[paraclete]

Well it had to happen sooner or later. The Batman saga has been very dark and we could expect that the worst would become evident sooner or later, this wasn't a copy cat but nevertehless pehaps we can have a ban on these dark comic characters inspiring violence
14 killed in mass shooting at Batman screening

[tomder55]

well it had to happen sooner or later. the Batman saga has been very dark and we could expect that the worst would become evident sooner or later, this wasn't a copy cat but nevertehless pehaps we can have a ban on these dark comic characters inspiring violence
14 killed in mass shooting at Batman screening

Too soon to comment... the blood is still warm. All I know is that when the Columbine killings happened people started to point fingers at Marilyn Manson music ;which was absolutely absurd. I don't think his career ever rebounded.

[tomder55]

By the way ;Batman has always been a dark psycologically disturbed basket case . The Nolan depiction of dystopian Gotham has been the one that best captures the character and the villians he's battled . Heath Ledger's portrayal of Joker in particular was outstanding .

I was going to go tomorrow to see it ;but the theater is sold out ;so I'll wait a week.

[paraclete]

Tom we have some weirdo's in this world and they are set off by dark scenarios. You do know Gotham is synomous with the place where you live and the whole scenario played out in Batman is some sort of metaphor perhaps lost to us now. Look at the characters surely you can find some locals who fit

[tomder55]

Yes I already mentioned on another thred that Bruce Wayne /Batman is the 1% er who's public image during the day is every stereotype you see about "the rich" ,and who's altrustic pursuits are not advertised .

What makes Batman different from most of the other Superheros (except perhaps Ironman) is that he is not endowed with any special power . He did not get bit by a spider ,he did not get a dose of a nuke ;he was not born on another planet .He uses his intelligence and learned martial skills ;and his wealth to create the gadgets he uses to fight crime.
But he is a deeply disturbed individual battling the trauma of a bat attack as a child ;and watching his parents get murdered.
The Gotham City in the comics was indeed probably modeled after NYC ,although today's NYC is no where's near as bad as it was before Giuliani . Back in the 1970s one could've made a better case for that comparison.

Nolan in the Dark Night trilogy has tried to update the story to the 21st century. Joker was an OBL like anarchistic terrorists who forced Batman to go to the limits of moral crime fighting tactics . Harvey Dent was the DA who got credit for cleaning up the city while in fact being a corrupted official.
In the new movie ,much of the battle between Batman and Bane was filmed on Wall Street ,and I'm told there are scenes from the OWS encampment .

Again ;too early to know the motivation behind the attack. It is presumptious to think that the movie is related except for the coincidence that there would be a crowd gathered in a confined space after midnight .Best guess is that made it a target of opportunity for someone who wanted to commit mass murder.

[speechlesstx]

Yep, too early for snark Clete. Prayers for the injured and the families would be more appropriate at this point.

[tomder55]

We now know the murderous bass turd was a lone gunman named James Holmes ;a 24 year old white man . According to CBS News, authorities have found no evidence to suggest the incident was terrorism-related. Holmes was not on any watch list that could have alerted authorities that he was dangerous, NBC reported. He also has no military history.

But that didn't stop ABC's Brian Ross from suggesting there may have been a link between Holmes and the Tea Party.

Turns out there is a 55 year old guy in Denver also names James Holmes who had joined the TP. Ross and the network has since apologized .

[tomder55]

Turns out there are about 12 James Holmes in the area.
My daughter came across this post on Facebook .

Dearest random Facebook people who keep confusing me for a mass murderer and yet still send me Facebook requests.;

I appreciate the fact that you are trying to become better-informed about the occurrences last night in Aurora, but you have been somewhat mislead, in that I am not the man who did it. I am not a 24-year-old gun-slinging killer from Aurora, I am a 22-year-old book-slinging mass eater from Littleton. Somewhat distinct, I would assume. But I would appreciate if you would read this particular post an not assume that it would be interesting to be friends with someone on Facebook who is very probably going to be in jail and not be able to confirm your friend requests anyway, or even be friends with his girlfriend, who had the rather interesting experience of having to tell someone she had a job interview with that she is not, in fact dating a serial killer. James Holmes happens to be a pretty common name, surprisingly, so try not to jump the gun.

Regards, A different guy named James Holmes

[speechlesstx]

It wasn't a matter of if the dinosaur media would jump the gun but when. At least CBS retracted, but that still won't do much to alleviate the harassment this man will likely face anyway.

