Another day, another two horrific shootings in America

Kierkegaard

5-Year Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2017
Messages
963
It’s a sad weekend for the United States. We offer the victims and their loved ones our condolences, but we know that won’t be enough. It’s beyond embarrassing that our great country continues to allow these tragedies to occur without doing anything to prevent them. Unfortunately we’re also shown the real-world disastrous effects of divisive and hateful political rhetoric.
 
Evil is a tough problem to solve. What causes people to think that murdering a bunch of strangers is the right answer to whatever problems they have is something I have yet to understand.

I think we could help by building a more loving, connected, and caring society, which is no easy task.
 
@LurkingQuietly - I live in the Chicago suburbs and this type of shooting is so commonplace it barely makes the news. Drive by shootings, gun fights, turf fights by rival gangs, and drug based shootings take place every weekend and most summer nights. Perhaps this particular event didn't make the national news because it involved a gun fight with both sides firing at each other.
 
There was actually a third one this weekend.....but for some reason, it wasn't headline national news. Not sure why.

https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2019/08/04/7-wounded-in-douglas-park-shooting/
For two reasons: One, because Chicago is a cesspool of crime and everyone already knows it. And two, because reporting gun violence in a city that already has the strictest gun control laws in the country does nothing to further the socialist agenda of confiscating guns from law abiding citizens.
 
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How about we leave the political pettiness out of this thread?

I completely agree, without reservation. But it appears to me that it started with the original post, didn't it?

...It’s beyond embarrassing that our great country continues to allow these tragedies to occur without doing anything to prevent them. Unfortunately we’re also shown the real-world disastrous effects of divisive and hateful political rhetoric...
 
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How about we leave the political pettiness out of this thread?

I completely agree, without reservation. But it appears to me that it started with the original post, didn't it?

...It’s beyond embarrassing that our great country continues to allow these tragedies to occur without doing anything to prevent them. Unfortunately we’re also shown the real-world disastrous effects of divisive and hateful political rhetoric...

Of course it did. Why one would venture into these particular forums to post something completely unrelated to the service academies or our military is a head scratcher. I think the young folks call it trolling.
 
I completely agree, without reservation. But it appears to me that it started with the original post, didn't it?

Thank you, I appreciate the sentiment.

Perhaps that was the intent of OP-- perhaps not. Regardless, even if the goal of the OP was to virtue signal and push a political position (I am not sure it was), there is no value in taking the bait and turning this into another political argument. This is a forum purportedly created to assist future military leaders and officers; encouraging and building, rather than attacking and demeaning each other.

Weaselly attempts to score political points at the expense of national tragedies should be ignored, just like any other crass or craven commentary. No value comes out of demeaning military service by stooping to engage in the mud-slinging.

On a separate note, I'm sure PFC Oakley has an email address listed in the GAL. Perhaps those of us with military email access could instead focus on sending him an appreciative email for his selfless actions. Given the apparent rank and tenure of some of those on this forum, I have no doubt it would be well-received.
 
Wasn’t trying to incite any flame wars, in fact partisan politics wasn’t on my mind at all. I posted this not as some specific ideologist, just as an American. As to why a thread would be made about this on a military forum? Well, I did post in the “Off Topic” section for a reason. Anyway, the desire to protect our fellow countrymen is at the heart of what drives any of us to serve, or at least it should be. I don’t see why the biggest national news story of the past month, another case of dozens of innocent Americans being slaughtered, would be be off limits. But yeah point taken, I understand the sensitivity of the political side of the gun issue.
 
I should leave this alone but can’t control myself. I believe the OP’s comment, “...disastrous effects of divisive and hateful political rhetoric” was the or at least one political segment of the original post. The motive of the El Paso shooter appears to be race motivated but caused by political rhetoric may be a stretch.

The Dayton shooter according to several sources was a self-proclaimed pro-satan “leftist” who despised the president and was a supporter of a leading Democratic presidential candidate who I will not name. Far be it of me to post controversial comments. I’ll not post a link either but your favorite search engine will reveal lots of intel on him.
 
There are plenty of other places to post these things...

If you want to know how to put yourself into the best position to get an appointment or an ROTC scholarship...this is the place...

Leave the other crap for elsewhere...
 
The Off-topic rules are intended for board members to chat and have a good time. Anything goes provided you remain within the General Posting Rules.

For those of us who have built friendships and associations on SAF, the off-topic forum can be a good place to relax and socialize (for example, @fencersmother recently posted about her bounty of grandchildren). In other cases there are posts that appear here that don't quite fit anywhere else regarding commissioning programs. That's okay too.

@Soldiergriz is correct in that SAF's primary mission is to educate and assist officer candidates and their families. However, as @Jcleppe says, a little off-topic but friendly socializing can also make it fun and enjoyable.

The bottom line is that we want off-topic to help build community not tear it down. The moderators will come down hard on those who use it to make trouble or abuse other members.
 
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I’m watching the evening news coverage on yesterday’s two shootings, and the tears just keep leaking out - for the families, for our society, in frustration that we can’t seem to solve this or figure out why it seems to be happening regularly. Sure, there is plenty of speculation. Gun laws, lack of gun laws, the desire to be in the news, violent video games, political climate and who said what, endless theorization. The only good thing about it is it makes my own troubles and worries pale in comparison.
 
It’s a general moral decay....in so many different ways. And entitlement. Break down in communities. Overall general change in our society. Not everyone, but it’s there. And there isn’t one single answer. It’s Just. Plain. Sad.
 
It's awful and it happens regularly all over the world. We just hear more about the mass killings that happen here in the US, so it seems like an American problem, when it is anything but that.

I am encouraged to hear of the stories of courage coming out of the killings in the past few years, though. It seems more folks are stepping forward to end these attacks or protect their fellow citizens.
 
My students asked about this in class today: "Colonel...what do you think?"

Okay...teachers aren't supposed to "take sides, etc...etc..." so I simply said: "I don't know. I'm very curious to know why was it that when I was in high school, we could bring a rifle in the back of our truck, to school...and nobody cared. We'd compare rifles, especially during hunting season, with each other and teachers...and nobody cared...and nobody was ever shot. If you can figure out what's changed since then, you will be on the way to determining a solution."

That quieted the class...and then they actually started researching "events, changes, etc.," from 1974 to now...should be interesting tomorrow to see what they think.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
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