Nobody is ever willing to de-escalate a situation, are they?
Couldn't buddy have just said "Oh sorry, I was just texting my daughter and will put my phone away now." Situation over. Instead he obviously puts up a fit and ends up getting shot..
Nobody is ever willing to de-escalate a situation, are they?
Couldn't buddy have just said "Oh sorry, I was just texting my daughter and will put my phone away now." Situation over. Instead he obviously puts up a fit and ends up getting shot.
Yeah, dumb, and the guy should go to jail, but what a dumb situation.
Its an uncontrollable situation in that you have a guy with a gun that is either an over aggressive hopped up moron, or a person with serious mental challenges. And if you look at the whole thing, he came back to the popcorn thrower looking for a fight and he was carrying a gun.
I doubt the stand your ground is going to stand up, especially since it sounds like the ex-cop was looking for trouble, and it was freaking popcorn.
His defense team should be looking at some kind of mental incapacity defense. Frankly though this would be the gun lobbies worst nightmare if he's found mentally incapacitated and he has legal ownership of a handgun. It would hopefully create a wave of challenges towards how guns can be purchased.
I wonder if Obama is going to make a speech that the victim could be his brother or son or whatever. If he's serious about gun control reform he's got to jump on all of these and not just pick and choose.
The wife of the dead guy who threw the popcorn should've shot the guy, and then his wife shoots that lady, so only 1 of them was left standing. that seems more reasonable.
Well he certainly didn't do anything to avoid a confrontation, from the sounds of it. Just got unlucky that the guy he picked a fight with clearly had anger issues and was carrying a gun.
Again, the shooting is completely ridiculous and the guy should go to jail for murder.
But what would the headline read if he DIDN'T have a gun? "Guy asked to stop texting at movie punches elderly man in face." And we'd all laugh and call him a ridiculous person who should've just stopped texting when he was asked.
Well he certainly didn't do anything to avoid a confrontation, from the sounds of it. Just got unlucky that the guy he picked a fight with clearly had anger issues and was carrying a gun.
I was actually sort of with you on the "the fact that the shooter is completely and utterly insane sort of obscures the fact that the victim sounds like he was being kind of a dick". But come on, he didn't die because he was "unlucky". Getting in an argument with someone over texting in a theatre is not Russian roulette. You should be able to be an ####### without being killed, obviously.
I do agree with you that if instead of shooting him, the old dude turned out to be some master of martial arts and instead knocked him unconscious, that we'd likely be taking his side instead of the texter's. But your point is sort of tangential, it's not really the issue at hand.
Haha...when I heard about this, my first thought was jeez how pointless and tragic.
Second thought was, wow, I'll bet CP is having a field day.
Considering where I live, I don't think it's irrational for me to be afraid of the neighbor who threatened to ruin my life!!! Funny how the other neighbors don't understand it. Look around ;(
Well he certainly didn't do anything to avoid a confrontation, from the sounds of it. Just got unlucky that the guy he picked a fight with clearly had anger issues and was carrying a gun.
Again, the shooting is completely ridiculous and the guy should go to jail for murder.
But what would the headline read if he DIDN'T have a gun? "Guy asked to stop texting at movie punches elderly man in face." And we'd all laugh and call him a ridiculous person who should've just stopped texting when he was asked.
I think you just made the case for gun control.
__________________
The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to corporatejay For This Useful Post:
This violent overreaction of a seemingly mundane event reminds me of that "Have you been to the Stampede?" guy, who was also an American police officer.
In Canada, he'd probably be found not criminally responsible for his actions...
Why would you say that?
__________________
"The problem with any ideology is that it gives the answer before you look at the evidence."
—Bill Clinton
"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance--it is the illusion of knowledge."
—Daniel J. Boorstin, historian, former Librarian of Congress
"But the Senator, while insisting he was not intoxicated, could not explain his nudity"
—WKRP in Cincinatti
In Canada, he'd probably be found not criminally responsible for his actions...
Nah... in Canada they'd plead it down to manslaughter, he'd be sentenced to 4 years and would be out on day parole in 10 months, full parole in 16 months.
