Sydney's not the only dangerous place this morning--Gunman on spree in SE PA (1 Viewer)

[theBaron]

This is going on right now, in my old stomping grounds:

http://montgomerynews.com/articles/...ndependent/news/doc548ef461879bb984963324.txt

It must be getting national attention, because I've seen links from stations in other parts of the country for this story.

Apparently the police have the suspect cornered in Pennsburg (formerly Heiligsville), which is about 15 miles south of my office.

People are losing their minds.

 

[jazzeum]

They've lost them unfortunately. The world has always been an ugly place but with enhanced abilities to know everything that happens everywhere, the ugliness is or seems enhanced.

 

[Combat]

They've lost them unfortunately. The world has always been an ugly place but with enhanced abilities to know everything that happens everywhere, the ugliness is or seems enhanced.

One irony is that over the last decade or so the violent crime rate in the US has fallen by historic levels. We are safer today from violent crime than at about any time in recent history. In contrast, most people are more fearful than ever because they believe violent crime is rampant from the media reports. We have developed a death fixation that feeds on celebrity deaths, murders of young women and mass shootings. People can't get enough of it. They drive ratings and the media focuses on these events. It's a vicious cycle. It's hard to find her show, but check out Nancy Grace. What a spectacle of paranoia and fear. It's almost humorous. I expect her to jump through the screen and start yelling "You're next!" like that guy in Invasion of the Body Snatchers. CNN is not much better. Anderson Cooper has shown up at more disaster scenes than the Grim Reaper. If you see him in your neighborhood, you will know the end is near.

 

[Scott]

One irony is that over the last decade or so the violent crime rate in the US has fallen by historic levels. We are safer today from violent crime than at about any time in recent history. .................................

The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined is a 2011 book by Steven Pinker

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Better_Angels_of_Our_Nature

Or read the book.

 

[nysoldiers]

A lethal combination of mental illness, hundreds of millions of guns in circulation and a news media that exploits violence for better ratings!

 

[Desertkiwi]

A lethal combination of mental illness, hundreds of millions of guns in circulation and a news media that exploits violence for better ratings!

Would have to agree, if it 'bleeds it leads' as they say. Plus it's the silly season, where folks go crazy for Xmas and you get to see both the good and bad side of human nature in all it's glory........it's amazing how some get so worked up over one day of the year!

 

[jazzeum]

There are people out there who are not mentally ill who do terrible things and not all mentally ill people do terrible things. The people who did 9/11 were not mentally ill, just extremists. It seems that the mentally ill are made the whipping boys for these kinds of tragedies. If a person had a broken arm or bronchitis, do we single them out? No. Mental illness is an illness, like other illnesses.

 

[nysoldiers]

There are people out there who are not mentally ill who do terrible things and not all mentally ill people do terrible things. The people who did 9/11 were not mentally ill, just extremists. It seems that the mentally ill are made the whipping boys for these kinds of tragedies. If a person had a broken arm or bronchitis, do we single them out? No. Mental illness is an illness, like other illnesses.

Certainly I didn't mean to imply that all "mentally ill" people are violent. The definition of mental illness covers a lot of ground and is often subjective......from neurotic to psychotic. Some would classify terrorists as "mentally ill" and to kill innocents can't be "normal".
I was trying to convey the fact that people who are disturbed and prone to violence have easy access to weapons in our society and military style weapons that can kill indiscriminately. No politics as I don't know the answers myself.

 

[Desertkiwi]

Certainly I didn't mean to imply that all "mentally ill" people are violent. The definition of mental illness covers a lot of ground and is often subjective......from neurotic to psychotic. Some would classify terrorists as "mentally ill" and to kill innocents can't be "normal".
I was trying to convey the fact that people who are disturbed and prone to violence have easy access to weapons in our society and military style weapons that can kill indiscriminately. No politics as I don't know the answers myself.

Brads right, persons who suffer from mental illness are often unjustly labelled, as being nothing more than being crazy nutters, hell bent on hurting others. Of course that's complete rubbish in most case's, but that hasn't stopped the prejudice many face on a daily basis.

I didn't interpret your post as labelling persons in that way and thought your comments regarding firearms timely and on the money.

Firearms are designed for one thing and it's a sad fact that in the wrong hands can destroy lives and create nothing but carnage and mayham.

 

[BLReed]

Firearms are designed for one thing ............

More than one thing. Let's see. Target sports, and I believe there is even Olympic competition.
Hunting several types of game, i.e. deer, ducks and etc. Protection of life and property.
Plus, there are thousand of Military assault weapons legally owned. 99.9999% do not
cause carnage and mayham.

 

[jazzeum]

Let's try not to turn this into a gun debate, eh, Tex :wink2:

 

[jazzeum]

Certainly I didn't mean to imply that all "mentally ill" people are violent. The definition of mental illness covers a lot of ground and is often subjective......from neurotic to psychotic. Some would classify terrorists as "mentally ill" and to kill innocents can't be "normal".
I was trying to convey the fact that people who are disturbed and prone to violence have easy access to weapons in our society and military style weapons that can kill indiscriminately. No politics as I don't know the answers myself.

Yes, but you painted all people who suffer from a mental illness with a broad brush

 

[theBaron]

In this specific case, the suspect killed himself sometime Tuesday. His body was found in a wooded area not far from his home (he lived a couple of miles from a county park, whose centerpiece is a reservoir surrounded by woods with hiking and horseback riding trails). He stabbed himself to death.

From accounts given by neighbors, he was involved in increasingly acrimonious incidents with his ex-wife, and he was involved in a losing custody battle with her. I think he did have mental health issues, and again, it seems like earlier identification and diagnosis might have helped prevent this violent episode. And it's not necessarily a gun control issue--the surviving nephew was slashed with a knife.

I think this case also highlights that we in Pennsylvania may need to review and reform our family law, because it has been said that we are a "mother" state, that the courts tend to take the side of the mother by default in any dispute. I don't mean to say that Stone should have been grated custody of his children, or that had be gotten the custody he wanted, he wouldn't have done something else down the road. But one must wonder if the losses in court helped ratchet up the situation, turning up the heat till he boiled over.

In any case, there is a family now torn by the murder of several of its members, and a pair of kids who will have to get over this horror.