[Tsundoku]

Question: why do you type "Go*'s"? I've seen that sort of thing a few times around the interwebz.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Tsundoku, on 01 April 2023 - 12:34 PM, said:

Question: why do you type "Go*'s"? I've seen that sort of thing a few times around the interwebz.

Partly as a nod to my Jewish ancestors, since it's a variant of the Jewish practice of writing G*d or G_d:

Quote

[Jewish people are not supposed to] write G‑d's name in a place where it may be discarded or erased. Treating G‑d's name with reverence is a way to give respect to G‑d. So even though on a computer the name is not really being erased (and perhaps is not really there in the first place), and "G‑d" is only an English term used to translate G‑d's holy name, it is in keeping with this respect that I write "G‑d" in my emails and on-line articles.

Why Don't Jews Say G‑d's Name? - On the use of the word "Hashem" - Chabad.org

But mainly because it could also be 'Goo', which seems appropriate. Could go on about the relation between abstraction, the transition from pictograms (letter a = aleph = drawing of an ox) to abstract script in early Hebrew, fire, 'divine sparks', etc. And my Jewish ancestors came to the United States fleeing Judaism---my (atheist) great-grandfather literally ran away from rabbinical school, tried to flee to Germany to work in a coal mine; but he was captured in Poland and they sent him back.

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 01 April 2023 - 04:49 PM

[Tiste Simeon]

I guess now's not the time to post the Monty Python's Life of Brian Jehovah scene then?

[Lady Bliss]

https://www.cnn.com/...ting/index.html

Third case of a gun nut shooting before asking questions or being threatened in a week. I get people need to be able to defend themselves, but how can you claim defense in these circumstances? Who the hell is afraid of a teenage girl?

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Lady Bliss, on 19 April 2023 - 01:10 PM, said:

https://www.cnn.com/...ting/index.html

Third case of a gun nut shooting before asking questions or being threatened in a week. I get people need to be able to defend themselves, but how can you claim defense in these circumstances? Who the hell is afraid of a teenage girl?

And while that one was in Texas... it was in Austin.

He didn't shoot immediately when she opened the door---she went back into her friend's car and was rolling down the window to apologize as he got out of his car, walked over to the window, and shot them multiple times....

Oh boy, a trespasser! I get to murder somebody---if I hurry (and my aim is true)!

For the one in the driveway:

Quote

a sour character who barked at neighbors' dogs, scolded a local church and was so averse to unannounced visitors that he had at one time used a chain to cordon off his quarter-mile-long drive.

[...] "There was no threat," [...] "They were leaving."

[...] shot through the rear of the driver's side.

[His] lawyer[...] disputed the sheriff's account of the shooting, saying [...] the vehicles were speeding up the driveway, with engines revving and lights shining, which "certainly caused some level of alarm to an elderly gentleman who had an elderly wife."

[... he is] 65

New Details Emerge in Deadly Shooting of Kaylin Gillis in Upstate NY - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Technically '65' is apparently the youngest age at which the word 'elderly' is generally applied.

Though it does raise the question of what happens when more gun nuts get dementia (not to mention failing eyesight... best to fire everywhere then! and get a semiautomatic assault rifle or two---and maybe some gun-toting autonomous drones... 'get off my lawn before I unleash the hounds drones!'---that way they not only shoot you, but they chase after you firing bullets at least until you manage to cross the property line (seems a bit like American football...)).

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 19 April 2023 - 02:24 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Quote

Girl, 6, Shot After Basketball Rolls Into Man's Yard

24-year-old suspect reportedly chased the victims, firing until he ran out of bullets. [...]

[...] a basketball rolled down a residential street in North Carolina and into a man's yard, enraging him, neighbors [said ...]

Witnesses [said] the gunman ran up and down the street, firing until he ran out of bullets.

[...] still hunting for the alleged gunman, identified as Robert Louis Singletary, [...] described as "armed and dangerous."

The young girl[...] was hospitalized after being seriously wounded. She was released overnight[...] Her father[...] remains in the hospital.

"He came out with a gun, he started shooting," [she] explained [...] "Hope my daddy is OK."

"'Why did you shoot me? Why did you shoot my dad?' 6 yo [...] has stitches from bullet fragments in her cheek."

[...] In December, he was arrested for assaulting his girlfriend with what police described as a "mini sledgehammer."

Cops Hunt for Robert Louis Singletary After Little Girl, Parents Shot Over Basketball, Reports Say (thedailybeast.com)

Many people who shoot people (illegally at least) have a history of domestic violence... if that had disqualified him from legally owning a gun, this might not have happened. Or he might have gotten one illegally....

