"US shoppers killed in gun rampage "

[dark_defender]

"We heard this "pop pop pop", and someone came running and said "gun!""

- Employee


holy shit! it didn't take long for that to happen again...
what's going on with this world anyway??

[AttheGates1996]

This is freakin ridiculous. Hopefully we'll see the suicide note and then we can realize that people were killed in vain by some dumbass.

[Mithrandir]

I think this stuff would be better off in the Corrupt forum.

[dark_defender]

This is freakin ridiculous. Hopefully we'll see the suicide note and then we can realize that people were killed in vain by some dumbass.

it might be a case of dumbass kills dumbasses, though at present.. i'm undecided.

[Commuted]

Is there a problem with that?

[AttheGates1996]

it might be a case of dumbass kills dumbasses, though at present.. i'm undecided.

Who's to say that the random people he shot in the mall were dumbasses? Some of them could have been very intelligent people who would contribute to society later in life.

[Cynical]

If they were shopping at the mall, they're not needed.

[detrath]

Such is the risk of shooting at random. He is no hero for what he did, but he is interesting to observe as part of a symptom of something going terribly wrong in this society as these events seem to happen more commonly.

There are aspects of the reality of society that push most people to a disinterested detachment, but others to a crazed detachment in which they will destroy the symbols of everything they now perceive to be wrong with society. Seeing these varying flight-from-reality responses happen in real life and understanding them is valuable, if nothing else to help us stay grounded and healthy in our ideals in the face of decay in the real world and detached ideals in our society.

[AttheGates1996]

If they were shopping at the mall, they're not needed.

Seriously? going to the mall means that you're worth nothing to society? I'll restate my original statement, some of those people could have been very intelligent individuals. And if not intelligent... it doesn't mean they should die. It's not like they get in the way of the world progressing to a better state or anything. I think it's the people like the shooter that get in the way of a better world, but luckily he shot himself anyway.

[AttheGates1996]

Such is the risk of shooting at random. He is no hero for what he did, but he is interesting to observe as part of a symptom of something going terribly wrong in this society as these events seem to happen more commonly.

I can agree to this. It's just the implied message that I'm getting from you suggesting that this needed to take place. Obviously society is messed up but is there really anything we can't do about the increasing amount of mentally ill people? Even if we understand and act upon making everyone mentally fit there will always be a contradiction in someone's mind that will lead them to stupid decisions.

Throughout my life I really have noticed that one should not worry about every life outside their own, but there is a line to be drawn. Randomly shooting someone in a mall? I'm not going to say I'm moved by this or anything, but the victims never deserved such a thing, nor did their family deserve the pain.

It would be different if some drunk killed himself while driving. That would be a case of one's own fault. It's different in the shooter' case also. It was his decision so one should clearly not feel for him. The victims at the mall had no clue of possible consequences to an everyday action of driving to a location to buy items. I really feel that was ultimately unfair.

[Dunkelheit]

Seriously? going to the mall means that you're worth nothing to society? I'll restate my original statement, some of those people could have been very intelligent individuals. And if not intelligent... it doesn't mean they should die. It's not like they get in the way of the world progressing to a better state or anything. I think it's the people like the shooter that get in the way of a better world, but luckily he shot himself anyway.

What if what is best for society is to move away from the rampant materialism and consumerism which defines this age? Don't you think the masses of consumers who perpetuate these systems stand in the way of change for the better?

[detrath]

I think I feel it needed to in the sense that it was inevitable, that conditions are such that this kind of behavior is being unwittingly nurtured. I don't think we've ever had killings quite like these ones occurring before the modern era (correct me if I'm wrong I suppose). There is some kind of special disconnect at work that is being amplified and relied upon by these kinds of shooters. He says he's sorry for being a burden but that now he's going to be famous. What kind of world is he living in in his mind? Everything is so dramatically overstated in that typical depressed teenager fashion. These shooters are like amplified versions of the everyday angsty teen, so that is what makes me wonder: what is this powerful disconnect at work in our youth? It reaches a violent conclusion when pushed to the limit by unstable individuals, but there seem to be conditions that allow it to exist in the first place so long as it's benign and the kids don't act on it and shoot up their schools or malls.

[Dunkelheit]

I think I feel it needed to in the sense that it was inevitable, that conditions are such that this kind of behavior is being unwittingly nurtured. I don't think we've ever had killings quite like these ones occurring before the modern era (correct me if I'm wrong I suppose). There is some kind of special disconnect at work that is being amplified and relied upon by these kinds of shooters. He says he's sorry for being a burden but that now he's going to be famous. What kind of world is he living in in his mind? Everything is so dramatically overstated in that typical depressed teenager fashion. These shooters are like amplified versions of the everyday angsty teen, so that is what makes me wonder: what is this powerful disconnect at work in our youth? It reaches a violent conclusion when pushed to the limit by unstable individuals, but there seem to be conditions that allow it to exist in the first place so long as it's benign and the kids don't act on it and shoot up their schools or malls.

I agree. The man obviously suffered from an extreme neurosis brought on by personal relationships and occupational hardships. I do think that such acts are a very modern phenomenon. Sure murder has existed since the birth of humanity, but the very similar details which characterize all of these sorts of shootings lead one to see the conflicts causing them along with the way they are carried out as entirely modern.

[Hulegur]

People like the killer do have an inherent, necessary and positive function in this particular society: Killing off the weak (including the killers).

[Dylar]

Seriously? going to the mall means that you're worth nothing to society? I'll restate my original statement, some of those people could have been very intelligent individuals. And if not intelligent... it doesn't mean they should die. It's not like they get in the way of the world progressing to a better state or anything. I think it's the people like the shooter that get in the way of a better world, but luckily he shot himself anyway.

Going to the mall certainly means you're part of the problem.

Solution: a bullet in the head.