Sandy Hook & Other Mass Shootings

[Don]

Originally Posted by wetibbe

Y
* What about the Nickel Mines Amish school shooting in Pennsylvania. The shooter killed 5 in a one room school and wounded 4. He used a Springfield XD 9mm subcompact hand gun. Not much of a weapon for mass killing.

I remember hearing about this Amish school shooting. According to your info, he shot 9, killed 5 and wounded 4. More than 50% mortality but far short of the 93% of Sandy Hook.

The CIA angle always comes up. Who knows? I have always suspected that many of these mass shootings were false flag ops designed to influence public opinion against gun ownership, especially Sandy Hook with such a high mortality rate and the apparent elimination of all eye wit's. Now we have two eye wit's and it turns out one person was wounded. As a shooter, it bugs me that 26 people were killed but that the one wounded survivor, shot at point blank range, was shot in the hand, the foot and the leg. Clearly peripheral wounds. How do you miss at the close range he was shooting?

Much of the real truth will never be known because this is being used for political purposes.

[Ayatollahgondola]

The one survivor shot in the hand, foot, leg, may have been on the move....evading. The kids were anchored to their classrooms like sitting ducks. I'll bet that many of those kids have similarly placed entry wounds, but that their small bodies just bled out faster. this shooter was just plain evil in this act. How he got that way is still a matter for investigation, but whatever did possess him to carry this out was surely evil in origin.

I grew up with a kid that was quite different from most of the rest of us. He was a rebellious, larcenous, bold delinquent. Always at the root of others in his follow in destroying property. Schools too. Also destroyed a local tv station to the tune of 200K. He challenged one of his sidewalk commando henchkids to shoot a cigarette from his hand. Did I say challenged? Damn near forced him by goad and threat. He ended up with a 22 projectile going through his hand, leaving him in a cast for several months whith his finger like it was flipping the bird at everyone. He wore it as a medal through school.
12 years after high school he fired a shotgun at several people in the park, seeing them as some sort of demons that were a threat to him. He was tried and sentenced to 10 years in the state prison hospital, and has been denied release every year since, as late as this one. 25 years as a person too much a threat to release. This kid was a product of the 50's and 60's like me

[Rim05]

I forgot to mention the fact that some of these shooters could have drug use from the past. Drug use can damage a person and have a problem in his/her future. At least that is what I under stand.
I have never had any experience with drug users although there was a creep in the neighbor hood that we all knew he had to be a user. Thank goodness he is gone.

[wetibbe]

Naturally there are pros and cons, proponents and opponents to gun control.

I have seen arguments here that are so specious and absent of any logic that they are laughable. But to each his own.

Putting armed guards in schools is no different than putting police on the streets. The British put Bobbie's on the street unarmed which is just absurd.

Among my guns there is NOT any auto or semi automatic rifle. I'm an old fashioned hunter that uses only classic and conventional long guns. That included muzzle loaders. However, I fully support my fellow arms owners who want to own the rapid fire, clip, semi autos. We cannot give an inch to gun control. Not even a fraction. England Australia and Canada gave in and rolled over much to the catastrophic astonishment of decent, law abiding gun owners.

Apart from my having total disdain for Democrats and liberals, I am now also thoroughly disgusted with many in Congress - House and Senate. Forget about the Looney tune Mayors !!!!!

As La Pierre points out guns are tools. They are inanimate. They don't do anything until someone makes them do it. So the gun controllers have mis-identified the culprit. It is the nutty lunatics not the GUNS !!!!!

Take away guns and they will use knifes. Take away knifes and they will use grenades. Take away grenades and they will use bombs. Take away bombs and they will use clubs. Timothy McVeigh used ANFO in Oklahoma. Fertilizer and diesel fuel. He did a much better job. Got lots more people. Take away guns and we will have them loading cars with explosives and suicide bombing like Iraq and Afghanistan. I'm surprised that there hasn't been more of that.

The anti gun controllers are dim wits. Give them an inch and they will take a mile. This present hue and cry is predominantly an excuse to further their agenda.

I totally agree that it is highly desirable for home owners to be heavily armed with automatic weapons particularly in view of the worst, most dangerous and untrustworthy Government in the Nations history. All the more in view of the super abundance of Communists and racists occupying s many positions. When Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez put their stamp of approval on it you had better wake up and smell the coffee.

BTY it is the law in Switzerland that every able bodied man MUST have arms in his home.

Here in the USA I would advocate that all legitimate state Militias must be armed with automatic/semi automatic rifles.

