(no subject)

[kebechet]

So, I keep seeing people go on and on about how if other people in the theatre had been packing, the tragedy in Colorado could be averted.

People of the Someone Should Have Shot Back mindset, are you saying that in a darkened theatre filled with smoke and an unidentifiable gas, hundreds of screaming, scrambling, panicking people, and gunfire, under the duress of unimaginable terror, adrenaline, and fight or flight, you would have had the presence of mind to pull out a gun, release the safety, take aim, and headshot a kevlar-armored moving target without injuring or (heaven forbid) killing a fair number of bystanders in the process? Are you confident that other law-abiding gun-toters in the theatre would be possessed of this same mystical composure?

It's good to know that there are so many SWAT and Navy Seal-trained laymen out there ready to protect us at the drop of a hat.

What happened at the Batman premiere is horrible beyond comprehension. My heart goes out to everyone that is suffering because of that madman.

Comments

[baranduyn.livejournal.com]

They always say that. They said this after the awful shooting in Tucson. However, Arizona has amongst the laxest gun laws in the world. Three people WERE packing. One pulled his gun only to realize he'd nearly shot a rescue worker and the other two never thought to go for their guns. Most likely, as the scene was chaotic, there would have been more wounds and maybe more death among the victims.

It's the wrong answer, always has been. People say these things in order to assure themselves such an awful horror could never have happened to them. And it's always false comfort, complete bullshit.