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 20 April 2023 - 12:06 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Quote

Current federal law prohibits some but not all individuals with a demonstrated history of domestic abuse from purchasing or possessing firearms. [...]

There are three primary gaps in current federal law that leave survivors of domestic abuse vulnerable to future gun violence.

1. Dating partner loophole
The protections in current federal law do not extend to individuals who are abused by a current or former dating partner with whom they do not have a child in common and have never cohabitated. In this regard, the law has failed to keep pace with the reality of modern intimate relationships

Frequently Asked Questions About Domestic Violence and Firearms - Center for American Progress

Quote

assaulting his [...] girlfriend with a mini-sledgehammer. After the assault, Singletary kept the victim inside his apartment and did not allow her to leave for over two hours.

[...] the victim told officers that she was at Singletary’s apartment [...] a few hours earlier and that he struck her in the back of the head with a mini sledgehammer. The victim said that after being struck, she immediately felt dizzy and disoriented and that she was bleeding profusely from the back of her head. The victim further stated that Singletary told her that she could not leave until she had cleaned up all the evidence from the assault.

City of Gastonia - Man Charged for Using Mini-Sledgehammer During Domestic-Related Assault and Preventing Victim from Seeking Medical Aid

While it's not explicitly stated, repeated references to 'Singletary's apartment' rather than 'their apartment' might imply that the non-cohabitation loophole applied in this case, especially since most people don't own their apartments.

[Tsundoku]

Yep, sure, your right to have a lethal compensation device is more important than my right to live ...

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

Gunman opens fire, injuring nine – including a 5yo – at busy outlet mall in Texas
At least nine people are dead and others injured after a gunman opened fire at a shopping centre in Texas.

https://www.news.com...584ee3cbb737d3e

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

Remember now, "thoughts and prayers" make all the difference.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Tsundoku, on 07 May 2023 - 04:08 AM, said:

Yep, sure, your right to have a lethal compensation device is more important than my right to live ...

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

Gunman opens fire, injuring nine – including a 5yo – at busy outlet mall in Texas
At least nine people are dead and others injured after a gunman opened fire at a shopping centre in Texas.

https://www.news.com...584ee3cbb737d3e

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

Remember now, "thoughts and prayers" make all the difference.

But 'rights' are made up by humans Skynet Go* in the minds of many Republicans who also believe...

Quote

"We were a nation founded upon, not the words of our founders, but the words of God because he wrote the Constitution."

So said Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick at the second Conservative Political Action Conference held [last] year with the theme "Awake, Not Woke."

[...] even Rep. Liz Cheney, who has been considered a more moderate voice of reason within the Republican Party, affirmed: "We also have been reminded what it means to take an oath under God to the Constitution, what it means to defend the Constitution. … And we were reminded by Speaker Bowers that our Constitution is indeed a divinely inspired document."

[...] a strong association between those who believe "the founding documents of the United States are divinely inspired" and those who believe "Black Lives Matter and Antifa started the violence and [...] Trump was not to blame" for the Jan. 6 insurrection. It also found that "Americans who embrace white Christian nationalism are more likely to … oppose any federal gun control restrictions due to belief that the Second Amendment is divinely inspired."

No, Dan Patrick, God did not write the U.S. Constitution

... and when people get murdered, they go wherever they deserve to go, as Go* wills it. Heaven doesn't sound so bad after all.

More mass shootings in the US this year than there have been days....

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 07 May 2023 - 12:14 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Quote

"Now, you know, congressman, that is a common refrain after these incidents, after mass shootings, but many people argue that prayers aren't cutting it, prayers are not preventing the next mass shooting. What is your response to that criticism?" [...]

"Well, those are people that don't believe in an almighty God who, who has, who is absolutely in control of our lives. I'm a Christian. I believe that he is. [...]"

'Now it's God's fault': Texas Republican slammed for claiming 'the almighty' controls shootings

MTG blames... antidepressants (specifically SSRI's)? lol

Quote

The federal government must partner with states for mental hospitals and drug rehab centers for the good of our society.

We must fund and support police officers and prosecutors must put criminals behind bars.

We need to study SSRI's and other factors that cause mass shootings.

Our nation is plagued with mental illness, drug addiction, homelessness, and out of control crime.

We have to fix it.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene���� on Twitter: "The federal government must partner with states for mental hospitals and drug rehab centers for the good of our society. We must fund and support police officers and prosecutors must put criminals behind bars. We need to study SSRI's and other factors that cause mass…" / Twitter

So... lock up the crazy people, make antidepressants illegal, and lock up illegal drug users?... hmm.