[Ayatollahgondola]

It has been noted that the perpetrator of the shootings at Sandy Hook elementary was well above average intelligence, and quite mechanically adept. He could have easily devised several bombs and orchestrated their detonation to achieve an even far worse amount of killing and mayhem. He may have chosen to use his mother's guns for a much different reason: To get back at her using the tools she cherished for her own freedom and safety. Who knows? All that time she was teaching him to use them, he may have been in full resentment

[ilbegone]

Don't judge the mother.

Cognitive Characteristics?of Asperger’s Syndrome:

Susceptibility to distraction
Difficulty in expressing emotions
Resistance to or failure to respond to talk therapy
Mental shutdown response to conflicting demands and multi-tasking
Generalized confusion during periods of stress
Low understanding of the reciprocal rules of conversation: interrupting, dominating, minimum participation, difficult in shifting topics, problem with initiating or terminating conversation, subject perseveration
Insensitivity to the non-verbal cues of others (stance, posture, facial expressions)
Perseveration best characterized by the term “bulldog tenacity”
Literal interpretation of instructions (failure to read between the lines)
Interpreting words and phrases literally (problem with colloquialisms, cliches, neologism, turns of phrase, common humorous expressions)
Preference for visually oriented instruction and training
Dependence on step-by-step learning procedures (disorientation occurs when a step is assumed, deleted, or otherwise overlooked in instruction)
Difficulty in generalizing
Preference for repetitive, often simple routines
Difficulty in understanding rules for games of social entertainment
Missing or misconstruing others’ agendas, priorities, preferences
Impulsiveness
Compelling need to finish one task completely before starting another
Rigid adherence to rules and routines
Difficulty in interpreting meaning to others’ activities; difficulty in drawing relationships between an activity or event and ideas
Exquisite attention to detail, principally visual, or details which can be visualized (”Thinking in Pictures”) or cognitive details (often those learned by rote)
Concrete thinking
Distractibility due to focus on external or internal sensations, thoughts, and/or sensory input (appearing to be in a world of one’s own or day-dreaming)
Difficulty in assessing relative importance of details (an aspect o the trees/forest problem)
Poor judgment of when a task is finished (often attributable to perfectionism or an apparent unwillingness to follow differential standards for quality)
Difficulty in imagining others’ thoughts in a similar or identical event or circumstance that are different from one’s own (”Theory of Mind” issues)
Difficulty with organizing and sequencing (planning and execution; successful performance of tasks in a logical, functional order)
Difficulty in assessing cause and effect relationships (behaviors and consequences)
An apparent lack of “common sense”
Relaxation techniques and developing recreational “release” interest may require formal instruction
Rage, tantrum, shutdown, self-isolating reactions appearing “out of nowhere”
Substantial hidden self-anger, anger towards others, and resentment
Difficulty in estimating time to complete tasks
Difficulty in learning self-monitoring techniques
Disinclination to produce expected results in an orthodox manner
Psychometric testing shows great deviance between verbal and performance results
Extreme reaction to changes in routine, surroundings, people
Stilted, pedantic conversational style (”The Professor”)

Social Characteristics?of Asperger’s Syndrome:

Difficulty in accepting criticism or correction
Difficulty in offering correction or criticism without appearing harsh, pedantic or insensitive
Difficulty in perceiving and applying unwritten social rules or protocols
“Immature” manners
Failure to distinguish between private and public personal care habits: i.e., brushing, public attention to skin problems, nose picking, teeth picking, ear canal cleaning, clothing arrangement
Lack of?trust in others
Shyness
Low or no conversational participation in group meetings or conferences
Constant anxiety about performance and acceptance, despite recognition and commendation
Scrupulous honesty, often expressed in an apparently disarming or inappropriate manner or setting
Bluntness in emotional expression
“Flat affect”
Discomfort manipulating or “playing games” with others
Unmodulated reaction in being manipulated, patronized, or “handled” by others
Low to medium level of paranoia
Low to no apparent sense of humor; bizarre sense of humor (often stemming from a “private” internal thread of humor being inserted in public conversation without preparation or warming others up to the reason for the “punchline”)
Difficulty with reciprocal displays of pleasantries and greetings
Problems expressing empathy or comfort to/with others: sadness, condolence, congratulations, etc.
Pouting,, ruminating, fixating on bad experiences with people or events for an inordinate length of time
Difficulty with adopting a social mask to obscure real feelings, moods, reactions
Using social masks inappropriately (you are “xv” while everyone else is ????)
Abrupt and strong expression of likes and dislikes
Rigid adherence to rules and social conventions where flexibility is desirable
Apparent absence of relaxation, recreational, or “time out” activities
“Serious” all the time
Known for single-mindedness
Flash temper
Tantrums
Excessive talk
Difficulty in forming friendships and intimate relationships; difficulty in distinguishing between acquaintance and friendship
Social isolation and intense concern for privacy
Limited clothing preference; discomfort with formal attire or uniforms
Preference for bland or bare environments in living arrangements
Difficulty judging others’ personal space
Limited by intensely pursued interests
Often perceived as “being in their own world”

