Moviegoers didn't know what was happening and some thought the attack was part of the show. Then they saw a silhouette of a person in the smoke at the front of the theater near the screen, pointing a gun at the crowd....Horrible. I'm not surprised people imagined it was part of the show, since I've seen theme-park shows that begin as a movie and become stage shows with actors in a plot about how something is terribly wrong in the the theater. (I'm remembering the old "Ghostbusters Spooktacular Show" at Universal Studios).
[An audience member said] it sounded like firecrackers until someone ran into Theater 8 yelling "they're shooting out here!"...
"Like little explosions going on and shortly after that we heard people screaming," [said another, noting that] at first he thought it was part of a louder movie next door. But then he saw "people hunched over leaving theater."
ADDED: When things like this happen, decent people refrain from spinning out theories about why the killer — who presumably has deranged thought patterns — did what he did. Appropriating this event for political purposes is shameful, but it is happening. I'm not even going to link to the places where this is happening. I have some ideas of my own, but I'm choosing not to put them on the internet. For one thing, it's disrespectful to the individuals who died, but also, the likelihood of getting it wrong is high, as we saw after the Oklahoma City bombing and the Tucson massacre.
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Which political movement is that?
An earlier ABC News broadcast report suggested that a Jim Holmes of a Colorado Tea Party organization might be the suspect, but that report
was incorrect. Several other local residents with similar names were also contacted via social media by members of the public who mistook them for the suspect.
How about a class action lawsuit. Let's get all those Jim Holmes-es together and make life a living hell for ABC and everyone involved.
Partially joking here, but wouldn't it be great. They [ABC] tried to make life a living hell for this Jim Holmes (and possibly others with the same name) without any proof or verification. Just sheer knee jerk partisan hackery. Make them pay for it.
Ah well. It will never happen. The media gets away with it once again. But.... We can dream can't we?
Try engaging your brain before engaging your mouth.
Fingers, little boy, fingers.
In any event, as your contribution to this blog has been nothing more than the standard concatenation of leftist foolishness, it was no great stretch to presume you'd be one of the chorus insisting the media has no bias, or if it is, it's biased towards conservatives (since news outlets are corporations, which are right-wing sources of evil) or biased because reality has a liberal bias.
In short, I added you to the list of typical liberals because you write like one. Carry on.
Oh how cute:
Daily Kos editor, Amanda Marcotte say nothing wrong with 'scoring political points' on the backs of the dead
Do you think movie attendance will be off this weekend?
it was no great stretch to presume you'd be one of the chorus insisting the media has no bias
I get it now. My connection to your complaint is imaginary. Thanks for admitting it at least.
If you don't mind, I'm going to stick to reality-based discussions. Have fun with whatever it is you're doing.
The name Amanda Marcotte always reminded me of something sweet, edible and Italian. Too bad she's actually so vile inside.
I spit.
Christopher in MA, you wrote:
"I'd be willing to bet even money that he'll do a shout-out to Obamacare, crowing that the fortunate people who survived this awful tragedy don't have to worry about their hospital care because of him.
Cynical? Yes. Would I loved to be proven wrong? Absolutely. Will I be? There is absolutely nothing that I put past this creature."
Are you experiencing the emotion known as "love" now that you were "proven wrong"? This is the speech anyone not colored by hatred for the man would easily have guessed he would make. Transcript via Hot Air:
“We’re still gathering all the facts about what happened in Aurora, but what we do know is that the police have one suspect in custody, and the federal government stands ready to do whatever is necessary to bring whoever is responsible for this heinous crime to justice,” the president said to applause.
“We may never understand what leads anybody to terrorize their fellow human beings like this. Such violence, such evil is senseless — it’s beyond reason. But while we will never know fully what causes somebody to take the life of another, we do know what makes life worth living,” he continued. “The people we lost in aurora loved and they were loved. They were mothers and fathers, they were husbands and wives, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, friends and neighbors. They had hopes for the future and they had dreams that were not yet fulfilled. And if there is anything to take away from this tragedy, it’s the reminder that life is very fragile.”
“What matters at the end of the day is not the small things,” the president opined. “It’s not the trivial things which so often consume us and our daily lives. Ultimately it’s how we choose to treat one another and how we love one another…. At the end of the day, what we’ll remember will be those we loved and what we did for others.”
“I am so moved by your support,” he told the crowd of thousands who had hoped to attend a political rally, “but there are going to be other days for politics. This, I think, is a day for prayer and reflection.”
He then called for a moment of silence and ended the speech shortly thereafter to chants of “Four more years!”
I'm agreeing with harrogate so far. It's not Obama but his lackeys.
