General Mass Shooting Thread (originally Las Vegas Strip)

[spjunkies]

1 hour ago, Why am I Mr. Pink? said:

I feel like Im turning into an old man overnight ...

 

I kinda in part blame the violent shooter video games. This guy was 24 years old, lives with parents and is a professional gamer so I assume that means he sits in a dark room and plays 16 hours a day 7 days a week.

 

chicken or egg - do video games attract the already troubled introvert or do they change a seemingly normal person into a detached from reality killer? 

 

 

Was the guy who committed the massacre in Vegas a gamer? 

Edited August 27, 2018 by spjunkies

[skinsmarydu]

1 hour ago, spjunkies said:

 

Was the guy who committed the massacre in Vegas a game? 

A wealthy gambler. 

[Bang]

i think ignoring the overwhelming influence violent content can have ESPECIALLY on children and teenagers is the same as the typical arguments gun folks make when confronted with another tragedy.

Can't be the gun. can't be the game.

can't be..   well..  because i never shot anyone and the majority of _____ are responsible. etc. etc.

 

~Bang

Edited August 27, 2018 by Bang

[DCSaints_fan]

Talk about a rage quit ... 

[Cooked Crack]

 

[RansomthePasserby]

12 hours ago, skinsmarydu said:

A wealthy gambler. 

Hm. There are parallels. A predominant focus more on games, systems, getting points and/or money. Less of a focus on spending time face to face with and helping other people.

 

It seems like a disconnection from real life social interaction (as apposed to social media), coupled with mental illness and easy access to guns plays a huge role in this.

Edited August 28, 2018 by RansomthePasserby
Typo

[Mr. Sinister]

9 hours ago, Why am I Mr. Pink? said:

I feel like Im turning into an old man overnight ...

 

I kinda in part blame the violent shooter video games. This guy was 24 years old, lives with parents and is a professional gamer so I assume that means he sits in a dark room and plays 16 hours a day 7 days a week.

 

chicken or egg - do video games attract the already troubled introvert or do they change a seemingly normal person into a detached from reality killer? 

 

 

Think about that for a second...

 

No matter what extra stuff people want to point to/blame or prohibit, the pattern is there, in bright neon lettering, every time.

 

Some games are violent. Problem arises with a still developing mind, and the inability to differentiate, leading possibly to one becoming desensitized to violence. That's why there are warnings placed on those games, making it illegal for anyone under that age (usually 17) to purchase it, leaving it up to the discretion of the parent. 

 

It's usually always to the discretion of the parent, and how they raise their child, how they monitor their child, etc. But many parents of the last 25+ years believe their children to be perfect, infallible little angels, blinding themselves completely.

 

 

This person clearly needed help of some kind, and the fact that he (apparently) was 25 and living with his parents, yet finding enough time to play video games competitively (clearly not well enough to support himself) speaks volumes about where he likely was mentally/emotionally.

 

But to answer your original question, yes, it attracts them. The internet atrracts them. Anything within reach that can take them away from their current situation and momentarily suppress the fact that they lead completely and utterly unproductive lives, too busy with [insert activity/drug (which really are like the same thing)] or too sick (and in need of therapy/medication) to improve their situation

[Gamebreaker]

12 hours ago, Why am I Mr. Pink? said:

I feel like Im turning into an old man overnight ...

 

I kinda in part blame the violent shooter video games. This guy was 24 years old, lives with parents and is a professional gamer so I assume that means he sits in a dark room and plays 16 hours a day 7 days a week.

 

chicken or egg - do video games attract the already troubled introvert or do they change a seemingly normal person into a detached from reality killer? 

 

 

This has nothing to do with video games. We've had way too many mass shootings already that had nothing to do with video games. 

 

The tournament was a for a football game, not a violent shooter. One of the players there said the shooter was acting weird all weekend, wore the same clothes on the second day of the tourney that he wore on the first day, wore shades the whole time and wouldn't speak to people. This was premeditated and at least one of the two victims killed seem to be targeted. 

[visionary]

 

[Zguy28]

1 hour ago, visionary said:

 

Sometimes all a person can do is pray. But it should be both if ever possible. See Joshua 7.

 

 

[TD_washingtonredskins]

22 hours ago, Bang said:

i think ignoring the overwhelming influence violent content can have ESPECIALLY on children and teenagers is the same as the typical arguments gun folks make when confronted with another tragedy.

