Active shooter situation in Las Vegas, police say

[erwins]

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-w...tival-shooting

That's the NPR link I meant to post earlier. Last updated a couple of hours ago.

[Little Pink Pill]

Originally Posted by musicgeek

Jesus, some people are horrible. What kind of person derives pleasure from this sort of thing (hoaxing in the wake of tragedies)?

Call me jaded, but I was glad to see there were only a couple examples. I’m sure we’ll see more in the coming days, though.

Originally Posted by thorny locust

-- I regret to say that I'm hoping Paddock is white, born in the USA, and at least nominally Christian.

I understand this sentiment, but it’s a bit rough on the Christians who are already ashamed of the awful behavior of people who associate themselves with Jesus but never seem to act like him.

I am relieved, however, that no minorities can be blamed for this, and that it appears to have been a lone wolf attack.

[WildaBeast]

It's mornings like this one that make me wonder if I should rethink having my radio alarm tuned to NPR. I quite literally woke up to this news this morning .

[thorny locust]

Originally Posted by Little Pink Pill

I understand this sentiment, but it’s a bit rough on the Christians who are already ashamed of the awful behavior of people who associate themselves with Jesus but never seem to act like him.

I am relieved, however, that no minorities can be blamed for this

I don't think Christians need to be ashamed of such behavior unless they're encouraging it.

And it's exactly because of the blame issue that I hoped that. It's unlikely that random white Christians are going to be harrassed, beaten up, or murdered because of this incident. It's unlikely to the point of absurdity that our current government will use this incident as fuel for trying to prevent white Christians from entering the country, or for trying to toss out the ones already here.

[Little Pink Pill]

I know, I really do understand, hence my relief.

[musicgeek]

^Exactly.

I've been more than a little annoyed by the knee-jerk "ban automatic weapons" posts on Facebook by my (fellow) liberal friends. Um, for the most part, they are banned. Yes, I still think that we need to have serious talks (and action) about gun control in this country, but please don't play into the NRA's narrative ("See? Making guns illegal doesn't do anything! So let's not regulate guns at all!") by making uninformed arguments.

[Little Pink Pill]

Originally Posted by thorny locust

I don't think Christians need to be ashamed of such behavior unless they're encouraging it.

No one wants to be associated with awful people, though. I’ve been in situations where loud American tourists made me hunch down in my seat and pretend I didn’t speak English. That’s just a human reaction.

So far he seems to be unaffiliated with anyone though, religiously or politically, and I hope it stays that way.

[Beachlife!]

When I'm around loud American tourists, I'm only happy to tell people I'm American. The loud ones look like asses no matter where you are from and I want them to see there are plenty of us who aren't loud and obnoxious.

[Little Pink Pill]

That’s good of you.

I still wouldn’t wish an association with a mass murderer on any group, though I definitely agree with TL that white Christians don’t feel the fall out here in the US that others do.

[Sue]

In Nevada, the next gambler walking into the casino might be angry and carrying a machine-gun. Legally

As President Donald Trump prepared to address Americans after the massacre/horrific carnage/charnel house/slaughter/mass murder (pick an overused term) in Las Vegas, mainstream cable TV anchors and reporters — using that somber, pained tone they all adopt on such occasions — seemed united on one subject: this is not a time for a "political conversation."

"Many people," observed CNN's John King in a particularly imbecilic TV moment, "have lost their ability to set politics aside and listen to the president and just be Americans."

Yes, indeed, chirped anchor Poppy Harlow, somberly. This is the time for the president to be the "comforter-in-chief." Everybody nodded.

Well, one suspects that if the shooter's name had been Mohammed, it would have been a different tune.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/massa...egas-1.4316852

[Mouse]

Originally Posted by crocoduck_hunter

Yeah, as a nation it's been accepted that there's no level of gun violence high enough to say that enough is enough and actually try to stop it. The pro-gun side won, and the rest of us are stuck paying the butcher's bill.