[paraclete]

Speech you think it too soon to snark but this OP is about push factors in society that sets the nuts off, so it's not snarking but saying we need to take a very good look at what we are allowing in the name of art and what these people are attempting to achieve. Don't think I am aloof in this. Some years ago, I had my son riding around the country side on a stolen bike imitating the Terminator, we ultimately had a siege as he played out the phantasies built up from the movies. Other family members still carry the scars of those times.These things are very close to home

[tomder55]

As a society we have taken the risk of tragedy in the name of civil liberty .It is too soon to attach a recognizable psycological factor that would've given any indication or forewarning of this mass murder. It is too simple to claim it is a comic book ,or a movie plot ,or some artists music that is the root cause . And what would your prescription be ?

[paraclete]

My perscription Tom is to limit access to these presentations in a much more controlled manner. This can be done effectively in theatres but unfortunately once it gets to DVD all control goes out the window so the violent content must be limited at the source. We have to recognise that there are people in our midst who are more affected than most by these presentations and in the public good exercise restraint. I understand that in your society the concept of restraint is somewhat strange to you, like you heard of it but it doesn't apply to you, but one day the penny will drop and you will see you are reaping what you sow

[tomder55]

What I understand is that millions of people will watch the movie this weekend and not be affected by it in any way . Whereas a loser who never saw the movie saw a target of opportunity to commit mass murder . In the days ahead we will find out more of this scum . What we will most likely learn is that he did not need a movie as an excuse .

[paraclete]

Same old tired argument, it's like guns don't kill people, but in this case they did because they were allowed to get into the hands of a looney and the public were not protected, and get this the guns he had he had legally, which means to me controls are not tight enough there should be psychological examination before you are allowed to own guns. If he only had access to knives he wouldn't have done as much damage, but then I expect he would have settled for a spectacular explosion and where did he get his explosives?

He took on a persona from a movie, Tom, a seriously disturbed persona, and a person who made indiscriminate about use of guns and explosives, perhaps he was waiting for Batman to turn up, so don't tell me he was not affected by the movie, it obviously triggered something. As I said earlier I have personally seen this sort of thing before and the public need to be protected, for the greater good

[tomder55]

in this case they did because they were allowed to get into the hands of a looney and the public were not protected,

That's right ;when seconds counted ,the police were minutes away . What good was gun control laws under that scenario ? The police were left to clean up the mess and arrest the killer AFTER the massacre .

No place in America has stricter gun laws than in Chicago ;yet most weekends it resembles the wild west . All the people killed by those illegal guns are still dead .

but then I expect he would have settled for a spectacular explosion and where did he get his explosives?

The Oklahoma City bombing was done with fertilizer. What else do you want to ban ? Guns ,ferilizer , violent movies... what else ? PhD's ?

[paraclete]

Seriously Tom I want to ban looney's being able to get their hands on killing weapons and if that means they shut down Chigago and towns like it so be it. The ordinary people don't need guns and the police should be able to prevent criminals getting their hands on guns, explosives, fertilizer, or any other means of mass killing, even if that means you or I might be inconvenienced

[tomder55]

The killer's apartment was rigged with explosive devices made of balloons filled with gasoline. I guess those items are on the list too .
You want one I'd go along with? The guy purchased ammo on the internet. That shouldn't happen .

[talaniman]

ammo - Walmart.com

The National Rifle Association doesn't allow any government common sense bans, restrictions, or limitations on its 2nd amendment rights to bear arms, and plenty of them. This fellow had no prior record of being a loony, so he was entitled to buy a gun, or grenade which any idiot anywhere could purchase.

Whatever triggered him into action should be the real concern.

[tomder55]

Whatever triggered him into action should be the real concern

The Dark Knight - Some Men Just Want To Watch The World Burn - YouTube

[paraclete]

Whatever triggered him into action should be the real concern.

This seems to be the point where I came in, it is a good question and it has to be rooted in the pysho inspired material he obviously became obscessed with.. . Liberty comes with responsibility, and it is not liberty to allow psycho inspired killers to roam free and have over the counter access to guns, explosives, etc. Tom says he shouldn't be able to buy ammunition on the internet, so in effect Tom wants to shut down internet commerce but leave the other businesses that supplied him in place. How does this solve the problem? FYI Tom it doesn't.

In my nation we found a solution to this sort of thing a few years ago, a solution impossible in the US, we removed certain weapons from the hands of the public. Outlawed them, compensated those who had to hand them in and destroyed the weapons, did we remove all guns from society?no, just the automatic, military weapons designed to kill large numbers of humans quickly. Of course we had the will and the desire that these mass killing events should not happen again and they haven't, murder and gun related crime has fallen. There are still hunters in our society, in fact, national parks were recently opened to hunters, but they won't suffer from indiscrimate blasting away with automatic weapons. Time to get real and decide what is important, life and liberty for all, or liberty for the lunatic fringe