Originally Posted by
smallgamer
I hate to jump on JoePa, because for various reasons I enjoy most of his posts. But somewhere in the avalanche of information coming forth since the atrocity I heard (read?) that the shooter engaged a total of fourteen police officers in three gunfights prior to being killed. Fourteen officers. Three gun fights. That doesn't reflect well on the theory of an armed civilian being able to stop the massacre, unless that civilian happened to be standing right next to the shooter when the carnage began.
On another note, here's something a friend of mine posted on Facebook Sunday. He happens to be a member of the OOD community, but hasn't been active in a while. It is one of the better pieces of commentary, professional or amateur, that I have read since the atrocity. I am sharing it because I hope some will read it and take it to heart. I have over the last two or three years, and particularily in the last year, found my position on many contentious issues softening as I look for the grain of truth in the positions of those I have disagreed with. Thus I found myself nodding in agreement with what he has written, in fact I agree with every word.
He wrote:
Well, yet another tragedy has unfolded and the Internet is already on fire, fingers pointing, while countless voices spout an array of hatred which to no surprise, was the very cause of this disaster. Some are shouting about religion, others about firearms, and their opposers feverishly struggle to whip up their rebuttals in an endless circle rather than linear progress toward agreeable policies befitting the multitude of cultures within our society. Inevitably, discussion turns into arguments, and arguments breakdown further into the same level of extremism preached by those who are claiming responsibility for this event. It's okay to be gay. It's okay to be Muslim. It's okay to be straight. It's okay to be atheist, Christian, a firearms owner, an anti firearm advocate. It's okay to believe the sky is purple and mankind is the product of an unimaginably advanced alien species who visited earth a million years ago--I may think it makes you crazy, but it's okay to believe what you want. Your right to believe is of no more value than anothers right to disagree. Your right to disagree does not supersede anothers right to believe. It's okay to be different, and ultimately it's what makes life together so interesting and amazing. But your right to be different ends when your beliefs become forced upon another human being. Forcing another individual to adhere to your perspective is exactly what happened here, and was accomplished in the gravest and most severe manners. So, you want to make a difference? Instead of criticizing the infinite walks of life among mankind, how about you show a little bit of courtesy? Stop complaining about religion. Stop complaining about firearms. Stop complaining about gay people. Stop complaining about gun free zones. Stop the rhetoric on all sides, and cease your efforts to force another human being to adhere to your views. After all, that's exactly what led to this latest mass shooting.