Can't be the gun. can't be the game.

can't be..   well..  because i never shot anyone and the majority of _____ are responsible. etc. etc.

 

~Bang

 

Good post. 

 

Both of the following statements can be true: 

 

1. Most people can play violent video games or watch violent movies without any negative repercussions

2. Some people play/watch violent content and may become desensitized or detached from reality

 

Again, just because most can handle it doesn't mean it doesn't play SOME role in the process for someone who is mentally sick or has some issues. What's the right mitigation strategy? I have no idea... 

[BurgundyMalaise]

23 hours ago, Why am I Mr. Pink? said:

I feel like Im turning into an old man overnight ...

 

I kinda in part blame the violent shooter video games. This guy was 24 years old, lives with parents and is a professional gamer so I assume that means he sits in a dark room and plays 16 hours a day 7 days a week.

 

chicken or egg - do video games attract the already troubled introvert or do they change a seemingly normal person into a detached from reality killer? 

 

 

I'd say neither. I 'd say there are just crazy people that act on violence they see and feel from an entire spectrum of society, not video games specifically. I would say they would be down on the list of contributing factors. I'm not some gamer either. The human psyche is more frequently damaged, particularly in our youth because there are CONSTANT messages being sent through all modern consumption- social media, Youtube, movies, tv, video games, etc.

 

That's not even accounting for the isolation people are prone to now more than ever with a plethora of ways to distract the mind from greater troubles. Society in general just feeds off of artificial additives - terrible dietary tendencies, fake lighting most of the day, pre packaged news narratives, an overabundance of psychiatric drugs, the list goes on. I think all of these play a role in fostering psychosis in vulnerable people to act on such things. Maybe this is ME being an old man, but I feel as if our culture is more depraved than ever. These times are the great culture war and even if we heal the gaping wounds we currently face, I'm not so sure we can curb unhealthy lifestyles in regards to detachment and shallow endeavors that exacerbate a troubled mind.

 

[TD_washingtonredskins]

Apologies for the crudeness of my terminology below...

 

You do wonder if many of the people who lash out all have the same things "broken" inside them, but they just manifest differently. Is the quiet-white-kid-nerd-shooter possibly wired similarly to the athletic-alpha-male-frat-guy-date-rapist? Does one explode by borrowing from first-person shooter games he sees and shoot up a school while the other borrows from locker room talk and abuses someone differently? 

 

In my mind, I can draw a parallel to precipitation (stay with me) or something. It's all liquid falling from the sky...but in certain conditions it's water, in others it's sleet, and in others it's snow. 

 

I don't know - that probably made no sense. 

[Larry]

15 minutes ago, TD_washingtonredskins said:

 

Good post. 

 

Both of the following statements can be true: 

 

1. Most people can play violent video games or watch violent movies without any negative repercussions

2. Some people play/watch violent content and may become desensitized or detached from reality

 

Again, just because most can handle it doesn't mean it doesn't play SOME role in the process for someone who is mentally sick or has some issues. What's the right mitigation strategy? I have no idea... 

 

Some people can smoke for 70 years and not get cancer. Some people get cancer without smoking. 

 

But it certainly changes your odds. 

[TD_washingtonredskins]

6 minutes ago, Larry said:

 

Some people can smoke for 70 years and not get cancer. Some people get cancer without smoking. 

 

But it certainly changes your odds. 

 

Well said, I agree. I look at it this way...if those games didn't exist, shootings would still occur. But, I would bet we'd see fewer of them in this demographic. 

[Jumbo]

here's a big bulletin from the scientific community (i'll put it in all caps)

 

YOUR ENVIRONMENT SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECTS YOU

 

durrrrrrrrrr

 

the extrapolation of that fact is endless; details are available out there

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mr. Sinister]

31 minutes ago, TD_washingtonredskins said:

What's the right mitigation strategy? I have no idea... 

 

Machine gun turrets on all gaming consoles 

[Gamebreaker]

1 hour ago, TD_washingtonredskins said:

 

Well said, I agree. I look at it this way...if those games didn't exist, shootings would still occur. But, I would bet we'd see fewer of them in this demographic. 

 

You say this, without any evidence that the shooter in this case consistently played first person shooter games. 

[Mr. Sinister]

2 minutes ago, Gamebreaker said:

 

You say this, without any evidence that the shooter in this case consistently played first person shooter games. 

