Connecticut Shooting!

[studemax]

Tomorrow, tomorrow mornning, are we afraid to live our lives? If we are, "THEY win." That's the definition of terrorism.

P, I gotta call you on this.
This act was NOT terrorism.
And anyone who mistakes it for that needs to get their minds right.

If you wanna talk terrorism, let's talk about the insensitive, unfeeling, bastards claiming to be reporters who stuck microphones in the faces of over a dozen children to tell us all about the big scary man with the gun.

Welcome to the new era of yellow journalism in America.

[Deaf Bob]

P, I gotta call you on this.
This act was NOT terrorism.
And anyone who mistakes it for that needs help.

If you wanna talk terrorism, let's talk about the insensitive, unfeeling, bastards claiming to be reporters who stuck microphones in the faces of over a dozen children to tell us all about the big scary man with the gun.

Welcome to the new era of yellow journalism in America.

Well hell! No wonder.... I was wondering a bit... Newsfolks are a strange breed.. True, nice to get news.. But shoving the mic at little kids ..uncool! ... Closed captioning goes away when it is reporters in the field, on the spot... Studios use prompters, thus they have an idea what is said, adlibbing generally does not get closed captioned..

Stude.. You make me think!

[Cyclone03]

Yes cold of a reporter to record the feelings of a child.

but listening to those children I was caught with amazement at how well they put their feelings,and fears ,into words. Plain words we can all understand. I hope not one of them has to be ever again brave as they were all forced to be today.

[BBR]

The world is chock full of people who do evil by choice or by delusion. I hurt for the families that lost loved ones both young and old and wish they would have never had to walk this path laid before them. Unfortunately, those bent on doing evil deeds will find a means to succeed be it with knives, firearms, aircraft or trucks loaded with fertilizer. There is no way to be 100% secure from all the possible threats we could possibly encounter because the face of evil is a deceptive one and it is constantly evolving. While I consider myself a devoted Dad, this tragedy shines a spotlight of unbelievable brightness on the aspects of my life as a parent that I could do so much better. It's saddening to think it took something like this for me to notice. Take nothing for granted, for it can be gone in an instant.

[Brian Lohnes]

My two guys are 4 and 6. Watching the news this afternoon, I was enraged like everyone else. I then saw some footage of the kids being interviewed and couldn't help but shed some tears. You just put your kids there, in that room and it is this unfathomable mix of anger, terror, and powerlessness. I am lucky in the fact that I can catch Tom getting off of the bus most afternoons. Both Kerri and I were there to get him today just because seeing him was so important.

I read that for decades, the US has averaged about 20 mass shootings a year. It didn't start yesterday, it won't stop tomorrow, but there has got to be something we can do to work that number down.

Just can't stop thinking about those little kids in that room.

[Barry Donovan]

Yes cold of a reporter to record the feelings of a child.

but listening to those children I was caught with amazement at how well they put their feelings,and fears ,into words. Plain words we can all understand. I hope not one of them has to be ever again brave as they were all forced to be today.

southern new england.
could be among the smartest kids in the world.

the last of imagination was a story about a falling star..
just saw the brightest one I have ever seen.
I made a wish.

[OldMachinist]

Not trying to be political but if gun control laws work why isn't Switzerland awash in these tragic events? Every man has a military assault weapon in his posession. I think its the culture of each country and our culture has been losing its morality since Roe vs. Wade. I graduated from high school in 1970 and we took our guns to school in our cars so we could go hunting after school dismissed. There was never even a hint of a problem resulting from this. We as a country are definately in moral decline.
We also are the only country constitionally guaranteed a right to possess firearms because our forefathers knew that was the only way to keep government in check. Unfortunately that hasn't worked out as well as the framers intended.
I can't imagine the pain of the murdered peoples families and friends and my heart certainally goes out to them but as mentioned earlier nothing is said in the media about deaths from starvation genocide or any of the other horrendous things happening in the world today. The media only likes to report and sensationalize the things that further their own agendas.
I hope my thoughts don't get me banned or this thread locked. I don't think I am being political or religious as I am not espousing any particular political view or advocating any religious viewpoint. If the administrators see this differently please correct me and enlighten me as to my error.

[pdub]

P, I gotta call you on this.
This act was NOT terrorism.
And anyone who mistakes it for that needs to get their minds right.

If you wanna talk terrorism, let's talk about the insensitive, unfeeling, bastards claiming to be reporters who stuck microphones in the faces of over a dozen children to tell us all about the big scary man with the gun.

Welcome to the new era of yellow journalism in America.

