Bando
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Post by Bando on Nov 5, 2009 17:51:53 GMT -5
At least 12 dead in Ft. Hood, TX. ( WaPo). Stunningly tragic, my condolences to the families of our deceased servicemen. Early reports have at least one of the shooters as Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan (it's not clear how many shooters there are right now). This fact might make everything go crazier than it already is. |
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kchoya
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Post by kchoya on Nov 5, 2009 18:57:11 GMT -5
A lot of us on this board remember another reason why this story may be of interest to the Georgetown community.
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Boz
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Post by Boz on Nov 5, 2009 19:02:50 GMT -5
A lot of us on this board remember another reason why this story may be of interest to the Georgetown community. I was just thinking about that game when I heard this story. This is awful. Crazy people really Edited me off. We say that kind of thing a lot. "Keith Olbermann is crazy." "Michelle Bachmann is crazy." etc., etc., etc. The some jerk has to come around and remind us what crazy really is. I'd be perfectly happy without that, thank you very much. My condolences to the wounded and the families of those killed ..... and sorry for the rant. |
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Nevada Hoya
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Post by Nevada Hoya on Nov 5, 2009 19:30:48 GMT -5
This is a tragedy, especially as it occurred at the processing center of Fort Hood: soldiers going or coming back from combat. Apparently the major was depressed about being shipped out with the medical corps. He was supposed to be a mental health specialist.
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kchoya
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Post by kchoya on Nov 5, 2009 19:40:43 GMT -5
A lot of us on this board remember another reason why this story may be of interest to the Georgetown community. I was just thinking about that game when I heard this story. This is awful. Crazy people really Edited me off. We say that kind of thing a lot. "Keith Olbermann is crazy." "Michelle Bachmann is crazy." etc., etc., etc. The some jerk has to come around and remind us what crazy really is. I'd be perfectly happy without that, thank you very much. My condolences to the wounded and the families of those killed ..... and sorry for the rant. Those games... |
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Boz
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Post by Boz on Nov 5, 2009 19:42:25 GMT -5
Sorry, I should've been more specific. I was thinking of the Iverson game when Pops walked out onto the court after a particularly hard foul.
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Post by jerseyhoya34 on Nov 5, 2009 21:28:52 GMT -5
My reaction was similar to Boz's. The real loss here is to the families of the victims who have already sacrificed plenty to have family members deploy overseas and make a serious commitment to the military. To have these lives taken from them through the selfish, cruel acts of another person off the battlefield is maddening. That the shooter is apparently someone who is supposed to provide support services to these families just makes it all the more tragic.
Perhaps if anything is to be gained from this, which is a tall order given the scope of the tragedy, it is that we need to attend better to the support structures on bases and veterans affairs than we have been doing. Nobody needs a long diatribe to remember the problems at Walter Reed or to know the miles of red tape associated with VA medical services. More direct to this tragedy would be the need for better mental health services, substance abuse treatment, PTSD treatment, family support services, and the like.
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The Stig
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Post by The Stig on Nov 5, 2009 22:34:23 GMT -5
Absolutely awful, in so many ways. Simply beyond words.
My condolences to the family and friends of those murdered.
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The Stig
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Post by The Stig on Nov 6, 2009 7:15:41 GMT -5
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8345944.stmA BBC article on the killer. It sounds like there were some major institutional problems here (harassment for being Middle Eastern, being trapped in the military, no support for those who have to deal with horrific injuries). It was a perfect storm in a lot of ways, but that doesn't excuse what the guy did. I'm sure there are thousands of people in the military, including lots of Muslims, who put up with the same problems without shooting their fellow soldiers.
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EasyEd
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Post by EasyEd on Nov 6, 2009 11:37:09 GMT -5
Everybody seems to be skirting around the fact the killer was a Muslim. Whether this was a terrorist attack performed by a Muslim against "infidels" remains to be seen but let's not ignore the possibility by being politically correct.
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Post by hoyawatcher on Nov 6, 2009 12:03:22 GMT -5
Whether this guy was some otherwise good guy tormented to the point of murder by other soldiers harrassing him or a wild eyed extremist yelling Allah Akbar as he killed infidels will not be known fully for some time - though both are being put forward in reports you see and hear now. I hope we don't have a knee jerk reaction either way but wait until we know a lot more. I am sure they are researching his communications (computer/phone et al) plus his comments to and from others and his requests to the chain of command to get the full picture. As that comes out we need to look with our own intellect to see if something is being hidden or whitewashed but my expectation at this point is that it will come out.
