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defrogYou know what happened in Aurora, CO. And as both a blogger and someone who reads comics (as well as an American citizen), I’m expected to post my opinion about it.
Unfortunately I don’t really have anything to say about it.
Or rather, I don’t have anything to say I haven’t already said every other time a mass shooting happens in the US.
Really. Every time this kind of thing happens, the exact same issues get raised, and the same arguments play themselves out. When even The Onion is pointing this out, you know there’s no point in wading in (though to be fair, The Onion article did fail to include the inevitable lawsuits.)
But I have a blog to run here, so here’s a couple of things worth highlighting:
1. I couldn’t help noticing that as the story first broke, one of the first things people were asking was, “Is this a terrorist attack?” Which strikes me as a fantastic illustration of how 9/11 has changed the way people view this sort of thing. Before 9/11, whenever we heard about a shooting spree like this, the default assumption was that it was a disgruntled postal worker, jilted lover or disaffected teenagers. Now everyone assumes it’s terrorism by default, even though no terrorist plot I’m aware of has ever involved a shooting spree (outside of a Chuck Norris movie, I mean).
NOTE: For those of you tempted to point me to the case of Major Nidal Hassan and the Fort Hood shooting, I’m not particularly convinced that counts as a terrorist act, primarily because his target was a military base. Maybe that’s splitting hairs, but let’s admit right now that the only reason most people classify it as a terrorist act is because of Hassan’s name and religion, not what he actually did. Anything else I have to say about it has already been said here.
2. Speaking of fear, there’s also this [via HuffPo]:
The Joker would approve. He’d also see the humor in it.
To say nothing of the conspiracy theory that Holmes was paid by the Obama admin to shoot up a theatre to justify a national gun ban.
You laugh, of course. But then how do you explain that Lil Wayne video?
You’ve got to be crazy,
This is dF
Unfortunately I don’t really have anything to say about it.
Or rather, I don’t have anything to say I haven’t already said every other time a mass shooting happens in the US.
Really. Every time this kind of thing happens, the exact same issues get raised, and the same arguments play themselves out. When even The Onion is pointing this out, you know there’s no point in wading in (though to be fair, The Onion article did fail to include the inevitable lawsuits.)
But I have a blog to run here, so here’s a couple of things worth highlighting:
1. I couldn’t help noticing that as the story first broke, one of the first things people were asking was, “Is this a terrorist attack?” Which strikes me as a fantastic illustration of how 9/11 has changed the way people view this sort of thing. Before 9/11, whenever we heard about a shooting spree like this, the default assumption was that it was a disgruntled postal worker, jilted lover or disaffected teenagers. Now everyone assumes it’s terrorism by default, even though no terrorist plot I’m aware of has ever involved a shooting spree (outside of a Chuck Norris movie, I mean).
NOTE: For those of you tempted to point me to the case of Major Nidal Hassan and the Fort Hood shooting, I’m not particularly convinced that counts as a terrorist act, primarily because his target was a military base. Maybe that’s splitting hairs, but let’s admit right now that the only reason most people classify it as a terrorist act is because of Hassan’s name and religion, not what he actually did. Anything else I have to say about it has already been said here.
2. Speaking of fear, there’s also this [via HuffPo]:
The rise in gun sales reflects but one of the anxieties created by the shootings. Since the massacre, there have been reports of chaos at movie theaters, apparently sparked by misunderstandings or careless words.
A confrontation with an intoxicated man in an Arizona theater caused about 50 people to flee, authorities said. A southern California man was arrested after authorities say he made allusions to the Aurora massacre after the movie didn't start on time. In New Jersey, a showing of "Batman" was canceled after someone stood up during the movie, opened an emergency exit and then returned to their seat.
About 90 minutes into a Monday night showing of "Batman" in Santa Monica, Calif., a commotion caused some girls to shriek and two dozen people to sprint for the exit, jumping over seats and pushing each other out of the way. It turned out that a large man with a backpack was actually not a threat and was simply having a medical problem.
"This was nothing, and yet it startled us and rattled us so much," said moviegoer Paria Sadighi.
A confrontation with an intoxicated man in an Arizona theater caused about 50 people to flee, authorities said. A southern California man was arrested after authorities say he made allusions to the Aurora massacre after the movie didn't start on time. In New Jersey, a showing of "Batman" was canceled after someone stood up during the movie, opened an emergency exit and then returned to their seat.
About 90 minutes into a Monday night showing of "Batman" in Santa Monica, Calif., a commotion caused some girls to shriek and two dozen people to sprint for the exit, jumping over seats and pushing each other out of the way. It turned out that a large man with a backpack was actually not a threat and was simply having a medical problem.
"This was nothing, and yet it startled us and rattled us so much," said moviegoer Paria Sadighi.
The Joker would approve. He’d also see the humor in it.
To say nothing of the conspiracy theory that Holmes was paid by the Obama admin to shoot up a theatre to justify a national gun ban.
You laugh, of course. But then how do you explain that Lil Wayne video?
You’ve got to be crazy,
This is dF