Stude, terrorism by itself is a word with lots of meanings. It was stamped with a general meaning on 9/11, generally accepted to be an organized ploy to disrupt things and cause damage to a culture or systems the "terrorists" adamantly disbelieve in.

Yes, I mis-used the word "terrorism" in the general sense. No, this case is not that, as the public has been conditioned to understand as far as the word in concerned.

I used the word as maybe only I understand it. In my mind, a tornado is nature's form of terrorism. That is, in numbers, hardly anybody gets it, but those that do get it get it so bad that it terrifies everybody else by the concept that they COULD have gotten it. That's really what terrorism is, by definition.

[Jimbo17]

I am also in shock and grief for the families of all those innocent kids and all the others who lost their lives.

Newtown is really a beautiful place to live and I have many friends who have lived there for years.

This would have been one of the very last places I would ever have thought would have seen such a tragedy.

The hard question for all of us is why did this happen and is there anyway to prevent such a thing from happening again.

My heart goes out to everyone who is suffering. Jimbo

[pdub]

My heart goes out to everyone who is suffering. Jimbo

Who with a heart could not? I picked up on the story on the home page as it was developing, as usual conflicting stories, etc.

Turned on the news on TV late in the afternoon to see what's the latest and I immediately turned it back off. Yeah, it's happening alright, streaming news about it. Like 9/11. We are a free society and get instant information, but when does the press itself become the show?

I've gotta go with Stude's assessment about yellow journalism. Yes, there it is. Again.

EDIT: Butcha know what? The folks in the field have to be young and hungry. Not making money and itching for a story, the BIG story. Old folks can't run with video equipment after all. I'll betcha they don't teach you in journalism school that it's not cool to stick a camera and a microphone on a 5-year-old after the kid just witnessed a murder. I'll bet they don't teach that. But the adults at the studio took it an ran with it. They are to blame for it. The executive decisions.

[38P]

So sad, but so true.

No cure for a mentally ill person who kills children( or anybody) We have become immune to violence. Video games, movies,music all have a higher content of killing. What was the body count in the last action movie u saw? I feel for the family's who lost a child today. Nothing will ever be normal again. I'm sitting here listing to the talking heads on tv. The problem is deeper than making laws. It is not guns or gun laws. They do not get it. It's the decline of western civilization.....

Well said, Paul!

[38P]

For the parents I have only one thing to give,no words from anybody will give any relief for thier sudden pain. I offer the only thing I have, an out stretched hand to hold,and arms for a hug,and an offer of a shoulder,a wide shoulder ,to rest there heads on if they want it.

The true pain I feel for them is they will never again be "ok".

Removing every gun in the US will not make them ok and only makes those of us who choose to own and hopefuly never have to defend ourselfs with them any safer.

Those who make thier lifes in politics will spin up the "spin" on this,I just hope it doesnt lead to a knee jerk new law that just blankets an existing law we have now.

Well said. Although I haven't lost a child to murder (that I could prove), I do have some experience with the loss of a child (ours died while in the Army). It's certainly true that the parents' lives are never the same. But without going into religion or politics, I can say there are "tender mercies" that make it possible to go on.

As I write this, I can see a photo that I took of our son holding our grandson as an infant. Also in the photo is my wife's father. I took the "generations" photo on the last day we were all together ... the last day I saw our son alive.

The death of our son lead to a series of tragic circumstances where our grandson came to live with us full time. Every day he is a profound blessing. For nearly a decade, he has been a source of joy and amazement, even in circumstances that could easily cause us to focus on the most negative of emotions.

While there can never be a replacement for any lost loved one -- especially one from one's next generations, I am constantly amazed at how things often "work together for good" to help survivors find meaning and purpose for going on.

[BangShift McT]

1. What happened yesterday is proof that nothing should shock me anymore. That's a whole community that now has to come to grips with how the world is- dark.

2. Anyone...ANYONE who is using yesterday's events as a political or moral standing infuriates me, and should infuriate you too.

[studemax]

Yes, I mis-used the word "terrorism" in the general sense.

Just so we know: Terrorism is the systemic use of terror to achieve a goal.
The key word is systemic - which does not apply in this case.
Further to that - there is no known goal in this matter.

[DanStokes]

All I can say is that my heart breaks for the parents and loved ones of all the victims living and dead. I have Grands the age of the child victims and kids the age of the brave adult victims. It hits home.

No clue what the solution could be. There's no accounting for crazy. My only thought is that these murderers are after SOMETHING - notoriety perhaps - and we have to find a way to deny them their "reward" to make this stop. Maybe the very news coverage that makes us aware feeds the next crazy person?

I sure don't know but we have to remove the possibility of the reward.

Dan