Hello Everyone, The law should have made for pistols to become illegal since it is easy to be hidden. So All US Citizen can buy only rifles since they are open to see cuz it is big piece that can't be hidden.
Of course, he was mentally unstable. So was the Fort Hood shooter. So, probably, is any shooter. But he targetted a politician for what he wrote was 'his assassination', for being part of a government that acted against his individual rights, as written in the constitution (it's clear from his recent rantings that this was his concern).
Sure, Loughner changed over the last 5 years. But, the entire country has changed, for that matter. Suggesting that only his change was significant is wrong. Mentally impaired, he nevertheless absorbed his environment, as we all do. Thus compromised, he didn't target himself, a girlfriend, his parents, or coworkers. He targetted a politician. This was a politically-motivated shooting and, given the current climate of barely-veiled political violence, should be understood as such.
All the speculation about his "mental illness," when he "changed," etc. Former friends and classmates giving their assessments of Loughner's character and possible motives. We're all grabbing at straws to try and understand why people do the horrible things they do. Until we hear from Loughner himself, we really won't know what his motives were. Will he talk? I heard he's pleading the 5th, which shows he does know what his rights are. I'm curious to see what he has to say when he finally does decide to talk. I also wonder if he has access to the news and is watching the dissection of his personality and possible motives. Interesting.
I am concerned about the dialogue and name calling about the causes of this incident shown on this blog. We can all use a little more mental health literacy in order to avoid these tragic incidents. Mr Loughner deserved to receive diagnosis and treatment. Our communities can do better to close the loops between friends who notice serious behavior changes, to public institutions like Pima College and the police. He could have been ordered by a court to receive an evaluation. We have a serious gap in our public safety net.
"Schizophrenia is a serious and challenging medical illness, an illness that affects well over 2 million American adults, which is about 1 percent of the population age 18 and older. Although it is often feared and misunderstood, schizophrenia is a treatable medical condition.
Schizophrenia often interferes with a person's ability to think clearly, to distinguish reality from fantasy, to manage emotions, make decisions, and relate to others. The first signs of schizophrenia typically emerge in the teenage years or early twenties, often later for females. Most people with schizophrenia contend with the illness chronically or episodically throughout their lives, and are often stigmatized by lack of public understanding about the disease. Schizophrenia is not caused by bad parenting or personal weakness. A person with schizophrenia does not have a "split personality," and almost all people with schizophrenia are not dangerous or violent towards others while they are receiving treatment. The World Health Organization has identified schizophrenia as one of the ten most debilitating diseases affecting human beings."
Please refer to the National Institute for Metal Health website for more information (http://namimi.org/schizophrenia?gclid=CIPDo6npt6YCFQcKbAodkk3MIA)
I had a friend who came down with schizophrenia about the same age as Loughner. As with Loughner, he was shy, smart, and a little withdrawn in high school, but a good friend to me and my brother. By 22 he was a total crazy person, consumed by demons. I remember seeing him stalking down the sidewalk at my university, wild look in his eyes, and 'Catcher in the Rye' in his hands. As with Loughner, we became obsessed with words and language. He came from a very intelligent family, his dad was a vice president of a food company. But they were unable to have him treated. By 23 he was dead, found floating in a river.
Thanks for your comment about your friend with schizophrenia. I am sorry for your loss of a once good friend. Your remarks make a vital contribution--I'm not sure if friends and family missed his behavioral clues or if they tried but were unsuccessful to help him. Your friend showed a typical pattern. Hopefully in the future we'll get better at working together to help people like him.
Thank you for posting this! The lack of understanding surrounding mental illness is a huge issue. I just hope people take the time to learn about the subject before spitting venom.
of course it is. it couldn't possibly be the fact that she was hanging out with a aloof 16-year old who has since become a mentally disturbed, angry 22-year old.
fox news didn't do this. not having enough brain cells to cope with the complex relationships during day-to-day life did this.
I swear the right wingers on this site all seem to need mental evals. Their take on reality is bizarre. We're deep in a recession after 8 years of Republican rule, but they blame liberals for everything. We're a nation knee deep in automatic weaponry, but do they want to talk about gun control ? Heck no, that's the gubmint disarmin' the citizenry so we can have one world gubmint ! SOCIALISM ! SOCIALISM ! The hilarious thing is, they want to destroy the government, and Karl Marx said the very same thing, the withering away of the state. The Tea Party wants exactly what Karl Marx advocated. HAHAHAHAHA - not what liberals believe at all, we know a strong federal government is the only way to get anything done fairly and across the board.
Take a gun of your choice,load it with as many rounds of ammo as you can find.Now lay it on the ground in front of as many people as you like and see how many people it kills.C'mon!Open your mind.
I commend Kelsey Hawkes for having courage to attest to the gentleness in a young man she once knew. Her words provided proof Jared Loughner and his family were very common and normal people.