As always, The Onion article that never stops being relevant: ‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens

[Mochrie99]

These have been my own thoughts on the matter when confronted with posts from people "sending prayers and thoughts" on various media platforms that invariably follow every single mass shooting (obviously adapted for this most recent event):

With all due respect to people of faith, the time for prayer has been over since the last several dozen mass shootings. It's time for governmental action. To address mental health concerns. To address proper gun control and regulation. And most critically, to address the fact that terrorism exists in every single race/religion/whatever under the sun. To realize that today's massacre wasn't simply the result of a "lone wolf" or a "loose cannon" or a "mentally unbalanced" individual (AKA code words for something that only seems to be reserved for Caucasian attackers), but to call it out for what it truly was: domestic terrorism.

In the aftermath of the massacre in Las Vegas, it's time to remember the 50+ victims. These are the people who need to be remembered. Share their stories, their history, their families and their friends. Spare a minute to think of them and their lives cut short.

As for the shooter, the media needs to stop publicizing and broadcasting his name. He doesn't deserve his 15 minutes of fame. He doesn't deserve to be remembered at all, except for what he was - a domestic terrorist, ultimately a mere footnote in the annals of human history. He deserves to rot in the ground -- alone, nameless and forgotten. That is the least of what he deserves.

Returning to the start, I am very aware that prayer does provide comfort to people, and I wouldn't dream of imposing my own views on others. It's just that for me at least, though I do identify as a Christian, I don't really practice or observe it. To me, prayer, while a nice gesture on the whole, ultimately feels a bit empty or meaningless. When confronted with horrors like this attack in Las Vegas, people need more tangible results than just praying to a deity, however comforting it may be.

My heart is truly breaking for the people of Las Vegas. Stay strong.

[Psihala]

CBS News confirms it has fired an executive who posted a callous comment about the Las Vegas victims on Facebook.

http://www.9news.com/news/cbs-fires-...tims/480300021

[UEL]

Originally Posted by Mochrie99

With all due respect to people of faith, the time for prayer has been over since the last several dozen mass shootings.

Much of what I am seeing seems more like a cry of desperation, because many of the people sending prayers are powerless to make changes in the US government (or feel like they are powerless).

Originally Posted by Mochrie99

....call it out for what it truly was: domestic terrorism.

I respect that this is your opinion, and I thank you for posting it. But, I do have some issues with calling it terrorism. There are some very clear reasons for terrorist actions. I was less than 300 metres from the terror attack in Ottawa in '14, and that too was a lone wolf attack. But, it was clear that it was a fanatic, imposing an ideology, taking a violent action to create fear in order to make change. This idiot may not be a fanatic (likely not), is not an adherent to an ideology, and although his action created fear but not to make change.

Originally Posted by Mochrie99

In the aftermath of the massacre in Las Vegas, it's time to remember the 50+ victims. These are the people who need to be remembered. Share their stories, their history, their families and their friends. Spare a minute to think of them and their lives cut short.

Absolutely. Two from my home province were wounded. I don't know tham, but undoubtedly, I know someone who knows the families. Manitoba is not that big.

[musicgeek]

Originally Posted by Sue

In Nevada, the next gambler walking into the casino might be angry and carrying a machine-gun. Legally

While the article makes some good points, it falls into some of the same traps to which I alluded earlier. In arguing against suppressors (silencers), the author claims this:

...instead of hearing that loud budda-budda-budda of machine-gun fire over the country music, a sound that allowed them to locate the shooter remarkably quickly, police on the scene could have heard pffhht-pffhhht-pffhht, or nothing at all, as bodies were torn apart around them.

(bolding mine.)

Sorry, but no. That's the Hollywood version of silencers; real ones may attenuate the volume by tens of decibels, but they don't get anywhere close to "pfffhhht," never mind actual silence. Claims like this give more ammunition to the pro-gun lobby when they claim that all proposed gun control legislation is based on uninformed paranoia, and get in the way of honest discussions.

