Matt's Opinion On The Most Recent Massive Shooting

[sodamntired]

Two hundred and forty four comments was enough.

 

Enough to learn that being a foreigner it isn’t my place to comment on US gun laws, nor the complexities of Constitutional amendments. Enough to learn that I am, in the eyes of some, a shameless opportunist that would use a tragedy to promote an agenda. Enough that, as is always the case, I should not overstep my bounds and forget that I am just an... artist and therefore shouldn’t have an opinion.

 

Having read those 244 comments I will say this: if only poverty, human rights, and a plethora of other issues had the same stalwart advocates that firearms do, imagine what a world this would be.

 

Last night a man walked into a movie theatre and committed a crime. It’s not the first of its nature, be it in the United States or elsewhere, nor will it be the last. What occurred last night was tragic, but no more so than what occurred on 46 years ago at the University of Texas at Austin or in Norway last summer.

 

We are the sons and daughters of violence. Utterly glorified, its imagery has become to us a long familiar bedfellow. From childhood we are inundated by its presence, as if new forged Alex’s having endured the Ludovico Technique in the womb. It’s perceived majesty engrained in our DNA precisely because we possess no frame of reference as to its realities.

 

To us, violence is a game until something ugly disrupts the constancy of the ubiquitous white noise in which we dwell. But even then, our Technicolor landscape is only momentarily disrupted by the briefest of shivers.

 

It is ludicrous to believe that something designed to kill should be viewed negatively. Such things are, after all, inanimate objects. But take no comfort in their insentience, for their ghosting voices emit a longing akin to that most ancient of jars gifted the earth formed daughter of Hephaestus. And that voice will never quiet, but urge the hand ever forward until the gun and person become indistinguishable.

 

begin discussions.

[Young Grasshopper]

There is never, ever an exceptable reason for one human to take the life of another, the method of which is irrelevant.

[sodamntired]

michael moore also commented

 

"Having spent much time in the Aurora/Denver/Littleton area over the years, I am too sad about this most recent tragedy to comment at the moment, other than to say this:

I fear anthropologists and historians will look back on us and simply say we were a violent nation, at home and abroad, but in due time human decency won out and the violence ceased, but not before many, many more died and the world had had its fill of us.

Thoughts, prayers, and whatever comfort can be found for the victims and their families..."

 

and this fucktard that did the shooting booby trapped his apartment, cause he knew they would come there for him.

 

lame.

Edited July 21, 2012 by sodamntired

[Gomo]

I generally avoid reading Matt's commentary on politics and world events. I don't want it to affect the way in which I enjoy his music.

 

That said, the event in which he's commentating on was truly terrible. Very sad...

Edited July 22, 2012 by Gomo

[prototypepariah]

Very much x2 gomo. Even with the caveat that some of his music reflects those same politial beliefs.

 

He's outspoken for sure, but not to a point, imo where it's unsubstantiated. hopefully he can do a part to galvanize some positive change, even on a small level.

 

 

Regarding gun laws, most of the people imo who listen to MG are not by any means a representation of the US as a whole. Most of "us" want to shoot shit and go to church on sunday. It's different, it's not going to change, no matter how many events such as this take place. If anything I think it moves people to want to buy more guns to protect themselves.

 

This is coming from someone who's never shot or held a loaded gun.

[sodamntired]

me too

 

also, I have grown tired of all the claims of this being the worst public shooting EVER

yeah, until the next one.

 

god bless all those harmed by this

but I am not one of them

 

I called for the NRA

it paid

that was the only reason

but you should have heard the crazy battshit I heard

"if that N*gger No-Obama takes my guns away, I'm going to go downtown right now. I'll donate $250"

 

we've all had jobs, we're not proud of

I tried talking with my fellow callers there, we all agreed that Obama would be the better president, none agreed with me when I told them that I am a sociolaist

and Canadian

 

1366 people died on 9/11 were they any more innocent than those that were gunned down at the movie theatre?

 

Total number killed in attacks (official figure as of 9/5/02): 2.819

 

12 killed, 50 wounded at Aurora Movie Theatre.

Edited July 23, 2012 by sodamntired

[Dan #2]

http://www.naturalnews.com/036536_James_Holmes_shooting_false_flag.html

 

 

bitches ain't shit. i say we grow up, as a fucking race

[prototypepariah]

http://www.naturalne...false_flag.html

 

 

bitches ain't shit. i say we grow up, as a fucking race

 

I was thinking about this a lot the other day at work. Lets say for a second, we get the motivation(or crazy) to go blast up the theatre, and to rig your place to blow up. It kinda is "joker" so to speak.

