Ing.
California 17 hours ago
J.Bertinot
Columbus Ohio 17 hours agoThe smartphone had nothing to do with this poor man's death - why was a man allowed to carry a concealed weapon into the theatre; he's retired after all and had no compelling reason to carry one. Real simple: People with guns kill other people.
Sometimes they kill them for not driving fast enough, or looking at another man/woman, or just for no reason at all. But that gun, sliding so quickly into the hand, then results in tragedy for all concerned. Never be led astry that it is bad manners or a cell phone.
It is simply because someone had a gun, and felt they had a right to use it as they saw fit through their own personal fog of hate/fear/anger/insanity, etc.
And they didn't care what happened as a result.
Sometimes they kill them for not driving fast enough, or looking at another man/woman, or just for no reason at all. But that gun, sliding so quickly into the hand, then results in tragedy for all concerned. Never be led astry that it is bad manners or a cell phone.
It is simply because someone had a gun, and felt they had a right to use it as they saw fit through their own personal fog of hate/fear/anger/insanity, etc.
And they didn't care what happened as a result.
Chris
Minneapolis 17 hours agoBeyond belief. Unchecked narcissism versus unchecked rage. And guns aplenty everywhere to resolve it. It amazes me, the depths of our cultural and social dysfunction, and how we work so hard to make it worse. This is more than just an unfortunate and needless tragedy. It personifies something about the changing character of this nation.
C T
austria 12 hours agoI'm an American citizen living in a land which is armed to its teeth but Austria has almost no gun violence at all.
America, land of my birth, land that I love, this is the true meaning of TERROR! It is not the terror which the NSA is using to "protect" its citizens, it is the terror within those who own guns and whose exaggerated sense of narcissism is loaded on the trigger and aiming at whatever disturbs him, wherever it may be, and aims his fire to wipe a human life away. A child has no father. A wife no husband. A man in the middle of life ripped from what he loved most.
I have two beautiful girls who have citizenship in both countries. Words from them which will cause terror in me: I'm. Going. To. America! You cannot get a gun permit in Austria unless you pass a comprehensive exam on mental health issues and even then you must be tested over and over and over again. Then you must wait for a gun permit for over two months. Every day I read the papers about killing from guns in America. Many of them children being killed and doing the killing. The Killing Fields are the USA. And it grieves me to know this truth, and it also scares the hell out of me to know that its on a course that will never change unless the gun laws of the land are changed first.
How much longer America? Whose rights are really being violated here?
America, land of my birth, land that I love, this is the true meaning of TERROR! It is not the terror which the NSA is using to "protect" its citizens, it is the terror within those who own guns and whose exaggerated sense of narcissism is loaded on the trigger and aiming at whatever disturbs him, wherever it may be, and aims his fire to wipe a human life away. A child has no father. A wife no husband. A man in the middle of life ripped from what he loved most.
I have two beautiful girls who have citizenship in both countries. Words from them which will cause terror in me: I'm. Going. To. America! You cannot get a gun permit in Austria unless you pass a comprehensive exam on mental health issues and even then you must be tested over and over and over again. Then you must wait for a gun permit for over two months. Every day I read the papers about killing from guns in America. Many of them children being killed and doing the killing. The Killing Fields are the USA. And it grieves me to know this truth, and it also scares the hell out of me to know that its on a course that will never change unless the gun laws of the land are changed first.
How much longer America? Whose rights are really being violated here?
David Bartlett
Keweenaw Bay, MI 12 hours agoSo much rage. So much dislike for 'the other guy'. Even in these comments do you see it.
The shooting in that Florida movie theater wasn't----as ironic as it seems----about guns; it was about our growing intolerance of each other. Intolerance of other lifestyle choices, other opinions, others, period.
As improbable as it sounds, a gun was about as central to Monday's tragedy as the thrown popcorn which preceeded it, or the texting which started it all.
The shooting in that Florida movie theater wasn't----as ironic as it seems----about guns; it was about our growing intolerance of each other. Intolerance of other lifestyle choices, other opinions, others, period.
As improbable as it sounds, a gun was about as central to Monday's tragedy as the thrown popcorn which preceeded it, or the texting which started it all.
ron
New Haven 10 hours agoNot only is this a senseless death we need to ask the question why someone going to the movies needs to carry a gun. The gun culture in this country is so out of control it boggles the imagination. Why we are at war with oursleves is a mystery to me.
