Senseless Shooting...It could have been anyone

I think it is important to be mindful of the fact that every single person you meet on a daily basis is capable of making choices like these boys did.

I can't even bring myself to kill a spider! I stepped on a snail by accident back in February and I still tear up thinking about it. My SO killed a fly one day and didn't realize it wasn't quite dead and I was devastated over its pain and had to put it out of its misery. I even once rescued a butterfly missing half a wing.

I don't think I could do what they did. In self-defense or to defend someone else, I probably could kill. But not in cold blood.

We are all made of the same stuff. If things ended up differently in our pasts who knows how we might have ended up. If you and I had the exact same past as these boys moment by moment is it possible that we too might have done what they did? I have to believe it is at least a possibility. I would like to think that I could override whatever impulse was within them that caused them to do this but I can't know that.

No worries rml, I just read an article that said that bug don't have the receptors to feel pain. Let me see if I can find it again since it was just yesterday.

Absolutely revolting. What is the world coming to? There must be something in the water, I swear. I really feel sometimes that the U.S. is in big, big trouble - things only seem to be getting worse. The few people who actually realize what's really going on are silenced when they speak up about/against it, which is scary - but the scariest thing is that most people are extremely ignorant and too absorbed in their own little fantasy worlds to give a crap.

That's so true

No, that is not true at all.

For every story where some kids decide kill a guy for fun there are a million stories that go untold where people go about living their lives in peace. They go to work, they pay their bills, they buy groceries, they watch a movie, they play video games, and they do a thousand other things that are completely harmless or are even helpful to the rest of society.

The thing is a story about some guy sitting at home playing xbox or a family that is camping won't make headlines that sell. If your job is to sell media you will only talk about the most extreme of cases.

This isn't something new either. Humans throughout history used to be far more barbaric then we are today. Think back to the Salem witch trials. Things have gotten much better and I still hold out hope for our future.

The world isn't coming to anything. The is still the way it has always been and we are still getting better.

I agree with you and rml... the difference between now and then is the 24 hour news cycle. It is so much easier to hear about incidents like this whereas, without the internet and the national news, we probably would have never heard about this. So it just seems like more of these types events happen.

In my personal life I find that the more religiously inclined a person is the more likely they are to think that the world is getting worse by the day. They normally try to site it as evidence that we all need to convert to their particular religion so that we can win back God's favor and he will protect us from all this tragedy. As a rule I try to avoid that side of the family but we all come together for the holidays. I find it really entertaining when my Jewish relatives are there as well because I get to watch as their discussions get heated.

I think it is important to be mindful of the fact that every single person you meet on a daily basis is capable of making choices like these boys did. We are all capable of it but the overwhelming majority of us choose not to do things like this. Day after day I meet people who are doing everything they can to contribute to society. I think it is a mistake to ignore the peaceful majority and conclude that who whole world is going to hell based on the action of the hyperbolic minority.

I think I can agree with that. As a "religious" person, I will sometimes have these thoughts too.. but it is usually when the news inundates me with tragedy after tragedy... war, school shoots, senseless murders and play it all over and over and over again. That's when I just turn it all off and ignore it (to some degree) to center myself again.

Absolutely revolting. What is the world coming to? There must be something in the water, I swear. I really feel sometimes that the U.S. is in big, big trouble - things only seem to be getting worse. The few people who actually realize what's really going on are silenced when they speak up about/against it, which is scary - but the scariest thing is that most people are extremely ignorant and too absorbed in their own little fantasy worlds to give a crap.

That's so true

Pick up a history book every once in a while. The world isn't getting worse and people aren't any more evil in general than they were a thousand years ago. As a society (the US, Europe, Australia, etc.), we are actually much more compassionate and less violent now.

Absolutely revolting. What is the world coming to? There must be something in the water, I swear. I really feel sometimes that the U.S. is in big, big trouble - things only seem to be getting worse. The few people who actually realize what's really going on are silenced when they speak up about/against it, which is scary - but the scariest thing is that most people are extremely ignorant and too absorbed in their own little fantasy worlds to give a crap.

That's so true

Pick up a history book every once in a while. The world isn't getting worse and people aren't any more evil in general than they were a thousand years ago. As a society (the US, Europe, Australia, etc.), we are actually much more compassionate and less violent now.

Thanks for the suggestion - however, I'm already quite familiar with the general history of the world. It's quite easy to be "compassionate" and "non-violent" when you're living a seemingly comfortable, struggle-free life, but unfortunately, many people don't have that luxury.

Oh, and I'm sorry - but the world really hasn't come that far since the Salem Witch Trials and Spanish Inquisition. Similar things still go on in the world around us, you just don't see it or hear about it. The media shows you only what they're supposed to show you.

So sad and such a waste of a young life. Feel so sorry for his family.

Makes me really grateful to live in a country where gun crime is so rare.

RIP

So sad someone would take an opportunity like this to take a back handed swipe at the US.

Disgusting crime. Those kids should face the DP. of course, this would never happen outside of the US, right? :huh:

So the guns did this?...these three are NOT responsible for their own actions....they were merely sitting around bored... when the nasty gun went berserk jumped in a car and shot this poor young man.:huh:

Lets NOT balme awful parenting.....undisciplined kids..........Im sure these kids wre straight A students right.?

Where are those racizts SHarpton, Jesse Jackson Jr stirring the racizt pot?? oh ooppps the victim was wite....

It is horrible that it happened in Oklahoma... crazy weird.

With that said this all plays into the thug life that the media, music, TV, games portray that weak and feeble minded people will blindly fall into. Only when this thug life music and such stops being embraced and is no longer cool will things change.

I think it is important to be mindful of the fact that every single person you meet on a daily basis is capable of making choices like these boys did.

I can't even bring myself to kill a spider! I stepped on a snail by accident back in February and I still tear up thinking about it. My SO killed a fly one day and didn't realize it wasn't quite dead and I was devastated over its pain and had to put it out of its misery. I even once rescued a butterfly missing half a wing.

I don't think I could do what they did. In self-defense or to defend someone else, I probably could kill. But not in cold blood.

It is horrible that it happened in Oklahoma... crazy weird.

With that said this all plays into the thug life that the media, music, TV, games portray that weak and feeble minded people will blindly fall into. Only when this thug life music and such stops being embraced and is no longer cool will things change.

It is horrible that it happened in Oklahoma... crazy weird.

With that said this all plays into the thug life that the media, music, TV, games portray that weak and feeble minded people will blindly fall into. Only when this thug life music and such stops being embraced and is no longer cool will things change.

Are you being serious?

Absolutely revolting. What is the world coming to? There must be something in the water, I swear. I really feel sometimes that the U.S. is in big, big trouble - things only seem to be getting worse. The few people who actually realize what's really going on are silenced when they speak up about/against it, which is scary - but the scariest thing is that most people are extremely ignorant and too absorbed in their own little fantasy worlds to give a crap.

That's so true

Pick up a history book every once in a while. The world isn't getting worse and people aren't any more evil in general than they were a thousand years ago. As a society (the US, Europe, Australia, etc.), we are actually much more compassionate and less violent now.

Thanks for the suggestion - however, I'm already quite familiar with the general history of the world. It's quite easy to be "compassionate" and "non-violent" when you're living a seemingly comfortable, struggle-free life, but unfortunately, many people don't have that luxury.

Oh, and I'm sorry - but the world really hasn't come that far since the Salem Witch Trials and Spanish Inquisition. Similar things still go on in the world around us, you just don't see it or hear about it. The media shows you only what they're supposed to show you.

We live in a culture that doesn't value LIFE.