BREAKING: Shooting at Conn. Elementary School

[Midwest Spy]

IMO, the most gut-wrenching of all the mass shootings we've had in this country.

Left me feeling empty for a few days.

Today's the 3^rd Anniversary and there's been little change effected in common sense gun regulations.

It's the biggest 'shit happens' of all time.

[BigMark]

Man has perfected the art of killing each other over the last millenniums, no gun? Use a machete, or gasoline or...not having access to a gun will not stop crazy people from killing others. In fact I would bet you $100 this kid loved playing violent video games and that far more contributed to the tragedy that the availabilty of a firearm.

[HairOfTheDog]

I agree that some types of killers will turn to alternate weapons if they can't get guns, and some types of killers prefer other weapons over guns anyway, Biggie. We've all acknowledged that in this and other threads.

But, that's not true for all killers. Adam Lanza was a weird kid who reportedly had Asberger's, didn't go to school, didn't have friends, only communicated with his mom in the home by email for months, was fascinated with the Columbine killers... He was weak, physically and socially. BUT, his mom gave him free access to all of her guns, had taken him out to the firing range many times, etc...

In this specific case, I don't believe the killer would have had the know-how or means to arrange a straw purchase, build a bomb, plan and execute an arson in that school complex which could kill as many people, stab/slash 26 people to death in minutes, etc.. He needed guns and they were right there in his reach.

Still, no existing gun law would have prevented him from attacking Sandy Hook. I think his mother should have known better than to provide him access to guns, and she should have entered her troubled son's room once in a while to see what he was up to. There was a lot of planning evidence found in his room. If mom had been smarter or more realistic (or had him institutionalized), the Sandy Hook massacre probably would never have happened. Adam Lanza is responsible for what he did with the family guns, but his mom also holds a lot of blame in my book.

[HairOfTheDog]

IMO, the most gut-wrenching of all the mass shootings we've had in this country.

Left me feeling empty for a few days.

Today's the 3^rd Anniversary and there's been little change effected in common sense gun regulations.

It's the biggest 'shit happens' of all time.

It was awful, and preventable.

Several of the victims' families sued Nancy Lanza's estate and will split $1.5million; $93,750 each. The settlements were finalized December 17, three days after the community of Newtown marked the third anniversary of the mass shooting.

The lawsuits said Nancy Lanza failed to properly secure her legally owned AR-15 rifle in her home and was liable for giving Adam Lanza access to it.

I'm glad the families got the money, though it's not much consolation for them, I'm sure.

They're also suing Bushmaster, the maker of the AR15 Lanza used in the massacre. I doubt they'll win that one (and don't think they should win it, personally).

Story: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...other.html

[Duchess]

It has been 7 years since this school shooting. I read someone say these kids have been dead longer than they were alive. I can remember how shocking it was to learn that most of the people killed were little kids, 6 year old kids in their classroom. The shooter sprayed bullets around the room. It must have been such a horror for those who went into that room after it was all over. I think about that and I think about the kid's parents  :(

[Duchess]

Here's a first of its kind--

Remington, the maker of the AR-15 that was used in the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre, has settled with the families for $73 million. That's a little under $3 million for each family.

[rothschild]

How about people are just nuts and they've been since the beginning of time? Video games and music lyrics don't turn a rational human being into a lunatic.

Most people are minimally rational, at best. We like to assume we're rational, because who wants to admit they're irrational?

We have a rather sick and twisted culture, and mental illness is far more prevalent than we are comfortable acknowledging, so we keep our heads buried in the sand until something blows up and we're forced to look at the ugly truth. And what do we do? Look for someone or something to blame. Then we go back into hibernation, until the next time. And there's always a next time, because all we ever do is look for someone or something to blame. Because we don't know how to solve problems. So we hide from them or look for someone/something to blame. And you know what's going to happen if we don't relearn how to solve problems? Extinction. Not because of climate change. Because we lost the ability to solve problems. And you know why we lost the ability to solve problems? Because we don't learn from our mistakes.

No doubt you're thinking, "who is this asshole that's telling us we're irrational"? Fair enough, so here's what we're going to do: you explain why it is that we don't learn from our mistakes, and I'll acknowledge that you're somewhat rational. But you only get one chance, so take your time. We have about 5-10 years to get our shit together, which is possible, but not terribly probable.

[BigMark]

I think getting serotonin highs by killing people in video games is not good.

[Duchess]

I don't think 5-10 years is sufficient time.

[sally]

How about people are just nuts and they've been since the beginning of time? Video games and music lyrics don't turn a rational human being into a lunatic.

Most people are minimally rational, at best. We like to assume we're rational, because who wants to admit they're irrational?