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Bando
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Post by Bando on Nov 6, 2009 13:57:56 GMT -5
Everybody seems to be skirting around the fact the killer was a Muslim. Whether this was a terrorist attack performed by a Muslim against "infidels" remains to be seen but let's not ignore the possibility by being politically correct. But please, let's prematurely speculate on motives and tar an entire religious group. |
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rosslynhoya
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Post by rosslynhoya on Nov 6, 2009 14:11:57 GMT -5
Everybody seems to be skirting around the fact the killer was a Muslim. Whether this was a terrorist attack performed by a Muslim against "infidels" remains to be seen but let's not ignore the possibility by being politically correct. But please, let's prematurely speculate on motives and tar an entire religious group. Who's tarring an entire religious group? If anyone makes Muslims look bad here, I think perhaps it might be the Palestinian dude screaming Allahu Akbar while gunning down U.S. armed forces after years of online ranting about how evil America is. The only thing closer to liberal parody would be blaming the Bush administration for not spending enough on support for our soliders and veterans. |
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EasyEd
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Post by EasyEd on Nov 6, 2009 14:13:27 GMT -5
Everybody seems to be skirting around the fact the killer was a Muslim. Whether this was a terrorist attack performed by a Muslim against "infidels" remains to be seen but let's not ignore the possibility by being politically correct. But please, let's prematurely speculate on motives and tar an entire religious group. Of course it's okay to speculate: "...depressed about being shipped out...", "..need to attend better to the support structures and veterans affairs...", "...major institutional problems here (harassment for being Middle Eastern, being trapped in the military, no support for those who have to deal with horrific injuries)..." ----- just don't bring up the fact that this one individual (not an entire religious group) is a Muslim. |
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Post by jerseyhoya34 on Nov 6, 2009 14:18:02 GMT -5
I'd like to think this individual is not a Muslim by virtue of his failure to behave in a manner consistent with the teachings of the religion and its sacred text.
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Boz
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Post by Boz on Nov 6, 2009 14:54:53 GMT -5
Amid our discussions of the motives -- anti-American or otherwise -- of this nut job, I'd like to take a moment to do two things:
1. Give a standing ovation for yesterday's hero (heroine, if you prefer), civilian police officer Kimberly Munley, who took the shooter down before he could cause even more death and destruction.
2. Thank God both that she was there to take action and that she looks to recover from her wounds.
Much like we hear about the heroes of 9-11, Kimberly Hunley rushed INTO the building where this man was causing death...and she put a stop to it, risking her own life in the process.
If I am honest with myself, I really can't say whether I have that kind of courage in me, armed or not.
EDIT: Sorry for misspelling her name.
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hoya95
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Post by hoya95 on Nov 6, 2009 15:06:14 GMT -5
But please, let's prematurely speculate on motives and tar an entire religious group. Of course it's okay to speculate: "...depressed about being shipped out...", "..need to attend better to the support structures and veterans affairs...", "...major institutional problems here (harassment for being Middle Eastern, being trapped in the military, no support for those who have to deal with horrific injuries)..." ----- just don't bring up the fact that this one individual (not an entire religious group) is a Muslim. Who hasn't said that he's a Muslim? It is in the first paragraph of every story I have seen on this, and it is a huge focus of the coverage and his motivation. Obviously what we don't want to do is generalize other people as being part of this without any evidence. So far, we don't have any evidence that he conspired with anyone, was part of any group or even told anybody about this. He's a lone gunman who snapped, whatever his "rationale" might have been. Sadly, we had another lone gunman snap in Orlando today. |
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EasyEd
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Post by EasyEd on Nov 6, 2009 15:13:45 GMT -5
Boz, you are absolutely right on about Officer Kimberly Hunley. Too often we fail to recognize that police officers put their lives on the line every day and receive too little credit for it. In fact, the only time they seem to gain much attention is when one or more of them go off and do something stupid and it's talked about for months. We should be talking about Officer Hunley today and in the days to come since she averted a much greater slaughter with her actions. God bless her as she recovers from her wound.
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Post by AustinHoya03 on Nov 6, 2009 17:32:20 GMT -5
I am really hoping the murderer regains consciousness, as I would: a) like to hear the purported motive straight from the horse's mouth; b) see the families of the victims get the justice they deserve; and c) end the speculation and excuse-making WRT to the gunman's motivations.
I can imagine today has brought painful memories for some. Killeen (which is nearly surrounded by Ft. Hood) was the site of the 1991 massacre at Luby's cafeteria, the deadliest shooting spree in the United States until the massacre at Virginia Tech, from which the killer graduated. Eerie.
My condolences to all those affected by this tragedy.
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Boz
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Post by Boz on Nov 9, 2009 9:49:02 GMT -5
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