Work Characteristics of Asperger’s Syndrome:

Many of the manifestations found in the categories above can immediately translate into work behaviors or preferences. Here are some additional ones:
Difficulty with “teamwork”
Deliberate withholding of peak performance due to belief that one’s best efforts may remain unrecognized, unrewarded, or appropriated by others
Intense pride in expertise or performance, often perceived by others as “flouting behavior”
Sarcasm, negativism, criticism
Difficulty in accepting compliments, often responding with quizzical or self-deprecatory language
Tendency to “lose it” during sensory overload, multitask demands, or when contradictory and confusing priorities have been set
Difficult in starting project
Discomfort with competition, out of scale reactions to losing
Low motivation to perform tasks of no immediate personal interest
Oversight or forgetting of tasks without formal reminders such as lists or schedules
Great concern about order and appearance of personal work area
Slow performance
Perfectionism
Difficult with unstructured time
Reluctance to ask for help or seek comfort
Excessive questions
Low sensitivity to risks in the environment to self and/or others
Difficulty with writing and reports
Reliance on internal speech process to “talk” oneself through a task or procedure
Stress, frustration and anger reaction to interruptions
Difficulty in negotiating either in conflict situations or as a self-advocate
Ver low level of assertiveness
Reluctance to accept positions of authority or supervision
Strong desire to coach or mentor newcomers
Difficulty in handling relationships with authority figures
Often viewed as vulnerable or less able to resist harassment and badgering by others
Punctual and conscientious
Avoids socializing, “hanging out,” or small talk on and off the job

Physical Manifestations of Asperger’s Syndrome:

Strong sensory sensitivities: touch and tactile sensations, sounds, lighting and colors, odors, taste
Clumsiness
Balance difficulties
Difficulty in judging distances, height, depth
Difficulty in recognizing others’ faces (prosopagnosia)
Stims (self-stimulatory behavior serving to reduce anxiety, stress, or to express pleasure)
Self-injurious or disfiguring behaviors
Nail-biting
Unusual gait, stance, posture
Gross or fine motor coordination problems
Low apparent sexual interest
Depression
Anxiety
Sleep difficulties
Verbosity
Difficulty expressing anger (excessive or “bottled up”)
Flat or monotone vocal expression; limited range of inflection
Difficulty with initiating or maintaining eye contact
Elevated voice volume during periods of stress and frustration
Strong food preferences and aversions
Unusual and rigidly adhered to eating behaviors
Bad or unusual personal hygiene

Not all these symptoms may be present concerning those with Asbergers syndrome, but there is a common thread and variation of severity. Some may find a niche and become producers in their own way and many are quite intelligent - there is a notion that Einstein exhibited symptoms of Asbergers, as well as others who have contributed greatly to science and other aspects of society.

Some can learn social clues and become liked, but will always be "different". Some will never experience sex, others will experience monogamy or promiscuity. There can quite a bit of anger stuffed inside in some due to societal or familial rejection. They can be very loving to those they are close to, others will boil and churn concerning childhood or continuing experiences.

The larger question is not about guns or mental illness or mental conditions, as we have always had those among us. What has happened to our society which has given permission to both sane and mentally ill people to mass murder complete strangers? How do we socially revoke this condition?

[Don]

here was another elementary school shooting in 1988 in the State of Illinois where a lone gunman, or gunwoman, Laurie Wesserman, entered Hubbard Woods Elementary School with a .357 magnum, 32 S& W and .22 LR Baretta and shot five children. One died and 4 survived.

That's a death rate of 20% and a survival rate of 80%, the exact opposite of Sandy Hook. This involved shooting children inside a building.

It should also be noted that the Illinois children in class rooms are reported to have scattered and tried to run away rather than meekly submit to being shot and killed as reported about Sandy Hook.

My basis position is that the death rate at Sandy Hook is statistically out of the norm with all other mass shootings, even mass shootings of school children who's movements were confined by being inside class rooms, as in Hubbard Woods elementary school where 80% of the victims survived.

The historically and statistically unprecedented death rate at Sandy Hook strongly suggests more than one shooter was involved. This is a morbid subject to have to research and deal with, but it has extraordinary political consequences and we cannot allow ourselves to be blinded and our ability to ask questions to be cut off because of emotion and sentimentality.