Friendly banter about mass shootings

[geneven]

A discussion about the recent shootings was cut off in one of the forums and I am expressing my opinions here.

My thoughts turned to the violence spread by that Irish Catholic, Timothy McVeigh. I don't think his religion is mentioned much in connection with his crime (the Oklahoma City bombing), but there it is -- he was born a Catholic.

I think there were many Christians praying for the success of the a-bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki too. Didn't they know that the overwhelming number of people killed were innocent civilians? Not to mention that many Christians supported the 'heroism' of American soldiers who deliberately started huge firestorms in Tokyo -- did they imagine that only soldiers were going to be burned to death? I don't think that any military planners even claimed for a moment that the firestorms would only hit military targets.

(I wonder why the Germans were considered so evil when they bombed London and the Americans were so heroic when they bombed Tokyo?)

So, in this recent case, a Muslim, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, goes on a military base and shoots a bunch of people. These were innocent civilians, right? No, I think most of the people he shot were soldiers, on a military base. On theiir way to war.

I supported the invasion of Iraq and even more so what we are doing in Afghanistan. And I think what Major Hasan did was wrong. However, I think that this event raises some real issues. Hasan must have believed that the US is deliberately waging war against Muslims. I don't believe that, and it amazes me that he apparently did. The profiles I have read of him don't make him seem like a terrible person, pre-incident. He looked friendly enough on the CNN story showing him in a convenience story before the event.

Fortunately, he is said to be alive and talking, so we may learn more about what he was thinking.

[Alexander Turcic]

Originally Posted by geneven

I think there were many Christians praying for the success of the a-bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki too.

Huh? I don't see how this topic can result in friendly banter. I am sure there are plenty of communities better suitable for these kind of discussions.

Thank you for your understanding. Thread closed.