Mental illness has claimed both the weak and strong-minded for a variety of reasons that include chemical exposure of both the intentional and unintentional type, or even toxic accumulations of known substances like lead, mercury, or radium.
One documented evidence of a doomed expedition of an early north american explorer who sailed with stockpiles of vaccumm sealed canned foods that were later found to be tainted with lead, causing a series of fatal decisions.
I would like to know how civil and gentle souls become so hostile and do so without a community safety network of friends and family to help them.
"Her words provided proof Jared Loughner and his family were very common and normal people."
They did no such thing. From the sounds of it, she wasn't around them that much. Let's say that the parents were verbally abusive to him. Do you think that they are going to show that side of themselves? If they hit him, do you think they would do it in front of her? There could have been any number of things that went on in that household that she wouldn't have seen.
She said that he was very caring, very sweet...."and a little bit quiet". Who knows what was going on in that brain? You can be caring and sweet on the outside, and have disturbing thoughts on the inside.
At his college campus, he was thought "bizarre and strange". A professor was worried for the safety of herself and students. He had run-ins 5 times with campus police. If this kind of stuff was going on, there is no way that those parents didn't notice it something off at home.
erasmus111 - interesting you want to believe the negative things said about him in college....but you refuse to believe the positive things said about him in high school.
Very few wives will stick by a husband without a job. Jared had a mother who loved her husband despite his economic failings. She worked for many years to support the family. His mothers loyalty should have instilled in Jared the belief that love is real, but mental illness destroyed that insight.
I hate it when the news does things like this. They are going to cover this story for the next month and a half, and no doubt put the blame on someone that is completely unrelated to the issue(Sarah Palin possibly, idk.) Just like the Columbine shootings, when they ran stories on it for months on end and blamed Marilyn Manson because they found one of his CD's in one of the kids room. But we as a general public make it worse, the reason they are going to run this story ragged is because their ratings will sky rocket because "The beauty of death we all adore." We are an extremely morbid society and the TV corporations are greedy and will do whatever they can to make more money, and we just throw it at them. And i know I'm a hypocrite because obviously i own a computer that was made by a huge corporation and im probably feeding CBS by posting this but i felt i need to express this. --Love,
RyderCFH
The posting of advertisements, profanity, or personal attacks is prohibited. By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.
Reply to Comment The posting of advertisements, profanity, or personal attacks is prohibited. By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.
Sure, Loughner changed over the last 5 years. But, the entire country has changed, for that matter. Suggesting that only his change was significant is wrong. Mentally impaired, he nevertheless absorbed his environment, as we all do. Thus compromised, he didn't target himself, a girlfriend, his parents, or coworkers. He targetted a politician. This was a politically-motivated shooting and, given the current climate of barely-veiled political violence, should be understood as such.
"Schizophrenia is a serious and challenging medical illness, an illness that affects well over 2 million American adults, which is about 1 percent of the population age 18 and older. Although it is often feared and misunderstood, schizophrenia is a treatable medical condition.
Schizophrenia often interferes with a person's ability to think clearly, to distinguish reality from fantasy, to manage emotions, make decisions, and relate to others. The first signs of schizophrenia typically emerge in the teenage years or early twenties, often later for females. Most people with schizophrenia contend with the illness chronically or episodically throughout their lives, and are often stigmatized by lack of public understanding about the disease. Schizophrenia is not caused by bad parenting or personal weakness. A person with schizophrenia does not have a "split personality," and almost all people with schizophrenia are not dangerous or violent towards others while they are receiving treatment. The World Health Organization has identified schizophrenia as one of the ten most debilitating diseases affecting human beings."
Please refer to the National Institute for Metal Health website for more information (http://namimi.org/schizophrenia?gclid=CIPDo6npt6YCFQcKbAodkk3MIA)
fox news didn't do this. not having enough brain cells to cope with the complex relationships during day-to-day life did this.
Mental illness has claimed both the weak and strong-minded for a variety of reasons that include chemical exposure of both the intentional and unintentional type, or even toxic accumulations of known substances like lead, mercury, or radium.
One documented evidence of a doomed expedition of an early north american explorer who sailed with stockpiles of vaccumm sealed canned foods that were later found to be tainted with lead, causing a series of fatal decisions.
I would like to know how civil and gentle souls become so hostile and do so without a community safety network of friends and family to help them.
They did no such thing. From the sounds of it, she wasn't around them that much. Let's say that the parents were verbally abusive to him. Do you think that they are going to show that side of themselves? If they hit him, do you think they would do it in front of her? There could have been any number of things that went on in that household that she wouldn't have seen.
She said that he was very caring, very sweet...."and a little bit quiet". Who knows what was going on in that brain? You can be caring and sweet on the outside, and have disturbing thoughts on the inside.
At his college campus, he was thought "bizarre and strange". A professor was worried for the safety of herself and students. He had run-ins 5 times with campus police. If this kind of stuff was going on, there is no way that those parents didn't notice it something off at home.
--Love,
RyderCFH