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Newtown CT school shooting

skiNEwhere

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You could see how much it affected the president during his address, tragic
 

Nick

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IMO, the only thing that can be done is we as a society need to get better at recognizing the signs of mental illness and prevent such people from committing such heinous and evil crimes.

That's about all you can do really.

Yup.

When you think about it ... we are a nation of 300 million. Even if only .00001% of the people in this country would do something like this, that's still 30 individuals.

I think part of the difficulty is that things are always easier seen in hindsight. I like to think of it like .... when you go ski, how many times do you nearly fall, for every time you actually fall? It's like 20:1. There are always going to be close calls. So how many people across the country probably exhibit behavior that could result in a killing like this? There are probably 1000 people showing the exact same signs for the 1 that actually follows through.

It's the proverbial needle in a haystack. No easy solutions. Just sadness.

Just sickening .. :(
 

JimG.

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IMO, the only thing that can be done is we as a society need to get better at recognizing the signs of mental illness and prevent such people from committing such heinous and evil crimes.

That's about all you can do really.

Perhaps, but you don't have kids yet.

When you do, you will change your opinion and you will demand that something more concrete be done. My greatest fear in life is that something like this happens to one of my kids. A buddy of mine from CT has a son who is in first grade at that school. I freaked out when I heard the news and spent an hour in terror that his son was shot. His son is OK but very shaken. Hasn't stopped crying all day. Terrified to go back to school.


Psychos like this guy live on the idea that society can't stop them when they decide to go off. I'll be attending my next school board meeting and I'll be demanding that our schools hire armed guards to monitor and control entry to all school buildings. That's what needs to be done. Shoot the bastards before they get the chance to hurt kids.
 

deadheadskier

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I didn't realize I had to have children to have a valid opinion on the matter...........


I certainly wouldn't be opposed to having armed guards at my town's schools, but I'm not sure how much that helps when you're dealing with a psychopath of such magnitude. Maybe the guards kill the gunman or maybe the guards become added to the casualty list. Where else do we add more armed security in the country? The movie theater? All workplaces? Two years ago a gunman killed eight fellow employees and himself at his workplace in CT. I guess I just see us as already having one of the most heavily policed nations in the world. We have the highest incarceration rate in the world. Almost 1% of the population is in jail; an additional 2% is on probation. Yet, sadly, these mass murders still happen all too frequently.

I do understand the call for "concrete" action, but also understand that that doesn't guarantee "concrete" results.
 

dmc

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I didn't realize I had to have children to have a valid opinion on the matter...........

Gregg established that fact with me 5 years ago... :( Was dismissed in a conversation for not having kids...

But your opinion is valid.. Mental health plays into this for sure...
 

2knees

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I have no words, no anger, just despair. 20 children. 20 awesome little people who havent even learned prejudice and hate. 20 chances at so much gone forever. I hope they are all somewhere with bags of lollipops and candy playing with each other. It's all i can think to keep from throwing up.
 

witch hobble

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Mental health, easy access to powerful weapons, and young men's transition into adulthood are all things that need to be reflected upon here. There will be some unique details specific to this incident, but there will be more that fit a pattern that has been playing out with increasing frequency over the last 20 years.

I agree something (or a lot of things) need to be done. But I have a feeling that with the holidays and new years approaching, many will resolve not to think much about it after the initial shock wears off.

Nobody's opinion is invalid due to not having kids, but you guys also have to understand how fraught with emotion and anxiety parenting is when these shootings become commonplace, so cut the dads some slack too.
 

2knees

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Gregg established that fact with me 5 years ago... :( Was dismissed in a conversation for not having kids...

But your opinion is valid.. Mental health plays into this for sure...

Dude. really. in this thread?
 

Nick

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I have no words, no anger, just despair. 20 children. 20 awesome little people who havent even learned prejudice and hate. 20 chances at so much gone forever. I hope they are all somewhere with bags of lollipops and candy playing with each other. It's all i can think to keep from throwing up.

Well said .... blah
 

JimG.

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Gregg established that fact with me 5 years ago... :( Was dismissed in a conversation for not having kids...

But your opinion is valid.. Mental health plays into this for sure...

