Mass shooting(s) after Orlando (amended title)

[davidbfpo]

An American academic writes, with pie charts etc:https://theconversation.com/six-things-americans-should-know-about-mass-shootings-48934?

[AdamG]

An American academic writes, with pie charts etc:

I couldn't get past Bullet Point #1 without the bull#### flag being thrown.

1) Some of the sources he cites for 'mass shootings in America' happen to include drug business slaughterfests, and the conjurists of these statistics consider anyone under 25 to be "children". But hey, don't look behind that curtain - it contradicts what you're supposed to conclude.

2) He fails to point out that, by Florida law, Concealed License carriers are not allowed to take their weapons into areas where alcohol is the primary attraction. Therefore, all those potential elements of defense had to be left home.

3) He also fails to point out that the murderer was already vetted to be a Security Guard - this is always an element of 'sensible gun legislation' (that only certain types of 'approved' people should be allowed to bear weapons).

Ooops.

[slapout9]

Link to latest about suspects wife.


http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/gun...cid=spartandhp

[davidbfpo]

Peter Bergen has an op-ed in the NYT which starts with:

AFTER a terrorist attack like the one in Florida on Sunday, one of the first questions people always ask is: Why? Why would someone take the lives of innocent civilians who are total strangers? That is a question to which I have long sought an answer. But my search has led me instead to another question: Is an answer even possible?

He ends with:

No doubt we will learn more in coming days. But it’s unlikely that anything will ever really explain why he did what he did. Perhaps that says something about the nature of evil, — that it is ultimately not fully explicable. Even the perpetrators themselves can never really articulate “Why?” in any meaningful way.

Link:http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/15/opinion/why-do-terrorists-commit-terrorism.html?

After recent reporting, notably that the murderer had been inside the venue many times before and the incoherent views expressed I am less inclined to think this attack was really Jihadist.

[AmericanPride]

Peter Bergen has an op-ed in the NYT which starts with:

He ends with:
Link:http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/15/opinion/why-do-terrorists-commit-terrorism.html?

After recent reporting, notably that the murderer had been inside the venue many times before and the incoherent views expressed I am less inclined to think this attack was really Jihadist.

David,

I'm of the opinion that a substantial number (or even majority) of "jihadists", at least in the "lone wolf" context, use the ideology as form of escapism and empowerment from some other internal torment. When people are alienated from the mainstream, they frequently adopt beliefs and behaviors to rationalize their condition - and sometimes a violent response to it.

[davidbfpo]

David,

I'm of the opinion that a substantial number (or even majority) of "jihadists", at least in the "lone wolf" context, use the ideology as form of escapism and empowerment from some other internal torment. When people are alienated from the mainstream, they frequently adopt beliefs and behaviors to rationalize their condition - and sometimes a violent response to it.

I do wonder if the US security sector, both government and others, would prefer that such an attacker be a "lone wolf" with announced jihadist views. Responding to the wider societal issues of 'beliefs and behaviors' is even more problematic; note a previous post elsewhere on the proportion of the US population who were prepared to use violence for political ends.

[slapout9]

IMO there is more to the father then is being presented.

[AmericanPride]

I do wonder if the US security sector, both government and others, would prefer that such an attacker be a "lone wolf" with announced jihadist views. Responding to the wider societal issues of 'beliefs and behaviors' is even more problematic; note a previous post elsewhere on the proportion of the US population who were prepared to use violence for political ends.

When compared to counter-terrorism, mental health is not exactly a pressing political issue in the US. In Orlando, I definitely think the ISIS connection was "opportunistic" and it is much easier for security types to respond to a security problem than a social problem.