Worst mass shooting in U.S. history

[Mikey]

I don't have any pithy or clever semantics for this, and I can't say as I care much to speculate on the ideology involved. The fact of this occurence far outweighs any discussion of the categorization of the victims or the perpetrator. 50 people killed in Orlando, FL nightclub shooting

[Graham Kennedy]

The sad thing - one of the many sad things - about this is that there's really nothing to be said about it that hasn't been said before, over and over.

Mass shooting.

Muslim shooter.

Hate crime against minority group.

Right sees their prejudices confirmed.

Left will no doubt want to talk about guns.

All sides seek political advantage. Trump is already tweeting about how right he was.

No doubt somebody will soon start saying the gays need more guns. Probably somebody will propose laws to encourage guns in nightclubs or some damn thing.

And so it goes, and so it goes, and so it goes. Until the next one.

[McAvoy]

Seeing a lot of comments about all Muslims should leave the country or they all should be monitored now. Hate to say it but it smacks right of Nazism to Jews.

Interestingly, usually you see some talk about how this would be God's punishment to the gay community for their disgusting ways. I guess its a matter of time.

I am having a hard time trying to find a solution that could at least lessen these sort of events.

[Mikey]

Seeing a lot of comments about all Muslims should leave the country or they all should be monitored now. Hate to say it but it smacks right of Nazism to Jews.

Agreed, and it has since Trump mentioned that he wanted tio require all resident Muslims to register as such.

[McAvoy]

Westboro being as classy as they are said God sent the shooter.

[sunnyside]

The thing that really gets me about this incident (besides the usual things as noted above) is how the police responded to it.

There was actually an on duty cop present there, but it sounds like he didn't engage. Two other cops nearby show up, and still very soon after the start of the shooting the group moved in, it sounds like at least one of them fired a couple rounds in the direction of the shooter, but then they pulled back even with a three to one advantage allowing the shooter to turn his guns back on the crowd.

After that more and more police start arriving, and they just set up a perimeter. The shooter is in there hunting down people. People are hiding in bathrooms and texting their parents and getting found and killed, and the cops just stay out there. The shooter is calling on the phone and talking to the cops about ISIS and they're just staying out there. It sounds like over a hundred cops eventually were on scene and they wouldn't make a move.

Three hours after the start of the shooting an armored vehicle arrives on scene and they're finally willing to do something. Though even then they just ram a hole in the side of the building. People rush out, and the shooter follows them (probably downing a few as they try and get through the hole.) The shooter then steps out of the club so the police can shoot him from the convenience of hard cover.

I wonder how long they would have let him just keep killing people still in hiding, playing dead, or wounded if he hadn't obliged the police by heading outside?

I can appreciate being afraid and not wanting to risk one's own life. But geez.

In any case, if you were wondering how this particular shooting got to be the worst in US history, now you know.

[Graham Kennedy]

I suspect that their thinking was that this was another Paris-style attack in force. Charge in there and you might find yourself facing half a dozen guys with assault rifles and body armour.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Westboro being as classy as they are said God sent the shooter.

And a preacher said it was a good thing fifty 'pedophiles' were killed. His words, note, not mine.

[Teaos]

I thought that church has kinda gone away after the old guy died. They have only ever had a few dozen members.

[sunnyside]

I thought that church has kinda gone away after the old guy died. They have only ever had a few dozen members.

They've always been tiny, but I guess a handful have stuck around. It has to be quite an ego trip to just be some nobody but then to have millions of people and news agencies come looking to find out whatever trollish thing you've said every time there's some tragedy.

[IanKennedy]

I suspect that their thinking was that this was another Paris-style attack in force. Charge in there and you might find yourself facing half a dozen guys with assault rifles and body armour.

I suspect they thought he had a suicide bomb or some such. Wouldn't really have stopped the French police. Didn't stop the US marines and the Brit on the European train back when either.

[IanKennedy]

Interestingly, usually you see some talk about how this would be God's punishment to the gay community for their disgusting ways. I guess its a matter of time.

Ah, well, it's the wrong god for them to start that, too much. I'm not saying that the 'Muslim god' has a liking for gay people, just that the mad variety of followers of the 'Christian god' won't overly want to side with their god.

[Graham Kennedy]

Yeah, those on the US right who want to highlight the whole "muslim hatred of gays" thing have a bit of a "but don't you hate gays too?" problem to deal with here. Like this guy for instace :

In his mind, the horror here was that the guy shot them just on his own initiative. Whereas they should have been killed, like all gay people should, with due process of a righteous government.

[Jim]

Who is that guy fooling? Straight as the letter S. "Self Loathing for $200 Alex..."

[Teaos]

No no he can't be gay, can't you see how much he hates them?