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 07 May 2023 - 02:01 PM

[Tiste Simeon]

Ok so will you fund more mental health support and better services to combat this?

Heavens no, that's socialism!

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Tiste Simeon, on 07 May 2023 - 02:40 PM, said:

Ok so will you fund more mental health support and better services to combat this?

Heavens no, that's socialism!

They've generally been in favor of funding the prison-industrial complex.

And once people with 'mental illness' (as defined by Trump, MTG, and their ilk---at least to the fullest extent the Trump Supreme Court will allow) are involuntarily committed or imprisoned they can be forced to do slave labor.

For example, they're already trying to effectively criminalize being trans in public (they consider being trans a 'mental illness'), and since the ban on slave labor doesn't apply to convicts, they could try to force enslaved trans people to build Trump's wall (but they won't, because they're too transphobic...).

Of course they're not going to let this apply to Trump supporters, and it's not likely to help the issue of mass shootings much if at all. But that's not really the point for them.

Quote

[...] study found that of the 1,800 mass murders, only 8% of all mass shooters were diagnosed with a severe mental illness

did find a larger percentage of mass shooters -- 25% -- suffered from less severe mental illnesses like depression and anxiety.

But that closely mirrors the general population.

A look into the traits of a mass shooter

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 07 May 2023 - 03:34 PM

[Lady Bliss]

It’s been really hard to post this, but this is where my family has lived for the last 30 years. I’m pretty broken up as I was friends with at least one of the victims. This incident hit way to close to home.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Quote

[...] authorities are investigating the possibility of right-wing extremism as a motive after finding a patch on his chest that said "RWDS"—an acronym for Right Wing Death Squad.

Additionally, two senior law enforcement officials [... said] Garcia both consumed and posted neo-Nazi and white supremacist content on the internet. Police say the motive remains unclear, however.

[...] reportedly worked as a security guard

Mauricio Garcia Identified as Gunman in Mall Massacre in Allen, Texas

Of course the likes of Trump and MTG are not about to count right-wing extremism as a 'mental illness'....

Source for Trump suggesting effective imprisonment in mental institutions as the solution to mass shootings (from 2019):

Quote

Trump said [...]he had been speaking with Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell and many other Republicans about the problem of gun violence, and "they don't want to have insane people, dangerous people, really bad people having guns."

[...] "We don't want crazy people owning guns," [Trump said]. "They pull the trigger. The gun doesn't pull the trigger. They pull the trigger. [...]"

[...] many U.S. mental institutions were closed in the 1960s and 70s and their patients released onto the streets. "We can't let these people be on the streets," [...]

[...] Trump said it was necessary to consider building new institutions for the mentally ill.

"We have to do it. At the same time we will be taking mentally deranged and dangerous people off of the streets so we won't have to worry so much about that. [...]"

Trump blames mass shootings on mentally ill, calls for more mental institutions

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 07 May 2023 - 10:53 PM

[Tiste Simeon]

Lady Bliss, on 07 May 2023 - 09:35 PM, said:

It’s been really hard to post this, but this is where my family has lived for the last 30 years. I’m pretty broken up as I was friends with at least one of the victims. This incident hit way to close to home.

Oh Bliss I'm so sorry for you. That's awful. My condolences.

[RealGatekeeper1]

Thoughts and prayers. Obviously.

[QuickTidal]

Lady Bliss, on 07 May 2023 - 09:35 PM, said:

It’s been really hard to post this, but this is where my family has lived for the last 30 years. I’m pretty broken up as I was friends with at least one of the victims. This incident hit way to close to home.

Terrible. I'm sorry your country is like this, and I'km even more sorry you've had it hit so close to home. Condolences.

[Lady Bliss]

Thanks for the thoughts guys… I’m as ok as can be and just mourning. You don’t realize how close this was to be me. I’m praying for her family and trying to help where I can.

[RealGatekeeper1]

We. Have. Too. Many. Guns. I love when people scream at me that we can’t change the 2nd Amendment…I’m like, dude, it was literally the second thing we changed.

[Cause]

I saw Greg Abbot addressing this latest shooting. He was saying that mental illness is the problem and that we as a country should get right onto fixing that. Its painful, almost comedic if not so serious. The obvious question being, why didnt you get onto it 3 months ago after the last mass shooting.

The increasing frequency of the attacks will only highlight the inaction that follows each one.