20+ killed in elementary school shooting

http://abcnews.go.com/US/shooting-connecticut-elementary-school-gunman-dead/story?id=17973836#.UMtpWYOfuSp
http://www.14news.com/story/20345707/at-least-one-dead-in-newtown-school-shooting-students-evacuated-from-school

 :'(

Can't believe this.

My school got locked down for a little over a half hour this morning after the incident. Right now we're watching the news about the shooting. I just can't see how anyone can do this in an elementary school, let alone in a kindergarten classroom. This is horrible.

That's pretty awful. Not to mention the timing. Just can't imagine what would cause people to do such things.

Thank fuck one of them is dead, just need to find and put down the other sick bastard*. One scenario I can almost pro-capital punishment. Also a reason I don't understand why guns are still legal to get hold of. Sure, the UK does get a bit of gun crime but I'd fear what it would be like if we all could have them legally. Our crime rates would probably soar.

*assuming there is two. It doesn't seem to be confirmed or believed a second does exist, so hopefully it's all over.

I'm not satisfied the shooter's body is lifeless. Fucking coward took the easy way out. The shooter's mother worked at the school and he killed her too. How do you kill 20 people, let alone children? Fucking sickening.

It's horrible on all levels.

It takes a special kind of evil .

I found out about this earlier today when I walked into the breakroom at work and saw everyone frozen in horror as they watched the news report on it on the TV. This is just, as Bluntsword said, horrible on all levels. Even worse than the Columbine shootings. =/

I really fucking hope that bastard burns in hell. This gets me angry more than anything. What a piece of human garbage. He can't value human life, let alone the lives of children.

Still, I don't think banning firearms will solve the problem. Yet, letting citizens carry guns in schools is stupid, too. They should AT LEAST improve security in schools...I'm sick and tired of all this bastards killing innocent, defenseless children.

Fuck.

Just fuck.

The world doesn't need this.

Still, I don't think banning firearms will solve the problem.

I understand your view, and while I don't want a debate out of this, I feel the need to say that in the years since my country's firearms laws have been strengthened, there have been exactly zero mass shootings. As far as I'm concerned, one is too many. And there have been far more than one in America recently.

Words cannot describe how awful this is.

The problem with banning guns is the same as prohibition though: you can eliminate supply, but not demand. (And to be fair, the same applies to illegal marijuana. I don't smoke that stuff, but it's another thing I think should be legal).

There's not just mass-shootings though. There's also other crime, like the stuff where someone gets murdered on the streets. As a woman, I can fairly say that I'd be fucked if some big dude tried to murder me on the streets. Hell, even if he didn't have a gun and had a knife instead, I'd be fucked. D: My best bet would be to have something that doesn't require physical strength to wield, like a gun. (Some guns require physical strength, but many of them don't.) Not just women, all other people who are born naturally inequal in stature are fucked.

Of course, there's also those who need guns if they live near dangerous wild animals, and/or hunt for survival. There's still people like that everywhere.

Also if zombie invasion, DrSword and I can protect the world!

My heart hurts

I'm of the opinion that allowing access to guns is a good thing. If somebody is going to use a gun to commit a crime, they're not going to be following the law to get it. States in the United States of America that have more guns have less gun-related crime, because people know that they aren't the only ones with a gun and will more than likely get shot as soon as they make a threat (whether it be verbal or by action).

Now... I hardly believe that's the only solution to the problem. Nor can it tackle everything that would come up. Make all guns illegal? That would also make it more difficult, but it would still occur. In fact, it would just make underground firearm business boom (at least in this country...for some reason we attract all of the gangsters from all over the world -_- ).

Which is why I agree with yuyu when she says school protection needs to be upped. I mean - seriously?!?!? THESE ARE OUR CHILDREN! We have more protection surrounding research facilities than we do our children. There is something really fucked up about our priorities.

Now, there's the socio-psychological issue of possibly making schools feel like penitentiaries. Well... we have the technology and aesthetic understanding to make such invisible security improvements. And it wouldn't limit anybody's freedom (minus those who attempt such an atrocity).

