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Shooting sprees in Philadelphia and Salt Lake City


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Shooting sprees in Philadelphia and Salt Lake City
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Barto
Student extraordinaire
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Canberra, Australia
 
2007-02-13, 00:20

At least 8 people are dead in two apparently unconnected shooting sprees. It's unbelievable that both attacks happened at once... I think there will be some debate after this on (gun) violence in the USA.

It goes without saying that my heart goes out to the families and survivors.

The sky was deep black; Jesus still loved me. I started down the alley, wailing in a ragged bass.
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billybobsky
BANNED
I am worthless beyond hope.
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Inner Swabia. If you have to ask twice, don't.
 
2007-02-13, 00:38

really? debate?

I guess you don't really understand how common gun violence is in the US. I live in West Philadelphia near the third most violent region of the city and I hear gun fire on a weekly basis sometimes associated with murders. Philadelphia has for the passed few years broken 300 murders, most of which were gun related fatalities. It is the way we kill each other over here.

The only reason why we would see debate is that the victims in these cases seemed 'innocent' of wrong doing, ie they are middle class or higher and more often or not white (if anyone wants to suggest this is being overly pessimistic, it isn't... i have seen how philly news reports on murders, and the only way the poor minority victims get any press time is if they had small children which make good video montages)...

There will be no debate. Hell, there won't even be a reckoning...
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Wyatt
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Near Indianapolis
 
2007-02-13, 08:04

Sadly, billybobsky is right on. Tomorrow, nobody will give a shit about these events. People get shot here all the time. Groups of people get shot all the time. It's not some cosmic event. It's a Tuesday in the states.

Twitter: bwyatt | Xbox: @playsbadly | Instagram: @bw317
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2007-02-13, 10:17

Sad. You're never totally safe anywhere because you don't know what kind of disturbed, torqued-up people are out there.

I'm sure those people at the mall - in Salt Lake City, no less - never dreamed their day would turn out the way it did. And it sounds like the Philadelphia situation was a workplace-related dispute or situation.

What a waste.

I need to run to Target and Barnes & Noble tonight after work. It's not even entering my head that something like this could happen. But you never really know, do you? There's no reason it couldn't happen. What if some slacker jackass gets fired at Target this afternoon, a couple of hours before I show up? And what if he snaps and decides to come back, with guns in hand, "to show them" and walks in few steps behind me and "take his revenge"?



You just never know, do you? Bad, rotten timing on my part, huh? But that's how random and "WTF?!?" it all can be. I'm still going, of course. I'm just saying...



A crazy world.
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Wyatt
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Near Indianapolis
 
2007-02-13, 10:24

Quote:
Originally Posted by pscates2.0 View Post
I'm still going, of course.
And you should. As bad as things are in America right now, we don't have to live every day in fear of being shot. You can live that way, but you'll just end up crippling yourself. A lot of people get shot, but a lot of people don't. Living in fear is no life at all.

Twitter: bwyatt | Xbox: @playsbadly | Instagram: @bw317
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2007-02-13, 10:28

Of course!

I don't feel quite to that "I'm staying in and bolting my doors" point. Not yet, anyway.

I'm trying hard to recall if there has been some sort of random or workplace type shooting here in Chattanooga (someone walking into a mall or store or theater and acting a fool). I'm not remembering any.

Most of the violence and shooting that goes on here seems to be limited to specific areas and groups:

1. Drunk/high white trash types in the outlying, more rural areas (rednecks getting ripped on who-knows-what and fighting over a woman, money/card game or crystal meth). Or a stupid barfight gets out of hand and someone pulls a gun. Or several someones do. But alcohol is ALWAYS involved. Always. Always at 2:00am or later too. (in other words, it doesn't affect me because I'm home sawing logs at that time).

