"Reply to killers by Richard Sale

"My goal in writing what I did was to direct attention to the kind of personality that allows one human being to murder another in cold blood -- the defects in emotional make-up, the dearth of imagination, and the inability to insert yourself with compassion into another’s situation. My comments were aimed at people who harbor pet opinions in spite of the fact that those may lack any intelligible logic; people were are so intent on having their narrow positions triumph, they vehemently disdain the ideas they have in common with others; people who have their own pet hobby horses that they are addicted to riding at all costs; people who have such an exaggerated sense of their own value, that they would trample the world beneath their feet in order to gain their own ends. "  Richard Sale

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[Arun]

Newtown, CT:

"The bullets Mr. Lanza used were “designed in such a fashion the energy is deposited in the tissue so the bullet stays in,” resulting in deep damage, Dr. Carver said."

"The state’s chief medical examiner, H. Wayne Carver II, said all of the 20 children and 6 adults gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., had been struck more than once in the fusillade."

I take the two quotes from the news to mean that few bullets struck more than one person.

"Police sources said a “mind numbing” number of spent cartridges littered the floor of the school."

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Aurora, CO

The defunct Federal Assault Weapons Ban limited most clip sizes to 10 rounds; police say the theater shooter had a .223-caliber Smith & Wesson AR-15 assault-style rifle with a drum clip that could hold up to 100 rounds and shoot as many as 60 times in a minute.

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Tucson AZ

In the 2011 Tucson, Ariz., attack that killed six people and nearly killed Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, police said, Jared Lee Loughner had a Glock with an expanded 30-round magazine; the carnage didn’t stop until he ran out of bullets and had to reload, at which point two men tackled him.

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Fort Hood, TX

Witnesses said Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, accused of killing 13 and wounding dozens more at the Ft. Hood massacre in 2009, sought out the largest-capacity handgun he could find before the shooting, also purchasing 30-round magazines. Soldiers testified later about watching their colleagues being gunned down and trying to rush Hasan during brief moments while he was reloading. He was stopped when shot by two armed policemen.

---- I'm just curious, what is the argument in favor of having weapons that can fire so many rounds so fast without reloading? What wild animal in the US, or home invader needs so much shock and awe?

[VietnamVet]

Corporate media screwed up the basic facts in Connecticut from the murder weapon to the shooter’s mother being a kindergarten teacher at the school. They frame the scene first. In corporate propaganda other facts are avoided. The unemployment rate for all young men is hitting 25% the tipping point for revolution. American Society does not give a damn for them. No jobs. No families. No hope.

Of course, some go over the edge. More will. A lot join gangs. A few joined the Army and after tours overseas will be kicked out of the Army for being too fat.

I carried a locked and loaded M-16 for a year. It is a very dangerous tool. It should only be available to the trained military.

But, the survivalists won’t give up their weapons. I just read a futurist’s blog of an America with the government’s continued disintegration and the coming conflicts between gangs and militias:

http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com/2012/11/on-border.html

This may not be our offspring’s future but American today is not the American I grew up in the 50’s and early 60’s.

[turcopolier]

VV

This .223 fires the same round as the M-16. As you know the bullet is necked down to the point that it is somewhat unstable in flight and tumbles and "keyholes" in flesh. pl

[jonst]

The argument is, as far as I can tell, 'because I want my way'. The parties making that argument have gotten their own way so many times at this point, they can't imagine not getting it. And given who they are going up against, Democrats, I would say that they are likely to keep getting their own way.

I got news for you, Dems, no matter what you do, no matter how abject your surrender of your base's values....you will not get back a certain type of voter. They are gone forever. So, get over it Dems, you can win without them.

[Fred]

Did you read Mr. Sale's writing? This response only seems to prove his point.

[Charles I]

Lovely

[William R. Cumming]

I understand huge amounts of ammo were in the possession of the shooter but not expended before he shot himself! iS THIS CORRECT?

[Cal]

Everything Sale wrote about killers is true.
So basically what e.v.e.r.y.o.n.e needs to take away from from these rampage killings is to pay more attention to children and even adults that seem.."not quite right".
Yea, do stick your nose in someone else's business if you 'legitimately' sense something off and pass it on to some professional or at least express it to the parents or a friend of the person. So you might be wrong or called a busy body and told to butt out, so what?...it's better than doing or saying nothing.
It seems what passes for 'community' these days consist mostly of soccer competitions and seeing how many things you can enroll your kids in and fights about neighborhood landscaping rules....we need to get back to real communities where people do feel some responsibility about watching and looking out for children and particulary children with problems in their neighborhoods.