Something needs to happen. and it needs to happen *now*

It's true. Sick people will still doing "something" to cause pain and agony. Guns or no.

I like how this] guy handles it.


Still, I want these things to stop.

Fuck.

Just fuck.

The world doesn't need this.

Still, I don't think banning firearms will solve the problem.

I understand your view, and while I don't want a debate out of this, I feel the need to say that in the years since my country's firearms laws have been strengthened, there have been exactly zero mass shootings. As far as I'm concerned, one is too many. And there have been far more than one in America recently.

Nevermind the fact that we have 10 times the population and 9 times out of 10 the killer obtained the gun through illegal means, or the fact that violent crime rates have skyrocketed in Australia and United Kingdom since gun bans were enacted.

It is a common fantasy that gun bans make society safer.  In 2002 -- five years after enacting its gun ban -- the Australian Bureau of Criminology acknowledged there is no correlation between gun control and the use of firearms in violent crime.  In fact, the percent of murders committed with a firearm was the highest it had ever been in 2006 (16.3 percent), says the D.C. Examiner....
...At the same time, U.S. violent crime decreased 31.8 percent: rape dropped 19.2 percent; robbery decreased 33.2 percent; aggravated assault dropped 32.2 percent.

Now I still think this is America's fault solely in the sense that we are absolutely awful at handling mentally unstable people, but don't go blaming guns.

Now I still think this is America's fault solely in the sense that we are absolutely awful at handling mentally unstable people, but don't go blaming guns.

THIS^

The USA is horrible at dealing with anybody not considered the norm :/.

Take a criminal? Well putting him behind bars with a bunch of other angry criminals is definitely going to change him. If less money were spent on keeping people in prison and instead put towards rehabilitation... *sigh*

EDIT : Not saying that nobody should ever be imprisoned...but when you see those people you just... you know they need to be locked up.

I think we should bring back cruel and unusual punishment for people like this. Less people would be inclined to do things like this if we tortured them instead of just letting them die/incarcerating them.

I think we should bring back cruel and unusual punishment for people like this. Less people would be inclined to do things like this if we tortured them instead of just letting them die/incarcerating them.

I can think of many unusual punishments for certain types of people. Some possibly cruel, others possibly humorous.

But really, that's all well and good unless they off themselves after they've done their crazy crap. These people are always more famous when they do that, too. Most people can say the names of those who've gone on these shootings before killing themselves. I just refuse to save a place for them in my mind. I'd rather use that time praying for those who lost relatives and friends at the expense of these animals.

Same with me. I didn't even learn the dudes name.

I don't even know what he looks like. Whenever terrible events like this happen, my family doesn't watch the news for awhile. Not because we don't want to hear about it, but because it's depressing and we can only watch so much of it. We're all actually very sensitive people, especially when it comes to children.

I don't even know what he looks like. Whenever terrible events like this happen, my family doesn't watch the news for awhile. Not because we don't want to hear about it, but because it's depressing and we can only watch so much of it. We're all actually very sensitive people, especially when it comes to children.

Glad some people are still sensitive yuyu.

I don't even know what he looks like. Whenever terrible events like this happen, my family doesn't watch the news for awhile. Not because we don't want to hear about it, but because it's depressing and we can only watch so much of it. We're all actually very sensitive people, especially when it comes to children.

ditto

I'd rather use that time praying for those who lost relatives and friends at the expense of these animals.

Calling these people 'animals' is an insult to animals. But I guess calling them 'people' is an insult to people too.
I'm not really the kind of person who strictly believes in God, but if Satan exists, these heartless stains on humanity would be the best proof available.

Certainly proof of sin in the world.

Calling these people 'animals' is an insult to animals. But I guess calling them 'people' is an insult to people too.
I'm not really the kind of person who strictly believes in God, but if Satan exists, these heartless stains on humanity would be the best proof available.

I have many names for creatures like those, none of which are suitable for all audiences.

We have yearly check ups for our eyes, teeth, and physical health. Why on earth do we not have yearly check-ups for our mental health? This has always bothered me.