Rob and Sue
Skillman, NJ 10 hours agoKilling someone who is texting during a movie is crazy. However, I don't understand why the man was texting his 3-yr-old daughter...can she read? There's a reason why they put that message up about turning your phone off or silencing it. It's extremely rude to be using your phone during a movie. If you need to call/text someone during the movie, leave the theatre. I still remember taking our kids to see "Stomp" in NYC and a lady next to us was using her phone the entire time. It was so distracting and it's rude to the performers.
Cindy Allen
Gainesville, FL 9 hours agoWithout the gun, this is no more than a fistfight. With the gun, a flash of temper turns into a murder that ruins many lives.
becca
CT 9 hours ago“We encourage our patrons to remember that they are sharing a common wish to be entertained and to treat their fellow moviegoers with courtesy and respect.” I'm confused, does Patrick Corcoran of the National Association of Theater Owners label shooting another moviegoer as a breach of "courtesy and respect" or is he suggesting the victim was at fault for texting during the previews?
Brian Carter
Boston 8 hours agoComing next to a movie theater near you - signs reading "Check Your Guns at The Popcorn Counter." This does not seem like progress.
Thomas Payne
Cornelius, NC 8 hours agoAnother victim of ACD: American Cowboy Disease.
It's especially bad down in Florida.
For sure you'll be hearing how the killer had to "stand his ground."
It's especially bad down in Florida.
For sure you'll be hearing how the killer had to "stand his ground."
Tommy
NYC 8 hours agoWhy do people have to use cell phones in movie theaters? If you can't turn your phone off for 90 minutes, then maybe you shouldn't go to the movies!
JB
Guam 8 hours agoAccording to IMDb (the Internet Movie Database), "Lone Survivor" is "Rated R for strong bloody war violence and pervasive language," yet it garners a viewer rating of 7.8/10 from 21,006 users, and a film critics'"Metascore" of 59/100. Is this, perhaps, the core of the problem?
As a nation, and especially through our entertainment industries, we aggrandize violence (and, curiously, heavily censor sex); we crave it, we demand it, we even pay for it! Is it any wonder that we are seeing more and more violence in our own streets (not to mention, in far too many households)?
This may seem, "chicken and egg," but somebody has to pull the plug somewhere in this self-reinforcing cycle. If we can't get past the gun lobby, then perhaps we can convince Hollywood.
(Of course, that wouldn't work, because we have allowed our prurient interests to overcome our morality, and we will continue to pay top dollar to the producers of the most violent of films, books, magazines . . . wars.)
The 1960s - '70s meme, "Make Love, Not War," seemed perverted to many (mostly older) people in those days. How much more perverted is today's social norm, "Make War, Not Love?"
As a nation, and especially through our entertainment industries, we aggrandize violence (and, curiously, heavily censor sex); we crave it, we demand it, we even pay for it! Is it any wonder that we are seeing more and more violence in our own streets (not to mention, in far too many households)?
This may seem, "chicken and egg," but somebody has to pull the plug somewhere in this self-reinforcing cycle. If we can't get past the gun lobby, then perhaps we can convince Hollywood.
(Of course, that wouldn't work, because we have allowed our prurient interests to overcome our morality, and we will continue to pay top dollar to the producers of the most violent of films, books, magazines . . . wars.)
The 1960s - '70s meme, "Make Love, Not War," seemed perverted to many (mostly older) people in those days. How much more perverted is today's social norm, "Make War, Not Love?"
Nick A.
NJ 8 hours agoI am a pretty level headed guy (doesn't everyone think that about themselves) but there have been a few times in my life when I was so furious I was barely rational. Thank god or my liberal parents that I didn't have a gun with me on those occasions. I bet Reeves is wishing the same thing now.
Eric
Maine 8 hours ago"There is nothing wrong with texting during the previews."
In general I would agree, but if someone asked me to stop, I would accept that, in the final analysis, I shouldn't be using a cell phone in a theater, and I would stop, rather than blow it up into a huge dispute. If it were pressing, It is just as easy for me to go out to the vestibule and text until the movie starts, as it is for the other guy to go out and try to find the manager.
In general I would agree, but if someone asked me to stop, I would accept that, in the final analysis, I shouldn't be using a cell phone in a theater, and I would stop, rather than blow it up into a huge dispute. If it were pressing, It is just as easy for me to go out to the vestibule and text until the movie starts, as it is for the other guy to go out and try to find the manager.
