● A 58 year old attorney/father shot two partners at the firm that just fired him. I'm not surprised. Firing a 58 year old is a career death sentence -- the man would likely lose everything. Law firms are sweat shops too. Most likely, this guy worked 60 hour weeks for years at that firm before he was fired. Breaking bonds of loyalty is always dangerous. Don't get me wrong, I certainly don't condone what he did, but I understand it and I'm surprised more don't do it.
● That said, I don't understand what drives "people" like the two shits in New York to kill two women and two children. They even tied the women up before they slit their throats. Why kill someone who is helpless? Why kill them at all? This I don't understand. Ditto on the sicko "father" who got custody of his daughter apparently despite evidence of him being a nut, and he killed his daughter this weekend the first chance he got. Or how about the four kids (this is the second set of four in a month) who dropped a heavy object off an overpass and killed a father who was just driving along. What in the world makes someone think this is something a human should do? Or how about the asshole who made a fake SWAT call because he was angry over a videogame and got a father killed? What is wrong with these people? They should all be buried alive.
● Speaking of the SWATing, how did the cops end up killing the victim? I've seen the video. The guy comes out onto his porch. There is no gun, no weapon, no evidence of wrongdoing. How is the next instinct of the cops: "kill him!" I do not understand. Seems like murder to me.
● Disney is changing their policy to require an employee to go into each room each day. This is apparently a policy meant to stop another Vegas-style sniper from collecting guns or bombs or whatnot. I think it's a smart, if sad, change.
● Now the good news. The papers are full of the stuff above and they sensationalize the crap out of it. They want this to seem common. But the statistics tell a different story. A recent study found there aren't more mass killings now than in the past. Department of Justice statistics say that violent crime is at a decades low, with some things like murder at a level not seen since the 1950's. Name the last black guy killed by a cop, and then do the math: how many black guys have been killed by cops this compared to the millions arrested last year? Is it really an epidemic? Hardly.
Oh and let me add this. There was an article the other day which quotes several black activists and professors who are furious that police body cams haven't turned out as they expected. These activists are angry that they have yet to find proof of vast amounts of police abuse or police hunting down young black men. Hence the cameras promote racism.
ReplyDeleteSo now they want the cameras removed.
Why? Well, they speakum a little vague on this point by necessity, but as I predicted a couple years back, these cameras are getting in the way of their false claims about police abusing blacks because there is now evidence that the cops aren't initiating the fights, the suspects are not peaceful or unarmed, and the cops aren't abusing people. And when such evidence does arise, it lets the police dump the bad eggs in their midsts.
The horror. It must suck to be a professional liar.
I am not a big proponent of the death penalty for a variety of reasons, however, in Merry Olde England up until about 1965, if you were sentenced to death your case immediately went to a panel of judges who reviewed it to see if the evidence warranted a first degree murder charge and to see if in fact it was premeditated,,,if these two things were satisfied then you were hanged on the 6th Friday following your trial at 9AM. I have a feeling that if more really bad types were executed 6 weeks, let's give them 90 days after their trial, you would in fact see a drop in crime. The problems with the death penalty is that it falls mostly on the poor and there is no rhyme or reason to it...also it takes too damn long...Another problem is the expensive incarceration,,,well, you know what, our country owns literally thousands of island in the Aleutians etc...they would make very good housing spots for the worst of the worst who we can't think of reason to kill right off the bat. My neighbor in the next county thinks that pedophiles should be blinded...that would stop them cold...a little medieval I suppose..but inventive.
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew what gets into some people's heads when they do awful things. Right now, I'm just struggling to understand why my grade schoolers think it's a good idea to do things like color on the dining room table.
ReplyDeletetryanmax, Sorry, I meant to respond to this.
ReplyDeleteI think the first problem we have with understanding this is that we are told to look for a magic bullet -- a single cause. I suspect the truth is that there are five or six types of killers, each with a different set of triggers.
For example, I think you have:
1) People who need to feel important, but aren't. These are people whose lives are insignificant. They are failures. Everyone knows them as losers. Yet, they are told over and over by our culture that the only way to be whole in life is to be famous - something our culture says is our highest command. They see the media lapping up shootings and they realize this will be their shortcut to salvation, so they go out to give their lives the "importance" they never had. These are usually the true random "mass" shooters.
2) You have the desperate types, who think they are losing everything and decide to punish those who took it away from them... ex-wife, that judge, the boss, the cops, etc. These guys usually shoot specific people and end in suicide.
3) You have truly "evil" people. These are basically narcissists who don't have the ability to empathize with others and are curious what it feels like to kill and they are certain they will get away with it. Serial killers likely fall into this group as do guys like the video game SWAT guy.
4) The political/religious killer goes out and kills people they have learned to hate obsessively in the hopes that the silent majority will rise up with them. The Orlando night club shooter, Timothy McVeigh, etc. fall into this group. They want to change the world.
5) The mentally ill who are pushed in this direction by other people or television or whatnot and are so ordered by the voices in their heads. They often kill celebrities because they think the celebrities are somehow injuring them. Reagan's shooter, Lennon's killer, etc.
6) The kids. Kids raised without values who emulate what they see in Hollywood and videogames which teach them that gun violence solves problems. They usually only kill each other before getting caught.
By conflating these, the media stifles debate, which would otherwise point the finger at them for part of this.
With regard to the police, I am mixed. I like the cameras and honestly I think the police do as well. It protects them from unfair accusations.
ReplyDeleteHowever, these military tactics used is horrible and, in my opinion, unconstitutional. Crashing into someone's home, even if you think he is a vicious drug dealer, is an infringement on his 4th amendment rights. I don't care if they did have a search warrant. Even if you knocked on my door with a warrant, I have a right to ensure its authenticity before letting them in. Again, it is a military tactic to clear and control. So a few civilians get killed-collateral damage-as long as no one in your group is injured. This is fine in Iraq, not fine in Peoria. Those police offices and, more importantly, the officer in charge, should be charged with murder and trespassing. But they won't. Yes, they will be put on administrative leave during the investigation and then cleared.
Koshcat, I don't think that's right either. I get officer safety and I'm all for it, but the police should not be using these tactics except in truly special circumstances.
ReplyDelete