consequences, there is consensus that opportunity is a factor to consider. If you want to lose weight, do not go to a buffet, or stock your pantry with cookies. But is that enough to achieve the goal? No! Will making it more difficult for a person to buy 150 lbs of ammunition, eliminate the danger? I do not think so, but should ammunition be as easy to obtain, as by one click from your computer?
The Second Amemdement to the Bill of Rights, states:
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
What does “well regulated” have to do with what happened in Aurora?
Because there may be multiple compounding factors, should we eliminate one of them from the discussion?
Let’s start the discussion from a point where hopefully we can agree: tragedies may not be avoidable, but how can we make them less probable — and nothing should be taken away from the discussion.
Posted by Carmen-Rosa Torres, Ph.D.
“It’s not the availability of guns in American society but the prevalence of countless other factors and negative influences from fatherless children to gratuitous violence in video games, television and movies that should concern us.”
“ … gratuitous violence in video games, television and movies that should concern us …”Really ??? Certainly someone so apparently well read and who writes so well didn’t mean that exactly.
It’s like saying we should be concerned with the the lame stream media because they sensationalize violence, or print ads and TV commercials because the rate of cigarette smoking in this country grew for decades. That comment reminds me of a Chis Rock joke wherein he refers to the “media” as NOT being a source of fear while getting money out of an ATM. In the same show he suggests the solution for gun violence is raising the cost of bullets to $5,000 each. Sounds interesting at first listen, but impractical to implement.
Kind of like in the Superman movie where the good Superman admitted that he wouldn’t be a great crime-fighter if not for his bad other half aka: the bad Superman, each of us possesses a hideous capacity to destroy. Without it we wouldn’t fare well even in an idyllic utopia like that portrayed in the Minority Report – (see Brain Fingerprinting – circa 2004 by Dr. Lawrence Farwell) (sarcasm with a purpose).
I say this in no way to excuse, diminish or make light of the recent tragedy, but my heart goes out to all of us (repeat: all of us) sperm-donors, donor-recipients, and victims. Victims of gratuitous violence in video games, bad-TV, the media, movies, bad food, bad coffee, second-hand cigarette smoke, smog, traffic, unfair hiring practices, cheating X’s, crappy jobs, drug-infested neighborhoods, people of different colors, and the inexhaustible list of other things outside ourselves.
I freely admit a complete lack of ability to comprehend violence of this kind, but only because I’ve lived my entire life in a country that has fought its most damning wars “off-shore”. As long as we keep looking outside ourselves for answers to (or excuses for) the world around us we will come up wanting.
Let each of us take a moment to look in the mirror and, not unlike Dorian Grey who found horror there, remember how we must consciously choose to be better people to all people … including ourselves. A slightly better focus IMHO.
I “liked” your comment, and therefore felt compelled to reply.
Best to you and yours.
Frank Johnson (from LinkedIn, but didn’t have enough room there)
LinkedIn Group: U.S. GOVERNMENT CONNECTIONS
Discussion: ANOTHER MASS SHOOTING: ANOTHER ROUND OF RHETORIC
Excellent illustration of points I’ve been trying to make in the past few days. The one piece that’s missing though us that nothing is mentioned about increasing any restrictions of even awareness around materials that can be used to create homemade explosives. Many of these materials can be discretely purchased off the shelf at your local home improvement store and carry significantly larger potential for harm than deadliest machine gun. Too many people are focusing on addressing the particular tool used in this heinous act and not the causes that drove a madman to commit it.
Posted by Nick Weber, CPP
LinkedIn Group: Campaign for Liberty
Discussion: ANOTHER MASS SHOOTING: ANOTHER ROUND OF RHETORIC
Ed, I think that article is dead on (no pun intended). However, regarding the third from last paragraph regarding, “… Where concealed-carry laws are in place and law-abiding citizen can defend themselves, however, overall gun violence is down”, while that may be statistically true, can you say, “Travon Martin”?
Posted by Rob Taylor
I am saddened for the loss of life, and for the victim’s families in the aftermath of this horrific shooting rampage. One of the victims, Matt McQuinn, was from my hometown Hamilton Oh. People will unfortunately use the act of violence for political statements and agendas. I don’t think total prevention will ever be obtained, because we will never be able to know what is going on in the heads of people to make them commit these heinous crimes. I honestly can’t give a rational opinion on how to prevent these acts. The only thing I would suggest is that the folks that are the closest to these types be more vigilant and observant of them, and to not be afraid to act on their instincts. Other than that Ed, I am at a loss.
LinkedIn Group: Tea Party Connect – From A Business View
Discussion: THE ROMNEY VEEPSTAKES
It seems to be trickling through that enforcing any kind of World Order, be it new or old, just costs a lot and will not succeed. The communists tried it and failed, the conquestadores tried it and could not finish their job, Romans and Mongolians tried it and we can see where they are now, Rome and Mongolia.
Condoleezza Rice is a very astionishing person with a great knowledge and high intelligence and she was considered an expert on the Sowje Union though she never realy lived there. That’s a problem many academics have: They are highly theoretical. It is also a problem many intelligent people with a great education have: They believe to know and understand while they don’t know and don’t understand because they have not experience their subject but only read about it.
It does not look likely that Condoleezza Rice will come back because her tenure is associated with too many costly missions that were not completed successfully. That was not too much of her fault as she just said and did what some other intellectual folks in a kind of shadow cabinet told her to do and say; a group of people who were never elected, never served in the military (not one of them), all of them theoretics, not of them with true experience neither of war nor of foreign countries (other than the occasional visit in a 5 star hotel) but fully determined that they and only they are right because of their (all theoretic) knowledge.
What I would wish the USA as a new givernment would be people who have experienced and not just read about foreign cultures and foreign lands, who are pragmatics and not theoretics, who are wise doers instead of brilliant academics, who go step by step and if things get better go further and if things get worse go back, who think before they talk and who actually talk less and see and listen more.
Posted by Ingo Potsch
Ed , Thanks for addressing this issue. Unless we start talking this through as a country its just going to go on and on. My personal feeling is Americans have the right to own hunting , protection , and gaming weapons. I see no right to owning auto or semi automatic weapons with multiple feed clips and there sale should be prohibited. If somebody can give me a reason for hunting deer with a Kalishnokov or a rock and roll Mattel . I’m listening ??????
LinkedIn Group: U.S. GOVERNMENT CONNECTIONS
Discussion: ANOTHER MASS SHOOTING: ANOTHER ROUND OF RHETORIC
Too many guns, too much hate. Guns are a force multiplier that make it too easy to kill and maim too many people. The fact that gun advocates don’t support even the smallest restrictions, such as large magazines, assault rifles, and very large gun and ammunition purchases, shows that they approve of the mass casualties. Many gun advocates also don’t support mental health services, health insurance, and other social services. And some support hate groups like the one that the Sikh shooter belonged to.
Posted by Marc Brenman