Charleston Church

[kelroy55]

What a horrific crime. My thoughts go out to the victims and their families.

Charleston church shooting: 9 deaths reported - CNN.com

[jccouger]

Prayers for the victims & their families.

I hope this brings races together, instead of apart. Which I'm sure was the intention of the shooter.

[Lord Helmet]

Another day...another shooting. Welcome to the USA.

[Dustin]

Love what the president said. No other civilized or advanced country in the world has massacres like this, happening at such a high frequency.

We don't take care of our mentally ill and too many people like the gunman have easy access to guns.

[Lord Helmet]

We don't take care of our mentally ill and too many people like the gunman have easy access to guns.

You'd think we'd take steps to try and remedy this. Yet no attempt is ever made. I imagine folks in Washington are afraid they won't get reelected if they did something on this issue.

[Achilleslastand]

You'd think we'd take steps to try and remedy this. Yet no attempt is ever made. I imagine folks in Washington are afraid they won't get reelected if they did something on this issue.

There were steps taken to remedy this going back decades but unfortunately they were incorrect.

[kelroy55]

There were steps taken to remedy this going back decades but unfortunately they were incorrect.

Which steps were those?

[Teo9969]

My point at large, dan, is that we don't have time except to give a perfunctory nod to the fact that we have problems in this country. Tomorrow congress will be dealing with giving some money to a few states to do some park projects, the next day they'll be legislating some bills about gun control, the following day some talk about health care and then over the next week the government is going to be at work on interstate commerce laws. Obviously that's a caricature, but the point is there is no way to streamline the needs of 320 million people simultaneously. There just isn't. Not now, not ever. Do we seriously expect to effectively address this mass level violence when we're worried about anywhere between 50 and 100 other major issues that "The United States of America" is trying to solve?

[Teo9969]

Love what the president said. No other civilized or advanced country in the world has massacres like this, happening at such a high frequency.

We don't take care of our mentally ill and too many people like the gunman have easy access to guns.

To be fair, we've centralized the government in an area 80% the size of Europe with 43% the amount of people. Anybody that's surprised that we have some major anomalies compared to a country like Poland, which is the size of New Mexico, with more people than California, and a GDP that would be among the Top 10 states in the US, all operating under one government, should not be surprised that they have a better handle on not letting these things slip through the cracks.

It's a systemic problem that doesn't get fixed for Wyoming 1600 miles away in D.C.

Yes there could be more gun-control. Yes we could take better care of the mentally ill. None of that addresses the reason this is happening 15 years after Columbine: The federal government is so big and inefficient that it can't efficiently keep up with the progress of society.

[dankrutka]

Yes there could be more gun-control. Yes we could take better care of the mentally ill. None of that addresses the reason this is happening 15 years after Columbine: The federal government is so big and inefficient that it can't efficiently keep up with the progress of society.

I have no clue what this means. Can you clarify?

It seems that special interest politics seems a far larger impediment to addressing these issues than government inefficiency... whatever you mean by that.

[Teo9969]

I have no clue what this means. Can you clarify?

It seems that special interest politics seems a far larger impediment to addressing these issues than government inefficiency... whatever you mean by that.

Special Interest politics is part and parcel to this level of centralized government. The average citizen would be lucky to get a token lunch or meeting with her US Representative once every few years. Forget your senators altogether. The citizens are left to align themselves with things they're most passionate about: Guns, Gay Rights, God, and Government Handouts (of the corporate and individual variety) plus a whole host of other interests, and then support those powerful entities lobbying for those interests. There is no legitimate representation of 320 million people in Washington DC. The Federal government of Poland has more elected federal officials than the United States of America with about 10% of the people.

[Jersey Boss]

To be fair, we've centralized the government in an area 80% the size of Europe with 43% the amount of people. Anybody that's surprised that we have some major anomalies compared to a country like Poland, which is the size of New Mexico, with more people than California, and a GDP that would be among the Top 10 states in the US, all operating under one government, should not be surprised that they have a better handle on not letting these things slip through the cracks.

