Lit MACLUNKY -- The Lit Forum Maclunky Thread, v3

Oh, I agree, but I also think the killer's motives need to be examined and find out what is simmering under the surface.

After all, McVeigh used bombs not guns.

 

Oh for sure. We need to pay attention to the ever growing number of white terrorists in America. This is a cultural problem that keeps simmering cause all the focus is being put on non white terror attacks. Don't get me wrong those are tragedies as well, but so many people use them as an excuse to push their isolationist rhetoric while paying attention to the actual statistical most likely group or a terrorist to be from in America would end up undoing said people's end goals.

In terms of what the psychological problem is; I feel like the guns themselves are a massive part of it. So much of American culture built around, whether people want to admit it or not, white elitism and jingoism. You get these a-holes who think a gun is a remote control for life and that there are no consequences are that way because from an early age they think they are more important than other people and that having a weapon is their right and that it can fix anything.

We give people the ability to end a life, several lives with just the press of a button, and then act surprised when people who have been around guns their whole lives and have always pushed other people around end up using them in acts of terror. To my point on these people thinking they are better than others look at just the shooting this week, the guy was a wife beater. The kinds of people who do these things are the type who are never taught that violence has consequences or at least that there are no consequences for them. Giving someone a weapon from an early age just ingrains into them that guns fix their problems.

How many of the recent shooters picked up how to use guns within 5 years or so of their shooting? I am honestly wondering cause most of them seem to be the type who have been raised with firearms and almost all of them are straight white males. You have people who are given advantages their whole lives and have always been told firearms fix things, put two and two together and you get a shooter.

 

Years back, I read an interview with Donald Sutherland that perhaps gives an answer:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/...tial-American-film-since-I-cant-remember.html

Now, the western frontier is centuries gone but I think that mentality is the root cause. It's still around, it didn't die in response to civilisation, it just went deeper.

 

I think there is something to that, since so many movies and TV-series are about people taking the law in their own hands or lawmen ignoring protocol or quiting "to do what's right" and the story threat them as being in the right for doing so. American media more often than not tell us that violence is the answer, not talking or having a better system caring for people with problems

 

That’s a good suggestion but Australia has a similiar frontier culture. You have outlaws like Ned Kelly etc who are famous. Australia is basically the US louder and younger brother. They had 1 mass shooting and after that they put in gun control no questions asked. It was even a Conservative Government that did it.

 

The "blaze of glory" idea just disturbs me now, after seeing the results in real life so many times. It's amazing how many people think even Jedi should make sure to kill a lot of people before they die. I see it all the time here. "Such and such Jedi didn't kill enough before they died. They went out like a punk".

 

I was disturbed by the narrative that was put out. First it was that the killer got shot by somone else therefore 26 people being killed is ok because the good guys have guns and can shoot the bad guy. I literally had people telling me that those in the Church should have been carrying weapons because of it ! That’s since turned out to be false and that the killer took his own life.

It’s now moved on to his discharge which has shown that he was refused a concealed carry permit not a refusal to have a gun itself. It’s also a distraction from the obvious about how easy it is to get an Assault Rifle regardless.

Then there is Trump babbling on about Mental Health even though he made it easier for those with those problems (following this narrative) to obtain weapons.

It’s just strange to me as it’s all window dressing on the main point and frankly quite sinister as it’s a deliberate distraction

 

I'm not gonna be made to feel bad about enjoying the Ganner, sorry.

 

White male terrorism in America comes in a variety of forms but this seems to be of the Charles Whitman variety.

I.e. the sense of unfulfillment and self-hatred which lets loose on the people around him.

 

Quite and when you're being out-done on sensibility by a culture as macho as Oz, that's a problem all right.

Maybe the difference is that too many Americans see the US Constitution as holy writ that cannot be tampered with, whereas in Oz, it was merely a law change. Plus the fact that they were so disgusted by what had been done the consensus was 'no more'. (Go on, someone post a GIF).

In the US? 20 kids get killed and it's deemed 'the price of freedom'. Strangely it never goes further, the freedom to be shot? To be in pain? To die before your time?

 

So Brian Michael Bendis just left Marvel and signed on an exclusive deal at DC!!! I am still flabbergasted. I mean this is Kirby leaving Marvel or DC levels of crazy

 

It is, isn't it? Really interesting development.

I think Marvel are stuffed, even more than they were.

 

The industry just keeps getting more and more interesting. This certain shakes things up from where I thought they where going. After King and his total freelance paid by the page deal I was thinking that we would start getting away from exclusives. Makes me wonder if Bendis and Marvel fought a bit

 

Ah, Uli, you rarely disappoint.

 

Ha. Talk to my ex.


...

Wait that came out wrong.

 

I think not. I think this is far more a case of: What did Bendis have left to do at Marvel? X-Men, Spider-Man, Avengers, Daredevil - he'd done it all, regardless of what you might think of a particular run. There was nothing left, no new challenges.

 

Mind you there's a difference in culture in America that causes a lot of confusion in the discussion:

A person from the inner city who knows people gunned down in robberies, gang shootings, or simply because they were in a dispute will have a very different view of guns than the people who use them for hunting culture or as sport.

 

Yeah once you write a run for every character you gotta do something different. Wonder if Johns will ever leave DC for that reason?

 

I don't think so, well not for now, as Johns is guiding Rebirth.

He did do some Marvel work early on, including a very infamous Hank-Jan scene, so I suppose it could eventually happen.

 

Wait THAT scene was Johns?

 

Yep.

 

Wow! Well I won't be able to look at any scene the Atom has in his books the same way again. Then again they sorta did that with him in JLI

 

Maybe of interest of you Star Trek people http://rachelwatchesstartrek.com/

 

13th Doctor Costume reveal:

Spoiler

Not feeling it, tbh, but I said the same thing about Smith's outfit before Series 5 and now it's one of my favourites. TARDIS exterior has been modified, also.