Now ABC says the shooter was a Tea Party member.. and Brian Ross says the same thing.
But then.. ops.. turns out he wasn't. The nutjob was just a nut job. But the news ALWAYS blames the Tea Party.. or Sarah Palin.. or NRA... or anyone but liberals or Muslims.
I bet the nutjob, James Holmes, was a far out leftist. After all, Colorado is known for them.
"Daily Kos editor, Amanda Marcotte say nothing wrong with 'scoring political points' on the backs of the dead"
Says the ex-Edwards campaign employee.
Now ABC says the shooter was a Tea Party member.. and Brian Ross says the same thing.
But then.. ops.. turns out he wasn't. The nutjob was just a nut job. But the news ALWAYS blames the Tea Party.. or Sarah Palin.. or NRA... or anyone but liberals or Muslims.
And banning guns will just make more 'gun free' zones for nutjobs like this one WHO PUT BOMBS IN HIS OWN HOUSE TO KILL THE COPS. Yes he had bombs to. So banning guns will stop the bombs?
I bet the nutjob, James Holmes, was a far out leftist. After all, Colorado is known for them.
@Crimso: Ouch. That one could leave marks if anyone cared to notice.
Paul: Far out is the only thing we can tell about the guy. He booby-trapped his own apartment for crying out loud! Crazy has no politics.
I'm starting to think he had a change of heart: He surrendered without a fight and tipped off police to the booby-traps.
What's up with that?
I'm starting to think he had a change of heart: He surrendered without a fight and tipped off police to the booby-traps.
What's up with that?
He wants to be famous AND alive. How can you enjoy your notoriety if you are dead?
Dose of Sanity said...
I'm starting to think he had a change of heart: He surrendered without a fight and tipped off police to the booby-traps.
What's up with that?
I've noticed that a lot of people these days crave attention and turn quite bitter with words or action when they can't achieve attention. To get this attention they will go to any extreme to be noticed.
I'm sure it's been said, and I haven't read the comments yet, but is there not one aspect of life, not one event, that cannot be spun for political purposes? I personally find it disgusting, and I am referring to individuals, the media, politicians. Is it never conceivable that horrible things can happen that have absolutely NOTHING to do with politics?
Breitbart is reporting that the Colorado Tea Partier Jim Holmes is a 52 year old Hispanic male.
…and earlier today Breitbart and Drudge reported this:
this.
And your point is? Because it looks like some big names from both sides got it wrong.
I immediately thought of my daughter and her boyfriend, who frequently go to late movies, like lots of young people do. It is heartbreaking.
On a side note: I wonder how this horrible crime will impact the revenue and opening events of the Batman movie. I would probably not plan to attend a screening of the movie anytime soon for fear of a 'copycat' incident.
@DBQ: Those understandable fears feed the further atomization of society. The most innocuous social gathering becomes a risk.
Concealed carry would help alleviate those fears.
Happy ending, nice and tidy
It's a rule I learned in school
Get your money every Friday,
Happy endings are the rule.
So divide up those in darkness
From the ones who walk in light
Light 'em up boys, there's your picture
Drop the shadows out of sight.
The Ballad of Mack the Knife, Reprise from The Threepenny Opera.
Dose of Sanity said...
I'm starting to think he had a change of heart: He surrendered without a fight and tipped off police to the booby-traps.
What's up with that?
He didn't have the courage of his convictions.
@ Jay
Well, he IS a damn coward. Shooting a group unarmed people and a child?
Not really surprising - but saying you have booby traps? that is.
Are you experiencing the emotion known as "love" now that you were "proven wrong?" This is the speech anyone not colored by hatred for the man would easily have guessed he would make. . .
"Easily guessed," harrogate? From the dog-eating cokehead who bleated that if he had a son, he'd look like Trayvon Martin? Who immediately shot his mouth off to denounce the Cambridge police for acting stupidly? From the head of the party that screamed for Sarah Palin's head after the Giffords shooting? The party that turned a memorial for Paul Wellstone into an orgy of anti-GOP rage?
So his handlers wrote a nice speech for him. He delivered it. Good boy. Let's give him a cookie.
Considering the BDS at your blog, you've got a hell of a lot of nerve throwing the words "blinded by hatred" at anyone else.
My crim law professor used to say "Naaasis".
That's sorta the way Churchill pronounced it.
The quote was "the truth gets its boots on." The English would never have it running around without pants.
As they say in Congress, let me revise and extend my remarks:
The statement was better than I expected from Obama. I was proven wrong.
His fellators in the media, however - most especially the loathsome George Stephanopoulos and Brian Ross - ought to both be fired by the end of the day for their smear job on the Tea Party.