We have a rather sick and twisted culture, and mental illness is far more prevalent than we are comfortable acknowledging, so we keep our heads buried in the sand until something blows up and we're forced to look at the ugly truth. And what do we do? Look for someone or something to blame. Then we go back into hibernation, until the next time. And there's always a next time, because all we ever do is look for someone or something to blame. Because we don't know how to solve problems. So we hide from them or look for someone/something to blame. And you know what's going to happen if we don't relearn how to solve problems? Extinction. Not because of climate change. Because we lost the ability to solve problems. And you know why we lost the ability to solve problems? Because we don't learn from our mistakes.

No doubt you're thinking, "who is this asshole that's telling us we're irrational"? Fair enough, so here's what we're going to do: you explain why it is that we don't learn from our mistakes, and I'll acknowledge that you're somewhat rational. But you only get one chance, so take your time. We have about 5-10 years to get our shit together, which is possible, but not terribly probable.

This dumb ass lady with a thousand guns and her deranged son were born a mistake. There is nothing to solve.

[Duchess]

I don't think anything will change in our lifetime. Those kids who were little more than babies were slaughtered in their classroom and there's been, I don't know how many kids, murdered at school since then.

[sally]

I'm sure there is a perfectly rational explanation as to how you don't know your kid is a weirdo holed up in his room ²⁴⁄₇ researching pipe bombs and planning to use the guns you leave out for him.

[rothschild]

I don't think 5-10 years is sufficient time.

Based on what I see, I think you're right, which suggests we're down to miracles and aliens -- except for one small thing: what we perceive is infinitesimal compared to what we don't perceive, so as bad as things look on the surface it would be a huge mistake to for us to conclude that it's hopeless.

[Duchess]

To feel hopeless is someplace none of us should ever go in our heads.

[rothschild]

I think getting serotonin highs by killing people in video games is not good.

With violence I think you get an adrenaline rush. With most other addictive behaviors that don't involve substance abuse, it's a dopamine high.

What's really disturbing to me is that so much of what is promoted in our society is addictive by design, and that's where the big money is made in psychology. That, IMO, is why treating/preventing mental illness isn't a priority.

Anyway, I agree with you that's it's problematic.

[rothschild]

To feel hopeless is someplace none of us should ever go in our heads.

History more than occasionally describes people who overcame circumstances/situations that seemed insurmountable, and prevailed at the very last second because they didn't give up.

[rothschild]

I'm sure there is a perfectly rational explanation as to how you don't know your kid is a weirdo holed up in his room ²⁴⁄₇ researching pipe bombs and planning to use the guns you leave out for him.

She almost certainly DID know that something was very wrong with him, and had tried everything she could think of to help him. Her own mental health would have deteriorated significantly, watching someone she loved recede further and further into the darkness, so she made a terrible mistake in a last ditch effort to connect with him.

[sally]

I think getting serotonin highs by killing people in video games is not good.

With violence I think you get an adrenaline rush. With most other addictive behaviors that don't involve substance abuse, it's a dopamine high.

What's really disturbing to me is that so much of what is promoted in our society is addictive by design, and that's where the big money is made in psychology. That, IMO, is why treating/preventing mental illness isn't a priority. 

Anyway, I agree with you that's it's problematic.

You're contradicting yourself. Above you said that people blame other things instead of addressing the problem. Millions of people play violent video games and realize it's just a game and form of entertainment. Playing grand theft auto doesn't make people want to go out and kill, if it does then there is some other deep rooted problem going on and they'd do it regardless.

[rothschild]

I think getting serotonin highs by killing people in video games is not good.

With violence I think you get an adrenaline rush. With most other addictive behaviors that don't involve substance abuse, it's a dopamine high.

What's really disturbing to me is that so much of what is promoted in our society is addictive by design, and that's where the big money is made in psychology. That, IMO, is why treating/preventing mental illness isn't a priority. 

Anyway, I agree with you that's it's problematic.

You're contradicting yourself. Above you said that people blame other things instead of addressing the problem. Millions of people play violent video games and realize it's just a game and form of entertainment. Playing grand theft auto doesn't make people want to go out and kill, if it does then there is some other deep rooted problem going on and they'd do it regardless.

No competent psychologist has ever asserted that violent videogames transform people into mass murderers. What they have done is to conclusively prove that they are not "harmless" -- which shouldn't be the least bit surprising to anyone since there is just about nothing in this world that is perfectly harmless. It doesn't work that way. Beyond that, science has given us quite a bit of insight into *how* media saturated with violence and sex impacts the human mind, and the primary finding is that we become desensitized; furthermore, people who have severe mental illness are far more susceptible to such media, so it's pretty much a certainty that a tiny segment of the general population are predisposed to acting out what they are constantly exposed to, and that tiny segment is all it takes for things to go horribly wrong.

[BigMark]

Agree