We’ve all heard the news that a 24-year-old man entered a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado early this morning and opened fire on the people who had been there to see the premiere of the new Batman film “The Dark Knight Rises”. A number of those people were killed and an even bigger number were injured. The media have already made this an issue over guns and gun control. Some have even blamed the movie and its’ violence. Commenters at news related websites are angrily debating whether his parents, particularly his mother, should shoulder some of the responsibility.
I, for one, blame James Holmes and whatever depraved and irrational motives he had for killing and hurting these people. What he did will never make sense to any of us, and it shouldn’t. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, whenever there is a tragedy like this, is that the motives of such individuals are usually the result of very disturbed minds and very unreasonable reasons.
The focus should be on those who lost friends and family members, on the people who are still suffering from wounds inflicted on them and on the simple fact that there are more good people than bad. I’m more than open to hear your thoughts and opinions, but I ask that you try to keep the conversation fair and honest. I think we can see what can happen when we allow things to devolve into dark and angry places.
My prayers and good thoughts go out to the people of Aurora, and I hope that they will be able to heal from what, right now, must be a nightmarish experience.
Empress
realhousewifeofaiken 
I haven’t heard about this yet. I bet that the news will go after NRA big time!!
“Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates says bomb technicians are determining how to disarm flammable or explosive material in the third-floor apartment. He says police could be there some time.
Oates says pictures from inside the apartment are fairly disturbing and the devices look to be sophisticated” ~article
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2176495/Explosion-booby-trapped-apartment-lone-gunman-James-Holmes-24-killed-12-midnight-Batman-premier-Denver.html#ixzz21BAC5VQJ
Donna, Thank you for the link. I’m afraid that the FBI, ATF and local law enforcement are going to have some very long days and nights ahead of them.
You are welcome. I received the link for that storey from “Breaking News” I am not very good at verbalizing or writing about stuff, but I love to dig up information. There are a lot of wild stories on my facebook. I am waitng for the correct numbers after following many links.
Thank you for your discretion. The media reports are, as we’ve seen before, all over the map and more than unreliable right now. That’s why I also didn’t offer any real numbers as to the victims involved.
This article explains why I have held back:
“Undeterred by how wrong they got the Columbine shootings 13 years ago, or how disgustingly politicized they turned Jared Loughner’s 2011 rampage, the humans who work for and talk with journalistic outlets are again rushing to speculative judgment about Jim Holmes, the suspected Batman murderer in Aurora, Colorado. Some examples:” ~article
http://reason.com/blog/2012/07/20/half-assed-media-speculation-about-the-b
Your reference to the mess that was made during the Jared Loughner shootings is an example of how egregious the news stories can be. Before Gabby Gifford’s husband even arrived at her side, news outlets had reported that she had died. That is shameful “if it bleeds, it leads” reporting and has no place in what should be journalism.
Thanks for talking about this Empress. It is a very sad day in this country. I do have a comment regarding the debate about whether parents, particularly mothers, should share some of the blame for these tragic events. Absolutely not! There is only so much a parent can do. And the mental health system is very broken.
Belle, I’m glad to see that you recognize that the issue should be about mental health and warning signs regarding these individuals. As for his mother – the shooter was a grown man – I don’t think any parent raises a child to turn out this way.
I think we look for easy answers to the complicated. Ultimately the shooter is responsible. I bet we’ve all seen good parents raise problem kids and poor, neglectful and abusive parents raise wonderful kids. I believe there are so many factors that play into this that pinpointing one thing whether it be mothers, videos, music is less than productive. I think we think if we can figure out why someone does this then we can control the event.
I agree empress that we need to concentrate more on the victims.
Coincidently, I read a book this week called We Need to Talk about Kevin which is told from a mother’s perspective about her son who pulls off a Columbine type massacre. It was chilling and thought provoking.
nohausfrau, I always appreciate you thoughtful and well reasoned comments. The “why” question is the key. I’m going to put your suggested book onto my e-reader. Thank you.
“As locals begin piecing together the details of this unspeakable tragedy, aid organizations are stepping in to offer them supplies, blood donations support and comfort.
Find out how the area’s nonprofits are getting involved in the relief effort and how you can help.” ~article
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/20/aurora-theater-colorado-shooting_n_1690093.html
Here’s an update on what we know about the Colorado theater shootings – Daily Kos
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/20/1112140/-Here-s-an-update-on-what-we-know-about-the-Colorado-theater-shootings
I’ve been avoiding this story because of the ridiculous politicizing “Tea Party!” “Occupy!” blamestorming.
It is a tragedy. A man was mentally unstable and he murdered people.
Politics is seldom a motivatation for murder, even when the criminal hides behind it like the Unabomber or Timothy McVeigh did.
God Speed to the familes of Aurora.
Hey Jake, If I read it correctly, the connection to the Occupy movement wasn’t even the right Jim Holmes. ABC says “Oopsy. Wrong guy. Oh well”. (I’m paraphrasing there) 😉
I can’t find the place where I could send you articles. I didn’t want to post this in here, I wanted to have your input as it is wild.
Donna, I apologize for the fact that my pages were missing – including the Suggestion Box. I was adjusting settings on the blog and, in my own technologically challenged way, managed to remove them. They’re back now. 🙂
Ok I suggest everyone put on their tin foil hat, I lined mine with industralized hemp, that doesn’t burn, to protect myself from solar flares.
http://www.naturalnews.com/036536_James_Holmes_shooting_false_flag.html
Now isn’t that just the kind of irresponsible reporting we’ve been talking about? I can’t wait to see what conspiracy theories other sites can conjure.
Re: the tin foil hats. I often use a colander. With the extreme heat we’ve been experiencing, I’ve found that if I apply conditioner to my hair ahead of time, I can serve two purposes at the same time. Thanks for the warning about the solar flares. 🙂
Industrialized hemp is a very good insulation, it keeps out the heat and cold. That is why I use it with my tin foil hats.
ps, it doesn’t attract bugs, and wards against molds
Donna, What we would do without you? 😀
In preparation for the upcoming days, weeks and months ahead, I imagine tinfoil may not provide enough insulation for the ensuing circus. There will be an endless supply of familiar and unfamiliar “experts” whose main expertise seems to lie in the field of locating running cameras upon which they expertly perch themselves in front of. (for the uninitiated, look for the red flashing or solid LED on the front of the camera) I am heading to the tire store to buy lead tire weights to melt down to make myself a lead lined hat. Donna, do you have any extra Industrialized Hemp I can borrow to make the hat liner? 😳
There is one story worth sharing. The City of Aurora is in good, intelligent and capable hands. This man and his police officers will also suffer the trauma of the memories of that night for the rest of their lives.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/aurora-police-chief-daniel-oates-began-crime-fighting-career-nypd-article-1.1118947
Great article! I wish them all the best, they’ve been through so much already and much left to endure. He sounds like the ideal person one would want at the helm in a situation like this. From the bits I have seen of him, he seems to really care about his community.
This is extremely sad for all families involved. As a parent the movies was one of the few places we deemed a safe activity for our kids growing up. I guess no where is safe. I sat in the theatre yesterday awaiting “Batman” to begin and thought to myself, this could have been us. There was security at the front doors, and extra staff walked the aisles during the movie.
kdelarue2, Thank you for your comment. I think that this incident, random as it may have been, will have a number of us looking over our shoulders for quite some time. I’s more than unsettling – and sad.