I couldn't imagine being the coroner or the one having to bag the bodies. 18 lives that didn't even have time to think of what they wanted to be when they grew up. Parents that were excited to see the joy on their kids faces on Christmas morning, and it was taken away by an act of unspeakable evil.

Some might find this particularly interesting:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uwAo8lcAC4" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uwAo8lcAC4</a>

It's a little lengthy, but raises some points that people (especially the media) should take into account and learn from as part of reducing the impact on these kind of events.

More interesting is how the media are presenting this as being influenced by violent video games, something I'm sure most of us who call ourselves "Gamers" are quite opinionated on. My favourite part is how Dynasty Warriors and Mass Effect have been accused. Obviously GTA just doesn't work so lets move onto less obvious things to blame.

bringing up video games at all is dumb

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jwherrman/no-lets-talk-about-video-game-violence

I thought this was well written also.

The media loves scapegoats. :anski2:

I really like that video, Logan. Nobody really questions that the killer in these scenarios is often the focus of the stories. Why are we giving him our thoughts when many people don't even know the names of those poor children or teachers? They should be the ones we remember. The killer should be the one who fades into obscurity.

Why would you shoot up a school? I can think of several places that would've been beneficial to society if they were shot up.
Nevermind the fact that their own mother was shot down (most likely the reason for this in the first place... I mean wouldn't you avoid the place where your mother is unless you wanted her to be involved?).
And if you were gonna lop yourself off in the end anyway, I still see no reason why many of the more beneficial alternatives didn't apply to the shooter.


Now the media gets a fieldtrip with blaming video games and further putting restrictions on their content, now children will have to be portrayed as even more cherishable than they already are.
Sadly it's because of the media that things like these are more applicable to nutters, the coverage of the events from the shooter and their life is absolutely astonishing and is a quick way to get you famous.

In any case I don't like this; I wouldn't wish any child to be shot, at the very least I hope it was a quick death.

Read this. Does this describe the mentality of the US too well? And also why Lisa is as despised in the US as a mass pedophile

Read this. Does this describe the mentality of the US too well? And also why Lisa is as despised in the US as a mass pedophile

awful post from an awful poster

The media ruins everything. Well, not everything. But they damn well try to. I've seen some of the things the people of Newtown had to say, and they just want the media to fuck off so they can mourn in peace. It'd be hard enough without the press.

And as a sidenote, I am a fully qualified jackass who got a solid B in his media studies class this year, and I can say that my pothead conspiracy theorist of a teacher knows for a fact that violent video games don't make people violent; they either reinforce preexisting violent behaviour or simply increase people's tolerance of violence.

I'm more of the mind that video games desensitise you to violence rather than encourage it.
On the other hand enlisting rates for armed forces have gone up since CoD has been released.

For sure the problem is larger than gun control, medication, psychological disorders, video games.

And I think that Simpsons strip is quite irrelevant.

I don't really think of CoD as a video game. It's more of an action movie that just says "Hey, can you point and some stuff and click?" every once in a while.

I feel the same way with a lot of recent games, especially console RPGs.

Except that people buy call of duty to go online and shoot their friends and random people online, negating any storyline whatsoever.

That is true, but in multiplayer you know you're killing people like you, often first-world people with comfortable amounts of money who are trying to kill you. This isn't as bad as in the single player (which most people will play the first half of) which commands you to "KILL ALL THE PEOPLE WHO ARE FOREIGN BECAUSE THEY ARE FOREIGN" even if they aren't doing anything to provoke you. That's the desensitizing part. And I know you get that, and you're just saying that it's not nearly played as much as the multiplayer. But it's still there. People will still play it and shoot the brown people without thinking about it solely because they aren't white.
I somehow wanted to mention Spec Ops: The Line in there but I couldn't work it in, so I'm putting it here. Brilliant game. Bad guy is American.

Well and truly off topic now. Fantastic. Discussion of video games here is unnecessary, and could get disrespectful of the lives lost in Newtown. I'd be fine discussing this elsewhere.