OT: Bet This Dude Wishes He had Just Shut It Off.

[MHSL82]

I'm not sure I'm buyin' the story that the dude was texting with his three-year old. I don't know a lot of three-year olds who text. It sounds like a sympathy ploy to me.

What would a story be without one? It's not like a husband and father being shot isn't enough.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

A three year old doesn't have a father because some guy got mad at him for texting in a theater. Common courtesy not being followed doesn't equate to a man losing his life.

Seriously.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

We agree, but had he used even a modicum of some he'd still be alive today. People have no respect for one another. What kind of grown man throws a bag of popcorn at a 71 year old man who has asked him to stop texting? Why escalate the situation when you know you are wrong? Why not just turn off the phone as I'm sure he knew he was supposed to? Is it worth your life?

No. And most people don't expect that another person would be so batshit crazy that they would shoot you over something like that.

Not surprised, of course, that you would side with the elderly gun-toting side of this equation.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

I think he didn't expect it. I hear he said "I can't believe he shot me" as he was going down. Its very sad for the child though and the dude's wife.

These days, I never confront anyone I don't know because you never know how these idiots are going to react.

According to all reports I've seen, the guy with the gun started the altercation.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Lotta crazy people in Florida for some reason.

And the greatest superhero who ever lived:

https://twitter.com/_FloridaMan

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Not as much as the other guy. Remember, this is Florida. I bet he gets off.

Yes, I am quite sure that the dead guy regrets being dead more. Nonetheless, I would imagine that the shooter, who is now facing months of criminal prosecution at the very least, and very likely years in prison, also regrets his actions. I would hope - though I'm not so naive as to necessarily believe - that the shooter would also regret ending someone's life over something so stupid.

As far as Florida, keep in mind that the victim was white. Though he did have tattoos, which could hurt him with the older generation.

 

[Rvnight18]

Seriously.

Seriously as agreeing, or seriously sarcastic?

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Guy needs to go to jail. If it was just a bag of popcorn thrown at him and he took some bodies life, he should rot in jail.

As far as the people jumping on this blaming guns.... Do you blame spoons for making you fat?

A few thoughts on this. First, handguns have a single practical purpose: to shoot human beings. They can be used for other purposes, but that is far and away their primary purpose. For that reason, they are distinct from virtually any other "tool," and I don't have the slightest problem with people drawing that distinction. It doesn't mean that handguns should be banned necessarily, but comparing them to spoons to emphasize the human agent is a flimsy argument at best.

Now, there is only one legitimate reason for an ordinary citizen to carry a handgun: self defense. Any other purpose is illegal so far as I know. And if a person is so afraid that they need to carry a weapon that effectively has a single, harmful purpose, they have no business doing anything that comes remotely close to placing themselves or others in danger. Someone who is legitimately carrying a handgun for self defense purposes should be the quietest, nicest, most polite person out there. After all, this is the easiest way to stay out of trouble. But that's rarely the case. Instead, we regularly see people who are carrying handguns acting with more aggression than they normally would, very likely because they know they have a gun. The gun provides them with a sense of security, and as a result, they don't think as much about placing themselves in potentially dangerous situations. And that is total and utter BS.

As far as I'm concerned, someone who is knowingly carrying a firearm should not be able to rely on self defense unless they have done everything in their power to avoid and/or extricate themselves from a dangerous situation prior to using the gun. If someone puts his- or herself into a dangerous situation, as arguably occurred here - though I'm frankly skeptical based on initial reports that this guy was in any real danger, and uses the gun they are allegedly carrying for self defense, they should be punished. By engaging in a potentially dangerous interaction while armed with a deadly weapon, they are creating a situation that is significantly more likely to result in death or serious injury, and they should be punished accordingly. Several states basically take this approach. Florida, unfortunately, is not one of them.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Seriously as agreeing, or seriously sarcastic?

Agreeing.

 

[clyde_carbon]

Look, it's obvious that it's MISUSE of guns that's the problem, not the guns themselves. But until you can fix people, handing everyone a gun isn't the answer.

 

[wartyOne]

What kind of grown man throws a bag of popcorn at a 71 year old man who has asked him to stop texting?

I know, right? He just threw away, what, $10 worth of movie popcorn? Fucking insane to waste movie popcorn at these prices.

 

[TobyTyler]

No. And most people don't expect that another person would be so batshit crazy that they would shoot you over something like that.

Not surprised, of course, that you would side with the elderly gun-toting side of this equation.

A grown man acting like a child, not to mention arrogantly with the "no one can tell me what to do" has to accept what happens to him. had he just done what he should have done and turned off the phone he'd still be alive. I don't feel sorr for him at all. I only feel sorry for his family. In my day throwing a bag of popcorn in someone's face might get your ass kicked; today it ight get you killed.

