Please be positive and upbeat in your interactions, and avoid making negative or pessimistic comments. Instead, focus on the potential opportunities.
- Manlobbi
Halls of Shrewd'm / US Policy
No. of Recommendations: 3
High school shooting in Georgia. 4 confirmed dead, 9 confirmed hospitalized. Still fluid, so numbers may change. Unknown is how many of these casualties are students and staff.
Shooter appears to be a 14 year old student - alive and in police custody.
Google your favorite news sources for updates.
No. of Recommendations: 10
No. of Recommendations: 2
Two students, two teachers, dead. Apparently someone (the local sheriff, perhaps) has already decided the 14 year old shooter will be charged with murder and tried as an adult.
No rush to judgement there. Nosiree. Is the trial starting this evening?
No. of Recommendations: 6
Initial reporting a few hours ago was notoriously foggy, not due to a lack of facts but lack of clarity in the writing written by ADHD addled "internet reporters." One story mentioned that all schools in the entire Georgia county where the actual shooting site resided were put on lockdown. Several paragraphs later, a mention was made that a threat was called in.
Okaaaaaaayyyyy...
What is the average internet citizen supposed to derive from that exposition?
Is THIS what happened?
1) a person made a threat of violence at a specific date and time against ALL schools in the area
2) ALL schools in the entire county were put on lockdown
3) then an actual shooting took place at ONE of the schools
Or is THIS what happened?
1) a shooting began at school X in a Georgia county
2) approximately at the same time, a threat was called in referencing a wider set of schools
3) all local schools in the entire county placed themselves on lockdown
Or is THIS what happened?
1) a shooting began at school X in a Georgia county
2) rumours spread that a threat related to the shooting had been called in or spread via social media
3) all schools in that Georgia county have adopted a rule that ALL schools go on lockdown any time ANY school experiences a shooting
Or something else?
If all schools in a county have decided to trigger lockdowns any time there is a shooting in any one of the schools or a credible threat communicated, they are going to be traumatizing 100% of the students in that tnat entire county far more than any other students in the country, needlessly. If they are that terrified of a future event, maybe they should start voting out idiots who block meaningful limits on automatic weapons and registration loopholes for gun purchases. Don't just further traumatize the children.
WTH
No. of Recommendations: 3
Initial reporting a few hours ago was notoriously foggy, not due to a lack of facts but lack of clarity in the writing written by ADHD addled "internet reporters."
That's why I wait for reporting from mainstream news outlets. I never read these "internet reporters" as they rarely take the time to actually get the story before publishing their garbage.
But that's all really irrelevant. You can find this piece of news on any widely known and widely read news source, with most all of them in general agreement on the basic facts.
What is the average internet citizen supposed to derive from that exposition?
What I stated above. Don't believe any of these crap sources. Look for the news on something more main stream.
Question back at you. Why bring up this garbage reporting multiple hours after the event, when there is already plenty of quality reporting to choose from?
You seem more than capable of filtering good reporting from bad. In the internet age there is always going to be bad reporting, especially very early on in an event. Good reporting is willing to wait just a bit to get information correct. So the very first few reports are likely from unreliable sources. And the most reliable sources will tell you right away when they haven't confirmed all of the facts. Unreliable sources never mention that.
--Peter
No. of Recommendations: 4
You and I may know better than to pay much attention to stories issued seconds after an event but it is this content that circulates around social media and text messages nationwide prior to "real reports" coming out. It's this quality of information that is taking an existing bad problem (mass shootings in general, school shootings in particular) and making voters all over the country even more ignorant and fearful, which drives them further away from a state of understanding that could empower them to take actions that could change something for the better.
Here is a quote from an NBC story updated fifteen minutes ago that seems to confirm all schools in the district were put on lockdown:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/suspect-custo...All campuses of Barrow County Schools, based in Winder, Georgia, went into a "soft lockdown" with most of the activity centered around Apalachee H.S. where police cars, fire trucks and ambulances had all converged.Does that district serve the entire county? It isn't clear from the school's web site at
https://www.barrow.k12.ga.us/ but the site says it serves a total of 15,340 students in 17 schools from K-12. Even so, was it really in the best interest of all 15,340 students in that district to experience a lockdown if the incident was limited to the 1894 students at one of the two high schools? I'm not a mental health expert but I'm pretty sure the answer would be no.