Canuck Lit Lover
British Columbia 8 hours agoWhy does this sort of violence not happen in Canada? We don't carry handguns. Period. The response of one reader that this event justifies why he carries a gun everywhere is simply ludicrous. If the movie patron who was shot had been carrying a gun, too, he wouldn't have been able to use it if he was already dead. It's astounding the lengths some of our fellow North Americans will go to in order to justify the right to bear arms. When will American legislators and voters wake up to the irrationality of refusing to address the murderous consequences of the second amendment?
tjhannink
The Big Easy 8 hours agoThey were in a theater to watch a movie about some people killing other people with guns. That is what entertains the majority of people in this country, except when they (some of them anyway) have to see it first hand. If you are honestly against gun violence, stop using it for entertainment. You can't blame anyone else but yourself
JEH
Fair Haven, NJ 8 hours agoNever get into an argument over parking, driving, texting, use of cell phone etc. The person you are about to argue with may kill you. Turn the other cheek and move to a different seat, slow down, find another parking place.
dede
Walnut Creek, CA 8 hours agoWe are strict adherers to the no cell phone use during the movie, however in our area one must arrive 20-30 minutes before the show to get in to popular films. Then there are 20 minutes of advertisement and previews. We cheer, boo, hiss and/or clap depending on their content and sometimes (!) I take out my phone to make a list of films from the previews to keep my eye on. None of this is part of the "movie" that I (and you) have paid to see. Let's get clear on the movie/no phone use and let's bar guns in general. This is insanity of our own making.
Dalton
Chicago 7 hours agoI cannot believe how many of the people commenting here are somehow blaming the guy who was texting during the "previews"...not the actual film presentation but the previews.
And even if it had been during the actual presentation of the film itself...what in the world is wrong with you people??
And even if it had been during the actual presentation of the film itself...what in the world is wrong with you people??
bencharif
St. George, Staten Island 6 hours agoThere are unstable people everywhere --- particularly since we decided to save money by closing institutions that kept them off the streets. The difference is that in Florida, state law enables them, and those they annoy, to settle matters with deadly force.
Lethe
Chicago 6 hours agoI've heard it said that an armed society is a polite society. Here is lesson one.
Kate
Florida 6 hours agoThis article is framed as if it was about texting in theaters. This is really about gun violence and senseless murder and should be presented that way.
Marcia B
New York 5 hours agoJust five minutes into the movie in a New York city theater, the well-dressed 30ish man next to me took out his phone to text. Calmly, I asked him to please turn it off. Point blank, he refused. "Who do you think you are?" I fumed. He continued to ignore me and text.
At that point I considered my options. I could continue arguing and bother everyone near me or I could get up to get a manager and miss the movie. I chose to keep quiet. Subsequently, the man took out his phone every 15 minutes or so. "At least you could hold it to your other side so I don't see the light," I muttered. Again, no response. What I really wanted to do was bat it out of his hand, but I knew that I'd risk arrest...or bodily harm. I suppose texting rage is the new road rage.
At that point I considered my options. I could continue arguing and bother everyone near me or I could get up to get a manager and miss the movie. I chose to keep quiet. Subsequently, the man took out his phone every 15 minutes or so. "At least you could hold it to your other side so I don't see the light," I muttered. Again, no response. What I really wanted to do was bat it out of his hand, but I knew that I'd risk arrest...or bodily harm. I suppose texting rage is the new road rage.
Sam
Florida 4 hours agoAs a Floridian I have this fear on a daily basis, that someone in traffic is going to be impatient or think I cut him off or do something to offend him and out comes the gun during a fit of rage. There simply is no reason for people to be carrying concealed weapons to be carrying weapons in their cars on a regular basis and the number of concealed weapons permits in Florida now means that you simply have to assume that everyone has a gun.
Does that make a more polite society? No, it makes a more fearful society. I am simply afraid now to speak out, to speak up if someone is breaking the rules or someone is harming a child or an animal or another adult. If I speak up, chances are that person has a gun and they might shoot me dead. It is not a pleasant way to live at all, in fear from fellow drivers, neighbors and now movie goers.
Does that make a more polite society? No, it makes a more fearful society. I am simply afraid now to speak out, to speak up if someone is breaking the rules or someone is harming a child or an animal or another adult. If I speak up, chances are that person has a gun and they might shoot me dead. It is not a pleasant way to live at all, in fear from fellow drivers, neighbors and now movie goers.
Also it's so unfair this man who at 71 had lived a long life robbed the 3 yr old of her father.