Fade
Patti Mayonnaise
Posts: 38,599
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Post by Fade on Jun 15, 2017 0:40:09 GMT -5
Are we sure of the shooter's motives? Everyone seems to assume it was politically motivated and, well, seems fair enough, but for all we know, it could just be a random nutjob who just happened to pick this location for his shooting. I'm not delving into it per FAN rules but he asked for their political affiliation directly before. Also: His Facebook. |
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El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,927
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Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Jun 15, 2017 0:40:23 GMT -5
Are we sure of the shooter's motives? Everyone seems to assume it was politically motivated and, well, seems fair enough, but for all we know, it could just be a random nutjob who just happened to pick this location for his shooting. I heard on the news earlier today that the shooter asked someone in the area if the people playing baseball were of one party or another, and when he was told what party they were part of, the shooter started shooting. Unless that part of the story has been proven false in the last few hours, it seems like the shooter was motivated by something political. |
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Post by YAKMAN is ICHIBAN on Jun 15, 2017 8:15:11 GMT -5
Are we sure of the shooter's motives? Everyone seems to assume it was politically motivated and, well, seems fair enough, but for all we know, it could just be a random nutjob who just happened to pick this location for his shooting. There is clearly a strong political element to it, but if there was some specific trigger besides political animus I don't think it is known yet. His letters to the editor that were published were almost entirely innocuous and about tax policy. The most troubling thing I've heard was he belonged to a Facebook group called "Terminate the Republican Party" but so are 14K others and the content of that group is non-violent based on a quick look. The reports said he'd been living in his car in Alexandria since March. It seems extraordinarily unlikely that he drove there randomly from Illinois. He apparently owned a home inspection business but didn't renew his license last year. Could be that he lost his business and that sent him off down this path. He has some history of run ins with the law, but no charges and nothing yet to suggest that something like this was foreseeable by anyone who knew him. This is all still really fresh though so I'm sure something will come out. |
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Post by YAKMAN is ICHIBAN on Jun 15, 2017 8:15:57 GMT -5
Are we sure of the shooter's motives? Everyone seems to assume it was politically motivated and, well, seems fair enough, but for all we know, it could just be a random nutjob who just happened to pick this location for his shooting. I heard on the news earlier today that the shooter asked someone in the area if the people playing baseball were of one party or another, and when he was told what party they were part of, the shooter started shooting. Unless that part of the story has been proven false in the last few hours, it seems like the shooter was motivated by something political. One of the other congressman present didn't think that was the shooter, noting that that person had on running clothes and the shooter was wearing jeans, so I think the jury is still out on that specific detail. |
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mattperiolat
King Koopa
Thank you, Brodie... for everything.
Posts: 11,447
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Post by mattperiolat on Jun 15, 2017 8:32:14 GMT -5
Let's keep it simple here: a mentally ill individual, regardless of political bend, had a weapon and took aim at members of Congress. If not for a member of Congressional leadership who was required to have Capitol Police with him, how many injured or dead would there now be? Politics is not the issue here, that someone with a history of mental issues and violence got the weapon to begin with and was in a position to do harm should be.
This is the THIRD time someone mentally ill has done this. More recently in Tucson when Gabby Giffords was shot, six others wounded or killed. Before that, in 1997, two Capitol Police killed when a gunman got access to the US Capitol building. And those are the famous and incidents where people died. This, again, is not about politics. It is also not isolated incidents. It is a pattern and it needs to be broken.
But it won't. We will be sad, prayers will be offered. The dead will be buried. The shooter will be condemned. But nothing will change. And the cycle will repeat.
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El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,927
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Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Jun 15, 2017 9:39:25 GMT -5
I heard on the news earlier today that the shooter asked someone in the area if the people playing baseball were of one party or another, and when he was told what party they were part of, the shooter started shooting. Unless that part of the story has been proven false in the last few hours, it seems like the shooter was motivated by something political. One of the other congressman present didn't think that was the shooter, noting that that person had on running clothes and the shooter was wearing jeans, so I think the jury is still out on that specific detail. OK, thank you, I had not heard that information yet. |
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