I am offended that either of you thinks I am invalidating your opinions because you don't have kids. Utter nonsense! All I'm saying is that you will think less about the societal causes for these acts of evil and think more about what you can do to protect your kids if and when you decide to have any. I assure you you won't take the stance of "what else can you do?"

All I am saying is that when these things happen it hits very close to home for any parent. That does not mean that you two are not equally disgusted by these murders or that you have no right to an opinion.
 

skiNEwhere

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That does not mean that you two are not equally disgusted by these murders or that you have no right to an opinion.

Agreed.

There is a lot of stuff after this happened that I wanted to say in this forum, that could prevent events like this in the future, but it would be the same as politics, so I bit my tougue. Right now, this is not the time nor the place to post stuff like that. I think the only opinions that should be posted in this thread is how terrible this whole situation is, and any recent developments

If you want to post about gun control or how to limit violence, this should be posted in another thread, at ANOTHER time, if Nick allows it. Just my .02 cents, I'm not a mod but I would hate to see this thread being torn apart by different peoples opinions on how to prevent this in the future.

I haven't been affected like this emotionally since 9/11, this really stuck since it happen in new england
 

witch hobble

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If you want to post about gun control or how to limit violence, this should be posted in another thread, at ANOTHER time, if Nick allows it. Just my .02 cents, I'm not a mod but I would hate to see this thread being torn apart by different peoples opinions on how to prevent this in the future.

Just because it is topical and people have opinions doesn't mean it is political.

Preventing this from happening again should be important enough that if it mars a thread on a ski forum.....well that is an acceptable consequence, IMO.
 

skiNEwhere

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Just because it is topical and people have opinions doesn't mean it is political.

Many people have different opinions in regards into how to prevent violence, some who value their opinions strongly. It may not be politics per se, but the arguments that could develop parallel politics. It was on the track to happen earlier in this thread. Just look at when global warming was mentioned in another thread, things got nasty, and that was not politics, in the strictest sense, but it turned into politics, and there was a lot of name calling and belittling. I've seen it happen before, and this is how it usually started.

All I'm saying is that this thread is not the place for that.
 

witch hobble

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A solution to these problems will require political will. And even then will not be 100% effective. Similar to carbon emission reduction, yes.

If somebody jumped in and argued that "if only these kindergarteners had weapons then this could have been prevented", that would be bordering on the "political". I hope you (or anybody) are not suppressing the desire to express that opinion.
 

skiNEwhere

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People can express their opinion, but not here (meaning this thread), not now (too soon). I've said enough already and ruining the point of this thread. I'm not saying anything else regarding this
 

4aprice

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I actually shed a tear over this. I hugged my high school kid when he came home. This hit hard especially when I think back to the days when my kids were that age. I can't imagine what these parents are going through. God bless their souls.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ
 

ScottySkis

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Heart breaking, my Aunt is a school teacher of children in Newburgh NY not far from their just horrible.
:mad::mad::mad:
 

deadheadskier

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I am offended that either of you thinks I am invalidating your opinions because you don't have kids. Utter nonsense! All I'm saying is that you will think less about the societal causes for these acts of evil and think more about what you can do to protect your kids if and when you decide to have any. I assure you you won't take the stance of "what else can you do?"

All I am saying is that when these things happen it hits very close to home for any parent. That does not mean that you two are not equally disgusted by these murders or that you have no right to an opinion.

You're the one who is offended?

You were the one who is now twice telling me that my opinion will change if/when I become a father. Personally, I don't think it will. I've got a lot of friends who are great parents who I've discussed this horrible tragedy with. The range of opinions/emotions is broad among all of us, but I can assure you that many of the parents I've spoken with on the matter shared similar thoughts as I do. The safety of their own children being their number one priority goes without even saying, but that doesn't mean they think armed guards is the answer. I actually agreed with you on that one, but I don't think it's the biggest part of the solution.

I'm not right/wrong in my opinions on what can be done about such tragedies and you're not right/wrong in your stance either.

What is wrong is essentially invalidating the opinion of someone by saying you only feel such a way for such and such a reason, but your opinions will change down the line. I don't do that with others and I don't appreciate it when others do that with me.
 
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