 

I can say (with all the evidence in the world to show that he did) that it still wouldn't matter, when we look at the young white suburban  male demographic, and what may be ailing them.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

27 minutes ago, Gamebreaker said:

 

You say this, without any evidence that the shooter in this case consistently played first person shooter games. 

 

I do - and it's my opinion which is why I used the phrase "I'd bet" 

[purbeast]

https://globalnews.ca/news/4413723/jacksonville-esports-shooter-david-katz-mental-illness/

[Why am I Mr. Pink?]

38 minutes ago, Gamebreaker said:

 

You say this, without any evidence that the shooter in this case consistently played first person shooter games. 

 

I did say "shooter games" but I guess any teen or young person who plays video games 24/7/365 raises social/emotion red flags for me.

 

Seems like a few times a month a family member is killed bc the family member wanted to take a controller away from some teen/20 something. Brother killed brother a few days ago over a remote. A few weeks ago 2 brothers killed their mom of video games.  Young dad kills crying newborn.

 

I do think people with certain problems latch onto and become obsessed with video games.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Experts in Maryland say the video gaming gunman's history of mental illness apparently wouldn't have stopped him from buying guns before he killed two people and wounded 10 and then killed himself at a tournament in Florida.

 

Maryland law prevents someone from passing a background check to buy guns if they were either involuntarily committed for any period of time or voluntarily admitted to a psychiatric facility for at least 30 consecutive days. David Katz was hospitalized at least twice, but Daniel Webster, who directs the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, says his treatment wasn't enough to disqualify him.

 

Maryland State troopers are responsible for investigating gun purchases in Katz's home state, but they're not talking for now to avoid interfering with the investigation in Jacksonville.

 

https://foxbaltimore.com/news/nation-world/maryland-legislator-says-laws-on-firearms-and-mental-health-will-be-reviewed

 

Sounds like MD legislature might lower the "mental health" threshold.

Edited August 28, 2018 by Why am I Mr. Pink?

[Bang]

There really isn't any way to mitigate it..  how do you stop kids from playing games?

You can't. We definitely have problems to which there is no real answer. Can't ban games, can't reasonably stop kids from getting games they shouldn't play (I was able to get beer at age 13 by getting someone else to buy it.) and we can't reasonably expect parents to be able to handle the problem either..   unfortunately 24/7 supervision is simply not possible. 

 

I'm all ears for answers..  my main point was that the notion that violent content can't affect kids, desensitize them, even teach them violence is right and/ or cool is ludicrous. Kids are highly impressionable.

we can look for answers while not pretending some utopian ideal exists in which these things can't cause this. It doesn't

 

~Bang

14 minutes ago, Why am I Mr. Pink? said:

I do think people with certain problems latch onto and become obsessed with video games.

 Leave real life behind and become powerful and feared in a fantasy world?

Naw..  peeple just ain't thet eezy ta program.

 

MAGA!

 

oh, sorry..  must have been those peppers from lunch.

 

~bang

[Springfield]

22 minutes ago, purbeast said:

https://globalnews.ca/news/4413723/jacksonville-esports-shooter-david-katz-mental-illness/

 

I gather:

 

The parents were a problem.  Prevented his possible treatment and likely exasperated his poor mental health.

The boy had an unhealthy relationship with video games.

The guns were purchased legally.

 

Personally, I think that this kid looked like a mass murderer.  Personally, I think that people on mind altering drugs shouldn’t be able to own firearms.

 

[Zguy28]

2 minutes ago, Why am I Mr. Pink? said:

 

I did say "shooter games" but I guess any teen or young person who plays video games 24/7/365 raises social/emotion red flags for me.

 

Seems like a few times a month a family member is killed bc the family member wanted to take a controller away from some teen/20 something. Brother killed brother a few days ago over a remote. A few weeks ago 2 brothers killed their mom of video games.  Young dad kills crying newborn.

 

I do think people with certain problems latch onto and become obsessed with video games.

Sometimes you just want to EMP a nation... but then you think about what would happen to hospitals and stuff...

 

I always find these video game discussions entertaining. Often the same folks who want gun control become like the NRA when anybody even suggests that the steady firehose of violent content (and social media) delivered to children's brains might be contributing. We learn and are shaped by our experiences. "Bad company corrupts good character" as the Good Book rightly says.