I do, however, still stand by my earlier comment that I don't think a President of either party should be making any kind of comment.
Not really surprising - but saying you have booby traps? that is.
In an earlier time, we could have assumed it wasn't a spontaneous admission.
The drunk ex-employee who burned my great grandmother's hotel to the ground died in jail before trial. It didn't occur to me until a few years ago that he was probably murdered.
@ Ralph
That occured to me - I /think/ there is an exception that let's police question without miranda in just this circumstances though.
So maybe it wasn't just an "admission".
Isn't it funny how harrogate omitted the portions where Obama mentioned Malia and Sasha by name, and the fact they go to movies? Obama always invokes his children for political purposes
Dose, I doubt they'd risk that on a national profile case these days--not after the OJ trial. Every I will be dotty, every T cross.
I'd think that his daughters would have armed Secret Service agents with them in any theatre.
http://thehill.com/video/administration/239203-obama-leads-moment-of-silence-what-if-malia-and-sasha-had-been-at-the-theater
" “If there was anything to take away from this tragedy it's the reminder that life is very fragile. Our time here is limited and it is precious,” Obama told an audience in Florida. “What matters at the end of the day is not the small things. It's not the trivial things which so often consume us and our daily lives. Ultimately, it's how we treat one another and how we love one another.”
The president said he was also heartbroken as a father.
“My daughters go to the movies,” he said. “What if Malia and Sasha had been at the theater, as so many of our kids do every day? Michelle and I will be fortunate enough to hug our girls a little tighter tonight and I'm sure you will do the same with your children.
“For those parents who may not be so lucky we have to embrace them and let them know we will be there for them as a nation,” he said. "
Good speech by Mr Obama.
I haven't heard the speech by Obama but I appreciate the comments of Christopher in MA and RogerJ giving him some credit.
I did not intentionally leave out his reference to his daughters. I just followed the link from Hot air to what I thought was the full transcript. My fault.
Although, I don't see any problem that he brought them up. The first thing most people thought of when they find out about the death of a child, is their own child. It's a way we connect and inevitable and on balance, healthy.
I always think of and mention my family in similar circumstances. It's normal to relate to events in that way. It's one of the few things that Obama does that seems to make him more human to me. I'm not suggesting there isn't a political calculation in it, just that it's an understandable response.
Screw Obama.
Like I said earlier, some people crave attention and will show up and say anything outrageous to get noticed.
I was appreciative of both the President's and Mitt Romney's choices of words today.
This is not about them. I would have preferred that they spoke even fewer words, but politicians rarely do.
What a horrific tragedy.
I read a book a bit ago about a fictional tragedy and in the story, the author explains the Trinity as he sees it, and how all three are constantly involved in what is happening to us. Not necessarily shielding us from tragedy or evil, but there with us. When I read about tragedies like this I often wonder (and hurt) thinking about the horror that the victims endure in their last moments. The book's explanation and the belief that God uses tragedy for good will be comforting for me as I continue to process the news.
(The book is The Shack by William P. Young)
@wyo sis
Agree. It's normal to think about loved ones first when responding to a tragedy so this Malia and Sasha reference was appropriate.
"He then called for a moment of silence and ended the speech shortly thereafter to chants of “Four more years!”"
This brings back memories. My last straw with the left was during the GHWB re-election campaign. Some MSM news program showed this bit of harmless political theater, and when the camera cut back to the host she referred to it as reminiscent of a Nuremberg Rally.
I'm pretty sure they won't be saying that about Obama.
Although, I don't see any problem that he brought them up. The first thing most people thought of when they find out about the death of a child, is their own child. It's a way we connect and inevitable and on balance, healthy.
It's inevitable if you are a parent. Any news story involving children in age close to your own, and you can't help but make that leap.
If you guys don't see political calculation in mentions of his children then I'll reluctantly conclude that you are incredibly naive. His children and family are off-limits; until he regularly brings them into the national conversation (see Trayvon Martin) for his own purposes.
Go back to the 2008 campaign when Hilary was leading him in the Indiana primary...then suddenly at the Hamilton County Family Picnic he allow Sasha to take the mic and she implored the crowd to "vote for my daddy."
No matter what truly horrible event may happen now or in the future, a (relatively) small group of demagogues will try to politicize it for their side. Nothing is ever hands off for them.
You can be sure no matter what side you are on, some day something will happen that will just about break your heart, and you won't be able to escape the prattle of zealots.
I'm not naive, I just think it's a natural reaction to think of your family when you hear of events like this. He should have the benefit of the doubt.
I don't remember a president that mentions his family or himself as much as Obama, but he does lots of things that a more traditional American politician wouldn't or doesn't do.
