Last night's shooting at Trolley Square was one of the most horrific events to happen in SLC. I find myself still enraged over what happened.
Perhaps I lack compassion or maybe I am just mean spirited, but I commented on how I wished the shooter suffered greatly before he expired (that is, if he did not die immediately). A friend of mine thought I was being judgmental and somewhat cruel by not taking into consideration that the shooter may have had some mental issues which led to his actions. My friend also felt the shooter, as a person, was deserving of some compassion but he did make it clear he was not condoning the actual shootings themselves. I (with my angry bitter attitude) disagreed with him. In my opinion, regardless of what a person has been through, there is absolutely no justification for intentionally shooting innocent people. I do not claim to understand the full dynamics of how a deranged mind works, but the shooter appeared calm and controlled (based on witness testimony), as though he knew exactly what he was doing, rather than being sloppy and chaotic.
Yes, I know I am making assumptions; but in all honesty, it helps me to put things into a more black and white scenario in situations like this. The shooter= dipshit bad guy who should have done everyone a favor and killed himself long before yesterday; that is, IF his life experiences were indeed so tragic to where he couldn't cope. In my opinion, we are all ultimately responsible for our actions regardless of our mental state. I am sick to death of people using their past traumatic experiences as an excuse to not be held accountable for their violent actions. I'm sure many psychiatrists would disagree with me. Please note that if I ever loose control and go on a shooting rampage, I am deserving of no mercy, no compassion, and I should receive an agonizing death.
On that note, I will leave you with the following story about a man named Bernhard Goetz who, after being mugged twice, decided to finally protect himself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernhard_Hugo_Goetz
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I enjoyed listening to you jam on the drums the other night... just wish you would freakin' update this thing!!! 
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I agree with you Spencer...totally. 
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