Domestic and International 'Nutter Runs Amok' Thread

Its interesting how the international reaction to these tragedies has moved on from empathy to just people taking the piss out of america

There’s sympathy for the people involved and their families, but even that has been co-opted by the gun lobby; as Desiree Burch joked, “Thoughts and prayers is the only growth industry in America”.

It gets to the point where the gun/freedoms lobby twist and contort themselves to such ridiculous levels in order to avoid addressing the giant gun toting elephant in the room, that making them a laughing stock is the best thing you can do for the victims.

Aren't they all?

I thought they were mostly white men, which they are but not out of proportion to the demographics of US men, it turns out.

I realise that, it's well known. I just had a different point.

Talking to Americans about guns is a sure fire way to feel like an outsider who didn’t grow up in this culture. I say that as someone born in this country who has been living back here for the last 15 years.

The causal nature with which people will talk about weapons, about hunting and calibers and so on and such forth. How folks who believe the current mess is fucking insane still feel that owning a gun is natural. Folks talk about them in a manner similar to his folks back home talk about ; well, actually, invader think of a comparison. There’s a disconnect between viewing an object designed to end life as being akin to a power drill or your kettle. There, they talk about them like they were kettles. Sorta

Whenever I see reports about shootings on US TV I'm always confused by the obsession with minor detail. "The shooter used a .22 caliber with a 9 inch barrel and extended magazine". When a terrorist drives a van into a crowd do they tell you the size and fuel of the engine like it has any kind of relevance? "The suspect used a red 1993 Transit with a naturally aspirated 2 litre petrol engine"

To be fair, the caliber of the weapon makes a big difference to the kind of injuries sustained by the victims

There’s an increasing push to detail the damage inflicted on mass shooting victims of AR-15s. I agree with the idea that autopsy photos should be shown of kids missing faces thus requiring DNA to identify.

Americans are both very gung ho and oddly squeamish.

Scott Adams of Dilbert fame has a particularly hot take on “troubled youths”, ostensibly about the July 4th shooter, but also adding in drug addicts and mental health issues.

His solution is that you need to kill them all. Either they kill someone, or you kill them. That’s it. 100% binary, no other options, no alternatives. Even from his usual right wing nonsense that’s a doozy.

A gang of old white men make the determination based on what they see on their internet tubes.

Oh well that’s okay then

Or it's like if you have an old heater that's becoming a fire hazard and you have to get rid of it.

Why not combine the two and set fire to an old dog

Awful. Sounds like it was fatal.