WTH
No. of Recommendations: 5
Only one way to prevent this: amend the Constitution.
We could get into another protracted debate about the first 13 words, and the differing positions within the Federalist papers. The one way to shut that down is to remove the 2nd Amendment. Which, of course, will not happen within my lifetime. Attitudes may change enough that it would be possible, but not in the 20 or 30 years I have left.
This xmas (or Chanukah) get your kids some kevlar vests.
No. of Recommendations: 2
maybe they should start voting out idiots who block meaningful limits on automatic weapons and registration loopholes for gun purchases. - WT
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maybe they should start voting out idiots who propose limits on automatic weapons and registration loopholes for gun purchases, limits that would have done nothing to prevents this shooting. Automatic weapons are already heavily regulated and were not used in this or any of the school shootings.
No. of Recommendations: 9
Only one way to prevent this: amend the Constitution.
There’s a much easier way.
Keep electing Democrats so when a SCOTUS opening occurs, sane justices are nominated. You know, justices that have actually read and understand the constitution. We had sane gun laws until ultra-radical groups like Heritage got involved. The Constitution does NOT say anyone can have access to ANY gun ANY time they want to.
No. of Recommendations: 2
The Constitution does NOT say anyone can have access to ANY gun ANY time they want to.
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And law-abiding citizens presently do not have access to ANY gun ANY time they want to. If the crazies and criminals would only obey the laws we already have, we wouldn't have pass more laws for them to ignore.
No. of Recommendations: 4
idiots who propose limits on automatic weapons and registration loopholes for gun purchases, limits that would have done nothing to prevents this shooting. Automatic weapons are already heavily regulated and were not used in this or any of the school shootings.
This is just saying - leave our existing deficiencies and loopholes that don't work alone.
No. of Recommendations: 1
>>diots who propose limits on automatic weapons and registration loopholes for gun purchases, limits that would have done nothing to prevents this shooting. Automatic weapons are already heavily regulated and were not used in this or any of the school shootings.<<
This is just saying - leave our existing deficiencies and loopholes that don't work alone. - Lapsody-----------------
No, I am saying it is lazy to blame it on lack of regulation.
My observation is the gun grabbers are simply for anything that moves the ball in the direction of ever increasing restrictions and whether it does anything to address the school shooting problem is not really a consideration.
If you want to promote something that directly affects the school shooting problem, then check out Rachel's Challenge, an organization started by the parents of Rachel Scott. Rachel was the very first shooting victim at Columbine.
https://rachelschallenge.orgRachel's Challenge | Bullying & School Violence Prevention Program
Rachel's Challenge is a non-political, non-religious, non-profit organization dedicated to creating positive school cultures and ending school violence in all its forms.We are the most effective, proven, long-standing program in the world for preventing gun violence, self-harm and suicide, ending bullying ...
No. of Recommendations: 1
<<idiots who propose limits on automatic weapons and registration loopholes for gun purchases, limits that would have done nothing to prevents this shooting. Automatic weapons are already heavily regulated and were not used in this or any of the school shootings.>>
This is just saying - leave our existing deficiencies and loopholes that don't work alone.
He's laughing because the poster wrote "automatic weapon" when the weapon used was a semi-automatic. We need to have the terminology correct.
IMO, we should regulate semi-automatic weapons the way we do fully-automatic.
Wouldn't entirely solve the problem - a kid with a revolver and a shotgun shot up a school a few years ago.
Would definitely help a lot, though. Not that it would happen in mine, or my children's lifetimes.
No. of Recommendations: 6
No, I am saying it is lazy to blame it on lack of regulation.
My observation is the gun grabbers are simply for anything that moves the ball in the direction of ever increasing restrictions
No, this is just your fallback position - the one you use to fob everyone off. I chose what I consider an innocuous proposition, one that would offend the least, and promoted gun safety. A gun safe in every home. This, I proposed because kids will find your guns and pull the trigger. Promote gun safety, let people know a 2 year old can pull the trigger, and will. So we try and lower the accidental and negligence deaths. If it succeeds, we tout it.
