Thank goodness the Ghoul of Calcutta can do no more harm.
Nicholas Dollak - You've only defined one kind of atheist. For many of us it's not a decision at all. For plenty, often angry ex-fundamentalists, it does take on a rather rebellious nature.
People should also be aware that it's possible to be an atheist and agnostic at the same time.
Troy Dean - You have a scary god there. Faith is more important than the countless condemned to suffer in hell? What's so wrong with the idea of a god who talks to each of us in an undeniable way? Anything else is rather elitist and horrifying.
I think Britt's point is that it's also a tragedy that he felt mass murder was the reasonable thing to do, and not just because of the obvious consequences. Noting that his life must have sucked doesn't mean he's not responsible, and doesn't undo his actions. Mourning his victims is easy, anyone can do it (and is): actual compassion means being able to feel some twinge of empathy for *him* too. (That's "too" meaning in addition, and not as you may initially assume, instead of.)
The random shooting of people is not unspeakable, nor the shooter inhuman. These are a part of the human condition. It is delusional to pretend this sort of thing doesn't happen, and it is cowardly and dangerous to pretend actions such as that are somehow outside the realm of human potential; that they somehow emerge fully formed from some dark elsewhere and have nothing to do with the circumstances and emotions the human agent endured for years.
Nowhere did I "put down [those] people" who got shot. It was the media that somehow elevated them in the eyes of people. Dying does not make you special. Dying under highly unexpected circumstances does not make you better than anyone else. Pointing out that the only reason we're talking about them is that they're dead does not mean they don't matter deeply to someone, somewhere, or were otherwise unimportant.
The shooter's family is mourning him for a whole number of reasons right now. Acknowledging that he too had a family might complicate things for the righteous mourners, perhaps.
I know here in South Korea people can identify with the difficulties of emigrating to a completely alien society, and yet they also regret the murders.
Demean the victims? Unspeakable crime? All they did was get killed. They aren't heroes, they didn't sacrafice themselves, they're just dead. I'm not saying that to be insensitive. Sure, nobody wants to get shot, nobody wants their friends or family members to get killed by some random guy. He took a gun to school and killed people. Hardly "unspeakable" -- it's a common occurance in that country these days. People died, dude killed himself, it's a shame; unless they were your friends or family, don't pretend it's the worst thing that could happen. Just because the advertising department at CNN/FOX/ABC needs to sensationalize this, it doesn't mean you have to buy it.
Nicholas Dollak - You've only defined one kind of atheist. For many of us it's not a decision at all. For plenty, often angry ex-fundamentalists, it does take on a rather rebellious nature.
People should also be aware that it's possible to be an atheist and agnostic at the same time.
Troy Dean - You have a scary god there. Faith is more important than the countless condemned to suffer in hell? What's so wrong with the idea of a god who talks to each of us in an undeniable way? Anything else is rather elitist and horrifying.
The random shooting of people is not unspeakable, nor the shooter inhuman. These are a part of the human condition. It is delusional to pretend this sort of thing doesn't happen, and it is cowardly and dangerous to pretend actions such as that are somehow outside the realm of human potential; that they somehow emerge fully formed from some dark elsewhere and have nothing to do with the circumstances and emotions the human agent endured for years.
Nowhere did I "put down [those] people" who got shot. It was the media that somehow elevated them in the eyes of people. Dying does not make you special. Dying under highly unexpected circumstances does not make you better than anyone else. Pointing out that the only reason we're talking about them is that they're dead does not mean they don't matter deeply to someone, somewhere, or were otherwise unimportant.
The shooter's family is mourning him for a whole number of reasons right now. Acknowledging that he too had a family might complicate things for the righteous mourners, perhaps.
I know here in South Korea people can identify with the difficulties of emigrating to a completely alien society, and yet they also regret the murders.