Yep...no one was ever killed with a knife.

Rolling pin/saucepan/hammer/tire lever/crow bar/shovel

Fint as you- of all people- know...to absolutely certainly kill someone with a knife, you need to close, smell their breath and body odour and hack into their guts.

By all accounts its a dirty smelly and still somewhat uncertain business.

That's why they give the army guns.

We take the same view from opposite perspectives. Society is a complex mechanism and manners/politeness is its friction-reducer, preventing heated exchanges and societal breakdowns like the one we're talking about. Unfortunately, modern America sees polite behavior in others as carte blanc to behave like a complete @sshat, rather than an example to follow. Progress is not a society where these sorts of incidents don't end in violence, it's a society where these sorts of incidents don't happen because people behave themselves.

I don’t post much on this forum, but I do come here almost daily. Over the years I have gained a lot of respect for the members here and when I have a question (about most things) I come here looking for answers.
However, after reading through this thread…I can’t believe some of the attitudes about this shooting. How anyone can attach ANY blame to the phone user is disgusting to me. All the shooting had to do was simply change seats. If something is bothering you, why invite confrontation? As adults, we should AVOID confrontation.
There is a man dead, a widow and now a young child without a father. It’s just shameful

Pretty simple zip, society has regressed to the point where a younger man believes it is ok to attack an older or weaker one. The police are not much help (there were policemen present at the theater). You must defend yourself and your family. A weapon is an equalizer when a younger, stronger person attacks you. If you wait to long...it is too late. Often, there is a only split second to decide...

If you exchange fighting words/threaten an old man/woman and then step into them and strike them in the face...don't assume that they will not be too afraid to take the time to analyze the situation well enough to realize that you are stupid enough to strike them with a box of popcorn...and that was all you intended (assuming that is the case). Expect them to defend them self with any means available. We stopped waiting for someone else to rescue us on 911.

zip, you are spot on, and disgusting is the word.

Fint, not making stuff up to suit your own peculiar world view are you?

Unlike you, Fint, living in your bucolic country surroundings, I'm right in the heart of the city. I have to contend with all sorts of people 24/7. All I can say is that I'm very glad I don't live in your distopia.

http://static2.wikia.nocookie.net/__.../Sam_flagg.jpg

Exactly! :D

Jim
I can see the the US Capital out the window where I work every day...l arrive in the dark and go hone after dark. I have to walk to meetings all over town; through very rough neighborhoods. I see lots of crime and even prevent some now and then. The police only show up afterward...sometimes long afterward...to make a report.

Is there something in my post that you find inaccurate?

But why would the any adult welcome and seek out confrontation? Someone is bothering you...change seats, there were only 25 people in theater. We're not talking about a black eye or bloody nose....he killed another human being. I hope the angry people in this thread will take something from this and avoid confrontation.

I think having that gun on your person makes people more aggressive.

What I've learned here, I wonder how many 'assaults' go unprosecuted on schools everyday, kids throwing 'spitwads'. Food fights are now felonies.

I think the shooter had a chip on his shoulder and went looking for a fight.

Italy
Most folks believe that asking someone to stop breaking a rule will achieve that result. It would likely never occur to them that the person would stand up and hit them. Unfortunately, some folks are like the person who was killed, a bully. I am sure it never occurred to the older man that his simple request would result in an attack by the younger man.

Those who say the shooter could have just changed seats - leave out the technical aspect that when you seat yourself in a theater - positioning is strategic both distance from the screen as well as centering.

I don't know what the shooter's mindset is.......but I wouldn't want to re-position myself after finding just the right position in which to view the presentation - just because a person in front of me was using his phone against theater policy.

He asked for help from the texter..........and was DENIED!.


I don't understand why the texter couldn't have just stopped texting and apologized?


Sure the shooter could have changed seats. But the texter also could have exerted common courtesy........and that would have been the end of the whole thing. Then (1) the shooter wouldn't have had to leave his seat and go get management....then (2) frustration builds up because the manager is busy with someone else...so (3) he returns to the seat.......and the texter initiates confrontational dialogue...and then (4) throws something at the shooter.

All because of the texter's refusal to accommodate another guest in the establishment with a very reasonable request.

And you say the shooter could have just changed seats.....so the texter has NO culpability here?

That's being oblivious to the facts......to fit your own narrative or just in your mind trying to over simplify things.......plain and simple.

You know this for fact, ofcourse fint.

So instead, he shot him dead.

ts a real pissoff when youre not in just the right seat at The Hobbit.

Hard flex...if that were the case, why did he not shoot all the other folks that he corrected for texting?

Kids are often bullied and assaulted in school...and get the living hell beat out of them...and it is unprosecuted.

Good reason to wait for movies on Netflix.

I think your perception is somewhat paranoid. Capitol Hill is safe. Most of NW and SW are fine. Lots of gentrification. There's a lot of new development in SE. Anacostia is a hole. It's kind of funny but the only FFL that I know of in the District is in a pretty sketchy area.

I commute by foot, my wife does it by bicycle. We've been doing that for nearly eight years. Even on these winter days where it's dark during our commutes.

Quite the opposite. There have been a few times when, unarmed, I would have escalated a situation, but because I was armed, I let it go. I think this goes for the vast majority of people who carry guns, since it's rarer than someone getting struck by lightning that a legal gun carrier starts trouble with his gun.

Why should the old man have to change seats? He did the right thing by asking the texter to knock it off. If more people had stepped in when douchebaggery was taking place, perhaps the texter would have learned how to behave in public by the tender age of 43. The old man was absolutely right to go complain to mgt. If I owned a movie theatre, I'd want a dissatisfied customer to let me know someone else was making a disturbance, so I could address it and keep the good customer happy and the bad customers from coming back. He certainly went too far in shooting the guy, but why should he have expected that confrontation when he was doing everything right up until he pulled the gun?