We also need a better class of citizens, ones who actually understand and believe in Democracy for the most part. Can't hope for everyone. All a legislator can do is propose laws, so you see that. But we can't even agree on gun safety.
No. of Recommendations: 5
There is a strong correlation between firearm ownership, and rates of homicide and suicide. I think Switzerland is an outlier (strong ownership, but very few shootings).
The answer is extremely simple (in principle). Get rid of the guns. Fewer firearms, fewer shootings. Works pretty much everywhere on the planet.
Until then, get your kids some kevlar.
No. of Recommendations: 3
No. of Recommendations: 9
There is a strong correlation between firearm ownership, and rates of homicide and suicide.
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One ad I saw inserted into a YouTube video in the last two days was for a contraption that allowed a gun owner to essentially hang a gun via a magnetic holder that could mount under a shelf or cabinet so the gun was always ready at hand without having to hunt for it. You know how annoying that can be.
In a country as innovative as 'Murica, I'm sure there's more than one company making this type of product. You can search for Vulcan Quickdraw to see an example. At only $29.99 each, you can afford to stash guns ALL OVER the house, in plain sight. Never be more than 2 feet from your security blanket.
Madness.
WTH
No. of Recommendations: 3
Lock them up, people.
A band-aid, but it would help. Problem is that many parents not only don't lock them up, but actually give them to their kids (e.g. the Sandy Hook shooter).
Yes, I agree that the parents of minors who go on rampages should be punished as if they were the shooters. The Crumbleys got off easy, IMHO.**
My father kept a 5-shot .38 in his sock drawer. I knew where it was before I even hit puberty. BUT...he was very strict about firearm safety. So I knew better than to point it at anyone, play with it, or anything else. The most I ever did was show it to my best friend at the time. Still...it should have been locked-up. Pretty sure they had gun safes available in the 70s.
**Caveat: I don't know all the details of their involvement and/or negligence. I know that they bought the kid a firearm, and it is alleged they knew about his mental condition. There could be a lot more to know about this case, but just buying the kid a firearm was (IMHO) irresponsible. A minor has no business owning, or even accessing, a firearm without adult supervision. Though that wouldn't have stopped the Virginia Tech shooter (he was college-age).
No. of Recommendations: 3
"The Crumbleys got off easy, IMHO.**"
I'm from Michigan. I do not think the Crumbley's are gonna get off easy. I haven't
checked in on the story in a month or so, but last I knew Mom and Dad are both in prison,
and getting sentenced to real prison time. They might be lucky that they are in custody,
I have a couple acquaintances in the Oxford area, and they say that the general public
wants to rip them apart limb by limb for what their kid, and their negligence, did.
No. of Recommendations: 3
we should regulate semi-automatic weapons the way we do fully-automatic.
Semi-auto assault rifles should be banned...period. Won't happen, so the Republicans will just keep offering thoughts and prayers and saying "there is simply nothing we can do". Which is idiotic since every other modern democracy has solved this supposedly insoluble problem.
All this needless death because of ridiculous interpretations of the 2nd Amendment.
No. of Recommendations: 5
Father of suspect in Georgia school shooting arrested
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9wj0vyl8xko“GBI Director Chris Hosey said in a news conference on Thursday evening that the charges against the father stem from "knowingly allowing his son to possess a weapon".
He said agents would "work tirelessly to complete this investigation as we move forward", but declined to answer questions about how the child acquired the gun.
The father was arrested by the GBI in co-ordination with Jackson County District Attorney Brad Smith, and was being held in custody, officials said.
Authorities are investigating whether the AR-style weapon used in the attack was a gift purchased by Mr Gray in December 2023, law enforcement sources told CBS News, the BBC's US partner.”
No. of Recommendations: 1
Semi-auto assault rifles should be banned...period.What are "semi-auto assault rifles"? There is no set definition because that is a convenient -easy to understand- term to describe military-style weapons. But in terms of law, you'd have to be much more specific. A better approach would be to address it in terms of magazine capacity and cyclic rate.
Note that the Virginia Tech shooting was the largest in US history at that time, and was accomplished with a 9mm pistol. No "assault rifles".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_shooti...Re-reading that, he had a second pistol...a .22. I forgot about the .22. Still...no "assault rifle".
No. of Recommendations: 3