 

[AU_Fever]

What kind of grown man throws a bag of popcorn at a 71 year old man who has asked him to stop texting?

I know, right? He just threw away, what, $10 worth of movie popcorn? Fucking insane to waste movie popcorn at these prices.

You are too much WartyOne. It might be more if he asked for extra butter!

 

[TobyTyler]

According to all reports I've seen, the guy with the gun started the altercation.

Not the report I posted in the OP. Personnally, I would not have said anything to the texter, as I said, I don't confront anyone I don't know, especially over something as trivial as texting in a theater. But the old dude, being a career policeman, probably has a very rigid sense of right and wrong and knowing the texter was wrong he was not going to back down.

 

[TobyTyler]

A few thoughts on this. First, handguns have a single practical purpose: to shoot human beings. They can be used for other purposes, but that is far and away their primary purpose. For that reason, they are distinct from virtually any other "tool," and I don't have the slightest problem with people drawing that distinction. It doesn't mean that handguns should be banned necessarily, but comparing them to spoons to emphasize the human agent is a flimsy argument at best.

Now, there is only one legitimate reason for an ordinary citizen to carry a handgun: self defense. Any other purpose is illegal so far as I know. And if a person is so afraid that they need to carry a weapon that effectively has a single, harmful purpose, they have no business doing anything that comes remotely close to placing themselves or others in danger. Someone who is legitimately carrying a handgun for self defense purposes should be the quietest, nicest, most polite person out there. After all, this is the easiest way to stay out of trouble. But that's rarely the case. Instead, we regularly see people who are carrying handguns acting with more aggression than they normally would, very likely because they know they have a gun. The gun provides them with a sense of security, and as a result, they don't think as much about placing themselves in potentially dangerous situations. And that is total and utter BS.

As far as I'm concerned, someone who is knowingly carrying a firearm should not be able to rely on self defense unless they have done everything in their power to avoid and/or extricate themselves from a dangerous situation prior to using the gun. If someone puts his- or herself into a dangerous situation, as arguably occurred here - though I'm frankly skeptical based on initial reports that this guy was in any real danger, and uses the gun they are allegedly carrying for self defense, they should be punished. By engaging in a potentially dangerous interaction while armed with a deadly weapon, they are creating a situation that is significantly more likely to result in death or serious injury, and they should be punished accordingly. Several states basically take this approach. Florida, unfortunately, is not one of them.

Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. But I get your point about carrying a gun leading to trouble.

 

[TobyTyler]

[/B]

You are too much WartyOne. It might be more if he asked for extra butter!

If the popcorn had butter on it he'd have probably shot him twice.

 

[h0ckeysk83r]

A grown man acting like a child, not to mention arrogantly with the "no one can tell me what to do" has to accept what happens to him. had he just done what he should have done and turned off the phone he'd still be alive. I don't feel sorr for him at all. I only feel sorry for his family. In my day throwing a bag of popcorn in someone's face might get your ass kicked; today it ight get you killed.

Right cuz you were there to know anything. We don't know everything.

However a father is dead which what seems to be an old man overreacting.

 

[Rvnight18]

Agreeing.

Figured but I am real bad on the sarcastic front.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

A grown man acting like a child, not to mention arrogantly with the "no one can tell me what to do" has to accept what happens to him. had he just done what he should have done and turned off the phone he'd still be alive. I don't feel sorr for him at all. I only feel sorry for his family. In my day throwing a bag of popcorn in someone's face might get your ass kicked; today it ight get you killed.

I disagree. He might expect getting yelled at. He might expect getting his ass beat. He should not expect to be shot, and anyone doing the shooting should be put away for a good long time. Especially a former law enforcement officer.

As far as your day, in 1960, there was one murder for approximately every 19,700 people in the country. In 2012, that number was one for approximately every 21,200 people - basically consistent with where those rates had been for several years. Murder rates were highest from the early '80s into the mid-'90s. In 1980, for instance, there was a murder for every 9,800 people. The claim that you are far more likely to be killed today than "in your day" is simply false. At least as far as murder is concerned. Though if you're in your 80s or older, I admittedly don't know what the murder rate looked like "in your day."

And incidentally, as an old white male, what day is yours if not the present? If you don't like the state of this country, you should be looking at your own generation, not younger ones. After all, you guys are the ones exercising the vast majority of the power.

 

[TobyTyler]

Right cuz you were there to know anything. We don't know everything.

However a father is dead which what seems to be an old man overreacting.

Ya think? But had the man turned off his cellphone as he should have there would have been no overreaction.