 

why the about face? Why not keep shooting in the theatre, I mean hundreads of people are filing out, he could have expodentially increased his targets. Why tell the police you rigged the place to blow up? Wasn't the idea to hurt people by doing it in the first place? Why surrender? Why get bullet proof stuff and then not use it.

 

Don't get me wrong, i'm not condoing this, just curious why someone that just went off stops going off. Flash of conscience? That doesn't seem consistent with the events.

 

edit: I just finished the last part of the article where it gets all super nuts. Meh, I don't think the FBI did it, but something more than just normal crazy going on.

Edited July 25, 2012 by prototypepariah

[Moonlight_Graham]

http://www.naturalne...false_flag.html

 

I see no problem questioning things, but the above conspiracy theories are friggin' insane, and based on mostly idiocy and pure conjecture. The author is almost as crazy as the shooter.

 

The shooter was seeing a psychiatrist who specialized in schizophrenia, so this may end up explaining a lot.

[sodamntired]

Three people, including a police officer and the suspected gunman, are dead following a shooting near the Texas A&M campus in College Station, police and university officials say.

 

i used to have a fear listening to nostradamous' predictions that someday the planet's population would outgrow her capability to hold us all, but with these shooting + wars keep happening, that won't happen anytime soon. e/sigh.

Edited August 13, 2012 by sodamntired

[guitarchick]

There is never, ever an exceptable reason for one human to take the life of another, the method of which is irrelevant.

 

 

Depends on the situation. I think there are some acceptable situations to take a human life, while this one, in particular, is not acceptable in the case of the taking the life of children. For example, let’s say they did eventually happen to arm teachers then would it be acceptable for them to protect their students by killing the perpetrator? If the benefit outweighs the loss then I would say it is acceptable to kill a human being but in a way that produes the least amount of suffering. However, I don't really hold human life above other forms of life for the most part because I don't think a human should be regarded as more valuable to the planet than another living intelligent being. Although intelligence is relative to what each of us assumes as intelligence. It's difficult to define through other species because we see intelligence as academic in nature, things which are specifically man made articulations of how we percieve life.

Anyway. kind of off topic I guess but I had to explain my thought rather then just saying that it is or isn't acceptable.

Edited February 10, 2013 by guitarchick

[Mira Aleta]

This is a tough issue to speak about, for sure.  We recoil, as humans, from random acts of violence; understanding within our bones that taking human life is wrong; that it hurts us all.  There are a myriad of ways of recoiling from these terrible acts:  into hate, anger, fear, or love.  

 

Love?  Yes, love.  I don't agree with violence of any form.  For this reason, I try to remember that love is the only act, when duplicated, that does not cause more harm and suffering. 

 

This is not to say that I feel any of the violence occuring the world over, is right:  that we should 'hug the perpetrator', instead of offering him/her the due process of the law.  That said, I wonder if we are able to understand a bit more readily what was going on for the perpetrator of the violent act?  Would this help us understand how such 'random acts' are perhaps not so random at all?  Would it uncover the root causes that are first perpetrated, and then perpetuated, by our broken social systems?  Would examining our failures help us become stronger communities, which are able to identify and treat individuals who are in such intense pain & who have lived with such incredible abuses? Might we be able to prevent such travesties before they occur? 

 

This is upstream thinking, that I am talking about:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qarQXqKbmLg This video is Canadian made, though it could apply the world over.  We have seen so many random acts of violence over the years, that I wonder if we are asking the correct questions surrouding causation:  why are we seeing so many shootings?  Why are we not addressing the issues which lie behind, and beneath the public outcry?  Why, when it comes time to talk about how we regularly fail members of our society so abysmally that they feel they have no other choice but to lash out violently, do we attach a price tag to the safety nets we might put into place to help?  If the cost of a human life is so valuable, and one which all of us agree we are unwilling to pay, then why is the price of implementing said changes, which may save lives, seen as incommensurate with the reward?

 

I will further argue, that this is no longer an "American problem".  This is something that we are seeing the world over.  This makes sense considering that we have become a global community. What's more, the wars which are presently being waged the world over:  wars which are spilling over into our clean first world streets, are not delineated in solid black & white, but rather in shades of grey.  These are wars with no borders, no victor, no spoils.  They are wars of agression, intimidation & fear.  They thrive on confusion: obfuscating facts, co-opting, and twisting religious beliefs until there is nothing left but fervor, zeal & hatred.  From these wars, the only byproduct as numerous as the spent shells, broken families, and burnt husks of cities, is fear.  The death toll climbs, and yet, we do not ask why: for fear of offending those who fight these wars?  For fear of discovering the truth?  I fear that we are hopelessly mired in down stream thinking.

 

Perhaps I am wrong about everything I just said.  I desperately hope that I am. I will my thoughts to be incorrect.  I cry: "prove me wrong!"...but first, we must do the work of asking, and digging, and discussing.