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St. Louis School Shooter - Another "lonely" young male taking it out on society

So yesterday a 19 year old walked in to a school he used to attend and started shooting. Two killed and seven wounded. The shooter, Orlando Harris, was killed by the police. He used an AR-15 and had over 600 rounds of ammunition.

Today they released portion of a note he left in his car. It listed other school shooters in the U.S. and the number of people they'd killed. He said he wanted to be the next name on the list.

He also said, “I don’t have any friends, I don’t have any family. I’ve been an isolated loner my whole life. This was a perfect storm for a mass shooting."

The knee-jerk reaction is "mental health issues." Well, yeah. Clearly. Randomly killing people isn't exactly a solid mental health platform. But maybe it's not something than can be diagnosed. Maybe we're creating these people with social media as the main ingredient.

Bill Maher is hit and miss for most everyone but this commentary, which has to include the little jokes but probably shouldn't, examines the role of loneliness and frustration and how it's been created/exasperated by social media. Lot of truth there.

[media=https://youtu.be/WGp-omDD3V0]
Ynotisay
M
38 replies 145 views Oct 25, 2022
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Edited: 2 yrs ago
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badminton · 61-69, MVIP
It was easy access to guns that allowed these killings.
That 19-year old should never have had access to an AR-15 and hundreds of rounds of ammo. The most important action to saving lives is Restricting access to guns and ammo.

1.) We need a federal ban on assault weapons such as the AR-15.
2.) We need control on how much ammo a person can buy. How was this kid able to have 600 rounds of ammo?
3.) There needs to be a Handgun owner's license requirement to buy a handgun. The license should require photo and fingerprints. And a mandatory gun safety training class. And a deep background check. Doctor/patient confidentiality should not apply to gun and ammo purchases.

Anyone of us could be the next victim. Gun control is an urgent matter. Write to your representatives to demand they act on gun safety. Donate to and join a gun control group today.
+ 6 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022 · Edited: 2 yrs ago
Ryderbike
@badminton correct..deep back ground check including several references .

In other words a real back ground check,
+ 4 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022
twiigss · M
Social media is a scourge on this Earth. People think it's the next best thing, trust me, it's the complete opposite.
+ 5 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022
Ynotisay · M
@twiigss Agree. There is some 'good' that can come from it but overall, it's contributing a whole lot of "bad." The line between truth and lies has been erased and "reality" has taken on a different meaning. I don't think as a species we were ready for such an abrupt transition in to online life. And we're paying for it.
+ 3 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022
twiigss · M
@Ynotisay Well, I think AOL was good. But for this whole, being able to get information, and any kind of information within seconds, is a bit much. Then you have people who just upload whatever, just to get a response, that's just as harmful.
+ 1 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022
bijouxbroussard · F
Is it cynical that when I heard that the police had killed him, before even seeing the name, I figured he was probably black ? Not saying it was okay to kill people, but it often illustrates the difference in police response.
+ 4 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022 · Edited: 2 yrs ago
Ynotisay · M
@bijouxbroussard Yeah. It might be a little cynical in this case. Cops would have shot anyone doing what he was doing. No doubt.
+ 1 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022
bijouxbroussard · F
@Ynotisay It’s academic, really. He had the same problem as the others. I just watched the video. Maher’s not wrong.
+ 2 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022
Ynotisay · M
@bijouxbroussard Yeah. I think disenfranchisement, indoctrination or radicalization of young men is a race-free zone unless race is the driver to get in their minds.
+ 1 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022
scrood · 31-35
More than fifty people were shot in Chicago over the weekend
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11349277/More-FIFTY-people-shot-Chicago-weekend.html
+ 1 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022
Ynotisay · M
@scrood So my comment was about a school shooter and the way social media influences. Your comment was about shootings in Chicago. But I'm the one who changed the subject.
Sit the hell down bud.
+ 2 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022
bijouxbroussard · F
@scrood You changed the subject ! It wasn’t about Chicago ! 🤨
+ 0 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022
scrood · 31-35
@bijouxbroussard Would you call 50 murders "taking it out on society"?
+ 0 · Reply · Translate · Oct 26, 2022
Whodunnit · M
It's way too easy to blame social media for this. Social media exists in all 'first world' countries and yet not all experience this level of horrific violence, nor anywhere near as often. Not only that but school shootings predate the advent of social media.

