by Snowgun on Wed Dec 12, 2012 8:34 pm
Back to the OP:
I believe the moral of the story here is, similar to Colorado and other recent news stories, that human beings can be dangerous, at any time, anywhere. They can be of any race, they don't always telegraph "signs" noticeably before hand, they can have educations ranging from sub highschool to PhD candidates, they can be raised badly or well.
They can happen to be gun owners. If they are not, they can acquire guns despite any "Laws", especially if they put their mind to it. Obviously criminals do this on a regular basis. A gun doesn't even need to be a requirement to do mayhem, as a mind toward destruction can find a way to make practically anything lethal. Those advocating for absolute no guns anywhere as a solution I fear will soon find a more horrible alternative: the suicide bomber. I know that sounds a little hyperbolic, but in some twisted benefit, I believe that guns being the primary method of insane outbursts here in the US actually save lives.
So what can we as a society do? The multifactorial characteristic of the active shooter or opportunistic gunman leads to two solutions: total societal lock-down, or the advocation of self defense incorporated with the return of community safety stewardship. The lone sheepdog vigilante is not enough (despite how many fantasize about it). Just as there are community organizers for other causes, community defense and it's methodologies should be nurtured despite the participants' politics or ideologies.
When the majority of people can be aware of their surroundings, and can correctly identify and respond to a communal threat, more and more of these incidents will be averted.
When this happens, the tone in the media and popular attitude about such things will change from !shock! horror! to detached contempt and dismissal of these losers, which will stem the flow of this activity as an outlet for attention.
Victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay its price. - Sun Tzu
The Way is in training... Do nothing which is not of value. - Miyamato Musashi
One who knows the Self puts death to death. - Upanishads