11 thoughts on “Do People Kill People?”

  1. I’m sorry, but this is one of the more inane things I’ve seen today. We know virtually nothing about the shooter at this point. So how on Earth does Simon come to this conclusion:

    Yes, normal people are able to separate illusion from reality, but for the criminally insane like James Holmes, it is quite clear that ultra-violent films can act as an inspiration for unspeakable acts.

    If he’s referring to the fact that the shooting occurred at a movie theater, I’m virtually positive it had nothing to do with the content, much less violent content, of the film, but only because there were a lot people gathered in a small confined area for the guy to shoot.

    Senseless things happen. It’s unfortunate. Sometimes you just have to chalk these things up to a mentally disturbed person that is highly motivated to perform this kind of act.

    1. Not sure, but reports say he claimed to be the Joker. He had a masters and was pursuing his PhD in neuroscience, and yet was working as a janitor in a theater. If he was obsessed with Heath Ledger’s performance in the Dark Knight and already had a few screws loose (his mother seems to think so), then having the Joker’s words stuck in his head may have contributed heavily to his actions.

      “Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?”

      “This town deserves a better class of criminal, and I’m gonna give it to them.”

      “Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes…chaos. I’m an agent of chaos.”

      “Tonight, you’re all going to be a part of a ‘social experiment.'”

      Perhaps he didn’t flee and surrendered to the police because he was actually waiting to confront Batman.

      1. The only solution is simply to ban movies.

        I know it’ll hurt Hollywood and thus reduce contributions to the Democrat Party, but think of the children!

        1. I know it’ll hurt Hollywood

          Well at somepoint, you know, I think you’ve earned enough.

          1. The only fair thing to do is tax Hollywood 100% but give waivers to anyone contributing to BHO or the DNC. We call this the tough on Hollywood plan (to avoid any racist black list plan.)

  3. He should have taken up writing as a relief valve instead. Lewis Carol nearly went nuts as a graduate student and he gave us Alice in Wonderland. Even the nutjobs of today are lacking in quality.

    1. The only fair thing to do is treat all people as nutjobs. Be sure to claim he’s an elite member of the tea party as well. Don’t dare call those calling him a membe r of the tea party nutjobs however. They have a waiver for that.

  4. I’m not a psy-cologist/chiatrist nor do I play one on tv. But I suspect the screws came loose first and The Dark Knight/Joker merely provided a context for him.

  5. I’m just glad he was able to get guns to attack the theater. Imagine we would have happened if he had been forced to use only explosives – he really could have caused some incredible damage, given what he did to his home. I think the guns acted as a safety release, a limited the damage to a single, smaller strike.

    You could not have stopped him ahead of time, not without 100% mandatory daily neurological screening for all humans.

    1. David,
      I’m not sure if you’re being sincere, or if this is snark. Laying hands on ‘explosives’ is tougher than getting guns and ammo. And I’m talking real explosives, not the kitchen sink / basement stuff. Those are usually hard to transport due to weight.

      And laying explosives, the pro stuff, would have taken time and access to the theater when no one was around. If you take a ‘jug bomb’ [the Columbine type] and throw it, it’s a ‘just ‘a molotov cocktail, not a grenade. It might start a hell of a fire, but an explosion is unlikely.

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