2. Black youths in the projects closer to the city (this past summer there was a four-stage "shoot/retaliate/re-retaliate/re-re-retaliate" case that went on for weeks, with about four people winding up dead when it was all over (and others shot or threatened). There's supposedly a much-talked-about "gang presence increase" here in our fair city. Some trouble has broken out at various gatherings where "opposing factions" may show up at the same time. (again, this does't affect me because - big surprise - I'm not at these particular gatherings)

A small flurry of "home invasion" (black perps, 2-4 at a time, on Mexican immigrants and families sharing a house, where money/cash is stored... every story I've seen in the four years I've been back in town; that has been the makeup/breakdown of the perp/victims) and a few "lover's quarrel involving middle-class types that came as a shock to everyone who know the involved parties. "Respected citizens" wigging out and plugging their significant other for cheating or leaving them.

But I can't think of an instance of anyone randomly shooting up an office, grocery store, mall, movie theater, etc. here.

Knock on wood.

In short: don't go to redneck bars at 2:00am and pick a fight, don't go to the projects and shoot people "for looking at you all hard", don't keep gobs of money in your home in a rough neighborhood and don't cheat on your S.O. and dare them to "do something about it" (because they just might).


Last edited by psmith2.0 : 2007-02-13 at 10:49.
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Freewell
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
 
2007-02-13, 10:53

Quote:
Originally Posted by fcgriz View Post
And you should. As bad as things are in America right now, we don't have to live every day in fear of being shot. You can live that way, but you'll just end up crippling yourself. A lot of people get shot, but a lot of people don't. Living in fear is no life at all.
Other than the things being horrible in America sentiment, I couldn't agree with you more!

While events like this definitely don't support our desire to live in a utopic world, I personally feel that many of them are over-dramatized, merchandized, and even vicariously encouraged (you too can get national attention!) by the media.

When a friend of ours goes to visit Jerusalem and has to be escorted from one side of the street to another with a Tommy totin' tour guide, things here don't look all that bad after all!! As *bad* as things are in America right now, I wouldn't trade it for any other country in the world!! And I am sure that those of you who live in other great places feel the same way about your home, as messed up as it might be.

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murbot
Hoonigan
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Canada
 
2007-02-13, 11:12

The world is fucked. You can't even bump into a 10 year old girl in a store without getting stomped to shit.
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Banana
is the next Chiquita
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
 
2007-02-13, 11:21

Now, see, that's what happens when you take to calling them naughty girls and spanking them playfully.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2007-02-13, 11:23



Oh man.

You know what? It wouldn't surprise me if one of the 10-year-old's friends filmed it, and it was all on purpose (those online "fight" vids and all).



The story says the 22-year-old "bumped" into the 10-year-old and "refused to apologize". First mistake. Doesn't excuse what followed, of course, but why would you not apologize for bumping into someone? That kinda makes you an a-hole suspect right off the bat.

But for all we know it could be an entire cluster of flaming little thugs and lowlifes, on BOTH sides (the victim and the attackers). The victim might've been looking for trouble, we don't know (being a bully and messing with a smaller person?). Or the attackers might've been. Might've been no stopping that incident, no matter what.

At a Target store, no less.



Jeez.

Honestly...who does this? Drunk jocks in a bar, yeah.

"Bro, you bumped me..."

"Yeah?"

BAM - BOOM - BAM!!!

But girls in a department store? That was the "solution" decided on? What happened to "jerk..." and letting it go/walking away? I've had people bump into me loads of times. Most apologize. The ones that didn't either didn't realize it, or they're just inconsiderate shitheads.

Either way, I'm certainly not going to get in a fight over it. Not over a single bump/no apology. I'd be in a fight every week, everytime I went to a store (crowded lanes, narrow aisles, etc. It happens).



I'm guessing both parties involved are of the type. 10-year-olds don't go off like that unless that's their life and environment, and they're already conditioned to a scrappy, rough lifestyle (I certainly don't know any 10-year-olds in my circle of friends and family who do that).

And most people don't bump into someone and "refuse to apologize". So I gotta look at her a bit harder too, frankly.

So I'm guessing asshats all around...they all deserve each other, I'm sure.

Last edited by psmith2.0 : 2007-02-13 at 11:33.
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