It's a systemic problem that doesn't get fixed for Wyoming 1600 miles away in D.C.

Yes there could be more gun-control. Yes we could take better care of the mentally ill. None of that addresses the reason this is happening 15 years after Columbine: The federal government is so big and inefficient that it can't efficiently keep up with the progress of society.

How would that compare to Canada? More land area, fewer % of people but the number of mass killings there do not extrapolate to the ratio of land mass to people.

[Jersey Boss]

How would that compare to Canada? More land area, fewer % of people but the number of mass killings there do not extrapolate to the ratio of land mass to people.

Never mind, you explained it.

[Teo9969]

How would that compare to Canada? More land area, fewer % of people but the number of mass killings there do not extrapolate to the ratio of land mass to people.

Seriously? Most of Canada is uninhabitable, nearly the entire population is concentrated in 2 regions of the country.

[dankrutka]

Love what the president said. No other civilized or advanced country in the world has massacres like this, happening at such a high frequency.

We don't take care of our mentally ill and too many people like the gunman have easy access to guns.

I totally agree. But, is there evidence this guy was mentally ill? Honestly asking. Because we also need to address systemic and deep-seated racism, which was this guy's stated motivation. Just calling him mentally ill can avoid the other important conversation.

[Dustin]

I totally agree. But, is there evidence this guy was mentally ill? Honestly asking. Because we also need to address systemic and deep-seated racism, which was this guy's stated motivation. Just calling him mentally ill can avoid the other important conversation.

Both of my grandfathers were deep-seated racists, but they would never kill another human being. You have to be a little crazy to kill 9 people cold-blooded.

But I agree his main motivation was obviously racism.

[dankrutka]

Both of my grandfathers were deep-seated racists, but they would never kill another human being. You have to be a little crazy to kill 9 people cold-blooded.

So, every mass killing should be explained by mental illness?

[Jersey Boss]

So, every mass killing should be explained by mental illness?

This was an act of terrorism, plain and simple.

[kelroy55]

Both of my grandfathers were deep-seated racists, but they would never kill another human being. You have to be a little crazy to kill 9 people cold-blooded.

But I agree his main motivation was obviously racism.

So, every mass killing should be explained by mental illness?

I think there's a difference between being a little crazy and mentally ill.

[Dustin]

As sad as this story is, we shouldn't be making this maniac a celebrity by posting his photo all over the news and showing his name...

[zookeeper]

Was he on any psychiatric drugs? This is a horrible crime that just is hard to fathom. Senseless deaths.

[jccouger]

If this was a black guy who killed 9 white people mental illness would have not even been brought up in this thread.

I don't care if somebody is "mentally ill" or not, once they make a decision to kill anybody else they are beyond repair & can't function in society & should be put to sleep immediately. This guy has already lived too long after his crime.

I'm not against treatment for mental illness. In fact I think way more should be done before the fact to help these people, but once they cross the line what is done is done & they should face normal repercussions as anybody else would.

[Jersey Boss]

If this was a black guy who killed 9 white people mental illness would have not even been brought up in this thread.

I don't care if somebody is "mentally ill" or not, once they make a decision to kill anybody else they are beyond repair & can't function in society & should be put to sleep immediately. This guy has already lived too long after his crime.

I'm not against treatment for mental illness. In fact I think way more should be done before the fact to help these people, but once they cross the line what is done is done & they should face normal repercussions as anybody else would.

So if someone has a seizure while driving and they plow into a crowd of people, killing 9, should that person be put to sleep as well?

[jccouger]

So if someone has a seizure while driving and they plow into a crowd of people, killing 9, should that person be put to sleep as well?

What does that have to do with anything I just said?

[Jersey Boss]

What does that have to do with anything I just said?

I don't care if somebody is "mentally ill" or not, once they make a decision to kill anybody else they are beyond repair & can't function in society & should be put to sleep immediately.