Please understand me: In my opinion, there is absolutely no legitimate reason for a civilian to own a fully automatic weapon, armor-piercing ammunition, or high capacity magazines. There is no reason that I can see why background checks and mandatory waiting periods should be a bone of contention for hunters, sportsmen, or those who are truly interested in personal/home self-defense. I absolutely despise the fact that the gun lobby has prevented meaningful nationwide licensing practices and purchase registries. I generally think that the NRA has gone completely off the rails in the past decades with regard to common sense about gun ownership and safety, and that it is currently being largely controlled by rabid doomsday readiness militia types. I just wish that those who would like to see real change in our country's gun laws would take a deep breath before spouting off arguments based on inaccurate information; it only weakens our position.

[Mochrie99]

Originally Posted by UEL

I respect that this is your opinion, and I thank you for posting it. But, I do have some issues with calling it terrorism. There are some very clear reasons for terrorist actions. I was less than 300 metres from the terror attack in Ottawa in '14, and that too was a lone wolf attack. But, it was clear that it was a fanatic, imposing an ideology, taking a violent action to create fear in order to make change. This idiot may not be a fanatic (likely not), is not an adherent to an ideology, and although his action created fear but not to make change.

Thanks for the response. Honestly, most of what I wrote was just myself trying to make sense of something so utterly senseless. Which is what I feel every single time there's a mass shooting. I felt it during Sandy Hook. I felt it during the Pulse Nightclub massacre. And I felt it again today. But if not a "terrorist" (domestic or otherwise), what should we call the person who perpetrated this attack? He caused terror through his actions, regardless of it was towards some political or social ideal. Surely that can be defined as terrorism, at least as a more broad definition of the word. It just seems to be that, in general, the term is only applied after mass attacks carried out by, or at least is strictly a non-Caucasian phenomenon. Which by all rights should not be the case.

[Avril]

This is a thread hijack. I acknowledge that this isn't the current line of discussion.

I am living somewhere far beyond capacity to feel things. I keep getting hit with news that makes me number, and I'm quite concerned about living with this level of constant traumatic barrage. This morning I turned my radio off--TWICE--when NPR decided to air audio recordings of a massacre. Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are essentially gone, but that was last week. The week before it was Houston. I can't quite remember the week before that, but in the meantime it seems our Fearless Leader is hellbent on starting a nuclear war with North Korea, the entire government may collapse under the pressures of Russian compromise, and in hyperlocal news things are Not Good for me professionally.

I have given up on meal planning in favor of regularly stocking up on sandwich fixings, frozen dinners, canned soup, and ramen noodles. I may or may not bother to do the dishes for a week or two and who really cares? Laundry is irrelevant. Sleep is elusive beyond hope. I know what all of these symptoms are. I just need...I don't know. I don't know how one can rally from these things if they never stop long enough to let you feel things again.

And so I do care about Las Vegas, except that I can't feel it. It is impossible to feel it. I can't handle how disturbing it is to not feel anything in response to waking up to news like this.

[Mochrie99]

I feel you, Avril, I'm a severe empath so when things like this happen, I feel it, I utterly feel it, and it hurts. This is despite being thousands of miles away from where it happened, in another country altogether. Society is just so bombarded by horrors, day upon day, week upon week, year upon year, that it just makes me want to retreat into myself and just wish the world away forever. I refuse to watch videos, or hear audio recordings, because it will do nothing than make me completely numb, and I hate using up all my energy worrying about strangers I don't know, and feeling the pain others feel (that I couldn't possibly feel, but I do.)

It's utterly exhausting and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

[thorny locust]

Avril, I wish I could help.

Can you avoid media entirely for a while? I don't know whether you're living in a situation in which that's possible.

We'd miss you, if your posting on snopes were (temporarily I'd hope) a casualty of that; but your sanity is important.

(I wanted to say something else, but I can't seem to get the words to come right at the moment. Maybe another time.)

[E. Q. Taft]

Originally Posted by Mouse

As always, The Onion article that never stops being relevant: ‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens

New one today:

Paul Ryan: "This Shooting Isn’t About Gun Control We Refuse To Pass, It’s About Access To Mental Health Care We’re Continuing To Gut"