Completely agree, but the world is sick, not just America. There are incidents of abuse and violence (with or without firearms and sex) that happen in other countries all around the world. The whole world is in decay.
No they don't represent anything - that would be stereotyping. But it would be difficult to quantitatively deny that the USA has a much higher rate of this type of atrocity.
No, actually, it doesn't mean that the rest of the world is any better. I think the world is -- as the young kids would say -- "f***ed up" as well; in fact, American society is better than most. You're a bit too sensitive, kid... They don't represent America, no. You don't have to go around killing and raping people to be called 'sick', that's going far beyond that, it's pure evil and criminal.
Absolutely, no argument there. But what can I say? I am partial to America, I am always more concerned about its well-being than the rest of the world. Yes, I am selfish like that, I can't help it...
I don't know what there is else to say about it. Sometimes things are just evil and we can talk about societal ills and all sorts of things but sometimes you have to call something like this what it is. Evil...
i am AMAZED with the public reaction of the Amish leaders of the community who have indicated they have forgiven the guy. just shows an incredible intangible that these people carry. or maybe it comes from a belief that the guy is rotting in hell as we speak? Sapre a thought though for the wife and family of Roberts. What they must be going through aswell.
Maybe compared to the other G-10 countries (with the likely exception of Russia). But people in developing countries kill for reasons (politics, economic opportunity, sectarian violence, conflict "resolution" and punishment of non-homicide crimes) and on a scale that would seem ridiculous to us.
My city had a school shooting a week before my ninth birthday. Whenever I hear about one of these incidents, I don't think of Columbine, I think of Patrick Purdy. To react to this with gun control is not a good idea. Japan has basically no guns, so when someone wanted to go on a school rampage there, they used a knife, to the same end. Guns are not the problem, the people are the problem. This guy apparently was a sexual predator beginning as a pre-teen. Patrick Purdy was mentally ill and had been convicted of numerous crimes. We need to do a better job in keeping the bad elements out of our society and getting them the help they need whie protecting the rest of us.
I, too, shivered at his overreacting-THROW THE BABY OUT WITH THE BATHWATER Ideology I would serious hate to live in any country where this guy has power Rocket River
I got this email from a great church in midtown called Ecclesia, this morning. Just thought I'd share it. If you're offended by Jesus Freak stuff, don't bother: A Lesson in Forgiveness When the Amish community of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania sent their sons and daughters off to school on Monday, they had no idea what horrors awaited their beautiful little children. Charles Carl Roberts IV, a 32 year old milk truck driver, walked into one of their one-room school houses shortly before 11.00 am armed with enough guns, ammunition and other “supplies” for a long hostage situation. Before the morning was out, he shot and murdered six young girls and left several in critical condition and then turned the gun on himself. This was the third deadly school shooting in a week in America. What is going on? This week the nation will get a lesson in forgiveness. Before the lifeless bodies of their innocent children were cold the Amish men and women were gathering in small groups and began praying for the grace to forgive Roberts and to pray for his family. By the end of the day, they were announcing that they had forgiven him and asked the nation to turn their thoughts and prayers to Roberts’ wife and children. The Amish are an amazing people, peculiar in the best possible ways. They live in close-knit, rural communities characterized by simplicity and a radical obedience to the gospel, even the part about forgiving your enemies. What a contrast! Although we don’t know what motivated Roberts to plan this attack against these young girls, the early evidence points to two things: (1) he was haunted by the fact that 20 years ago as a young adolescent he had molested younger family members; (2) he was angry at God because 9 years earlier his daughter died shortly after birth. In other words, Roberts never forgave himself for molesting younger children and never forgave God for ‘taking’ his daughter. So what does he do—he plans to molest innocent school girls, kill them and then commit suicide. Does this make sense? As we have seen in Pennsylvania, the inability or the unwillingness to forgive can lead to horrible evil. More often it leads to lesser evils like broken marriages, alcoholism, depression, and physical ailments. Jesus knew the power of forgiveness and its evil nemesis unforgiveness. That’s why the good news is all about how God lavishes us with forgiveness and then calls us to extend forgiveness in his name. The Amish know the truth and the One Who Is TRUE; you can’t follow Christ unless you are willing to forgive. God won’t forgive you unless you are willing to forgive others (Matthew 6:6ff). The kind of radical forgiveness the Amish have shown the nation in the first hours after their unspeakable tragedy is, in fact, simple, normal Christian living. Why does it seem so strange? I suggest it seems so strange because we live so far from the gospel. Although we now despise what he did, we are more like Roberts than we’d like to admit. We are haunted by our past, angry at others for offending us, angry at God for failing us, holding onto grudges for years or even decades, addicted to anything that will kill the pain of our lonely, tortured souls. Many of us live in a perpetual state of unforgiveness. The Amish didn’t arrive at their amazing ability to forgive their children’s murderer on Monday. They arrived there years ago after journeying long and hard with Jesus and each other. Their community has been formed and fashioned by the simple words of the gospel: “pray for your enemies,” “do unto others what you’d have them do to you,” “forgive as God has forgiven you.” For decades they’ve been drawing on spiritual resources we have only dreamed about. May we travel long and hard with Jesus and learn the blessed secret of forgiveness. God, be with the Amish families who lost children. Help them to show the nation the truth of the gospel.
Eddie Izzard: "They say guns don't kill people...people kill people. But I think the guns help, don't you?"
When will our country wake up and start with some serious GUN CONTROLS? This is assinine.....it is too easy to get a gun...... All of these episodes are preventable, and have one commonality......GUNS. DD
In spite of my last statement I am somewhat leery of increased gun control. I think the Constitution does grant people the right to own guns and while I certainly don't think guns are a panacea to personal security gun control is certainly not a panacea for crime. Guns make it easier to do things like this but at the sametime someone this evil will probably figure out some way of doing it anyway.
The founding fathers wrote the constitution with an allowance for AMENDMENTS.... It is one thing to have to load a ball and musket gun, and quite another to handle a semi-automatic. We need more common sense in this danged country...heck in the whole world. DD
True, but even a large number of developing nations have a much lower violent crime rate than the U.S.
You don't even need an ammendment in regard to gun control due to the vague wording of the 2nd Ammendment. From the Federalist papers too don't rule out gun control, although they would probably make it a state issue. I agree with you though that the nature of weaponry is far different from now compared to then but as someone who respects the Constitution I think its pretty clear that it guarentees the right to own weapons, we can debate what kind, when they can legally used and whether they are registered but I thinks its clear in allowing an armed citzenry. On another level I also recognize that government can't be there all the time and there is a need for personel self-defense. That given I would hope that anyone who choose a gun for self-defense be very well trained and not count on a gun as being the end all of security.