We're in danger of making the same mistakes by putting all the blame in one area that we did in the past with rap music, video 'nasties', and of all things the Dungeons and Dragons roleplay game.
+ 0 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022 · Edited: 2 yrs ago
Ynotisay · M
@Whodunnit I don't know about putting "all" the blame in one area. That would be pretty foolish. But to say mass casualty school shootings by "disenfranchised" young men hasn't increased in line with the popularity of social media wouldn't be accurate. It has. The numbers bare that out. There's a reason many list their manifestos online. Or leave trails in social media forums.
+ 0 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022 · Edited: 2 yrs ago
Whodunnit · M
@Ynotisay It used to be diaries or notes left behind to let people know the reasons. Now it's just social media.

The medium of informing people has changed, the ill-will, societal, and psychological reasons they fly off the handle remain largely the same.

It can certainly be argued that social media does a lot of harm to society, but it's merely a communication tool. The method of how and why we use it is the crux of the problem. You can use another tool, a hammer to build a house, or you can misuse that tool to bludgeon your family to death.

Is the hammer the reason they did it?

Social media (nor hammers for that matter) is not the problem. It's America's inability to sufficiently detect and/or deal with their mentally ill or socially disaffected that's the true problem which needs to be solved. No other Western country seems to have this issue to the same degree. Other countries have social media, they have hammers, they even have guns, but they don't have regular school shootings.
+ 0 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022 · Edited: 2 yrs ago
Ynotisay · M
@Whodunnit I agree with a lot of you said. But there's something that comes with social media that changes the game. Anonymity.
And yeah. Other countries have social media but don't have the level of school shootings. No doubt. But there's obviously countries that are far more violent. And in many of those nations social media plays a different role. It's been weaponized. Either by terrorists or by governments. And there's a boat load of studies out there that draw a direct correlation between social media use and mental health issues. I just don't think that we're in a place yet where, collectively, we can use social media responsibly. I think social media, up to this point, is using us. Not all. But many. I think it's something we need to get a handle on as a species. It's still very, very new and we haven't figured it out yet.
+ 1 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022
Ryderbike
You need more guns and less gun laws , That will fix it.
+ 1 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022
Ryderbike
@Ynotisay freedom would be not believing you need a gun to feel safe,
+ 1 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022
Ynotisay · M
@Ryderbike Makes sense in theory. But I guess freedom from violence isn't as important as freedom to commit violence.
+ 2 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022
bijouxbroussard · F
@Ryderbike
You need more guns and less gun laws , That will fix it.
You’d be amazed how many folks here believe that, without the least bit of sarcasm. 🙁
+ 0 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022
SW-User
Jokes are funny, ... but at the expense of a tragedy :( When problems are this ground in, what else can a talk show do though.
+ 1 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022
Ynotisay · M
@SW-User Yeah. He has to walk that line. And it's a tricky line. Jon Stewart did it well. Sort of like getting a dog to take its medicine when its delivered inside a treat.
+ 2 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022
plungesponge · 41-45, M
All of it seems to point to a breakdown in a sense of community. Restricting guns will help curb disorganized lone wolf attacks, though it may empower organized criminals, but the underlying trend is these people feel it's fine to take out their frustrations on fellow citizens because they don't feel part of the community
+ 0 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022
Crazywaterspring · 61-69, M
We have daily shootings. Normally it takes four or more dead to make the news.

Another day in trumpistan.
+ 0 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022
bookerdana · M
There was a post on the imminent race war only yesterday on SW.....
+ 0 · Reply · Translate · Oct 26, 2022
Roundandroundwego · 61-69
Nobody can get rid of the guns. That's a government responsibility.
+ 0 · Reply · Translate · Oct 26, 2022
EatTheRichUSA · 22-25, M
Certainly sad, but no justification for his actions.
+ 0 · Reply · Translate · Dec 12, 2022
Dshhh · M
incels, every one
+ 0 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022
Thevy29 · 41-45, M
[media=https://youtu.be/MrRAO_vG_K4]
+ 0 · Reply · Translate · Oct 26, 2022
caesar7 · 61-69, M
Humanity is going down folks...big time ...
+ 0 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022
badminton · 61-69, MVIP
@caesar7 Let's try to bring humanity back up. This is the only world we have so let's make it a good place to be.
+ 2 · Reply · Translate · Oct 25, 2022
 
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