It strikes me as a matter of not really knowing the mores and traditions of the presidency or of not caring about them. I don't recall seeing other presidents and families eating out so much or so publicly either. In other words, I just think some things aren't worth getting riled up about unless there's obvious deliberate political hypocrisy about it.
@Dose of Sanity
Thanks, I had not thought of that. I'm going to see Batman today, I'll check out the exits (without opening them! :-) ) of the theater.
I went to both speeches and after listening to both Obama and Romney speaking about it I think they both expressed their feelings with grace and dignity. In the interest of full disclosure I didn't listen to the whole Obama speech just the part about his family and his sympathy for the victims and their families.
Ken said...
I hate it when people call this a tragedy--it's a crime.
Can't it be both? It's a crime what this man did. It's also a tragedy for the victims and their family and friends.
No, it is not a tragedy. The word "tragedy" has connotations of accidental. This was no accident, it was premeditated murder. "Atrocity" is the word to use, is it implies that the act was a deliberate evil.
wyo sis said...
In the interest of full disclosure I didn't listen to the whole Obama speech just the part about his family and his sympathy for the victims and their families.
The President's words were fine. I was annoyed that he had to shush his cheering section at the beginning. They all seemed to be coming from one place--i.e., not dispersed randomly in the audience. What's up with that?
@Wikitorix
I'm grateful for the correction. I will use atrocity from now on.
“We’re still gathering all the facts about what happened in Aurora, but what we do know is that the police have one suspect in custody, and the federal government stands ready to do whatever is necessary to bring whoever is responsible for this heinous crime to justice,” the president said to applause.
Why would the federal government get involved in this? Wouldn't this fall under the jurisdiction of the State of Colorado?
I guess it's all the lit classes I took, but one meaning of tragedy to me is that a flawed person with great promise succumbed to a character flaw and ruined the lives of innocent people.
It's pretty standard for a president to say the federal government stands ready. Isn't it? I'm sure I've heard president's say that before.
I am not usually one to give Mr Obama any breaks, but IMO this speech was good (as were Mr Romney's comments). The comments were empathetic and apolitical. Kudos to both.
Althouse,
".. theme-park shows that begin as a movie and become stage shows with actors in a plot about how something is terribly wrong in the the theater."
This point made me think of The Man Who Knew Too Little. Slapstick comedy, yes--but the story itself separated from that is mighty gruesome.
EMD,
"But I always wondered why Al Qaeda would forgo this method and prefer to pursue the big-ticket, logistically-intense terror acts. "
Go read "Al Qaeda's Fantasy Idology" for an answer. (Sorry, too lazy to google it for you at the moment.)
Robert Cook,
"It's in our nature to assume that the people around us are not going to be those people we read about in the news to go berserk and wreak havoc"
Yes indeed, and the great majority of the time we're right about that.
Ken,
"nor do I have any good answers as to how to defend against random crazies
You can't. Full stop. Any top-down solution that attempts to guarantee such things cannot happen will of necessity be a police state; the cure then being very much worse than the disease.
What you can do is push the prevention down the the individual level: awareness, an-Army-of-Davids, etc. Giving people a push in the direction of self-reliance, an awareness and encouragement in their roles as their own self-defenders and as members of the unorganized militia will help (as opposed do actively disparaging this as "vigilantism" or "unprofessional", like so many of our politicians and law enforcement higher-up's do.) But this will just improve things statistically, not guarantee any particular person's safety--there's only so much a lone individual can do to guard against an ambush or inside job.
chickelit,
"What will it take for the left disabuse their fantasy that the Tea Party is some kind of nascent National Socialist party? ...I just don't get the Ross/Stephanoupolus impetus."
Threatening their rice bowl; duh.
We should all agree, however, that the shooter was evil.
Not just the shooter. The mainstream press is becoming tolerant of evil in its own ranks. First the outright fabrication of criminal evidence (via doctored videotape) regarding the Trayvon shooting. Now it's Brian Ross reacting to a shooting with not even the slimmest hint of political motive by combing through Tea Party records.
James wrote:
f you guys don't see political calculation in mentions of his children then I'll reluctantly conclude that you are incredibly naive. His children and family are off-limits; until he regularly brings them into the national conversation (see Trayvon Martin) for his own purposes.
While I do think Obama uses his children for political purposes a bit too often,I don't think this instance is an egregious example. Kids were killed, it was in a movie based on a comic book, which a lot of kids go to, and I'd imagine Obama's kids might even want to see Batman. As such, everyone even the president thinks of the tragedy on a personal level and how it effects them.
So, what Obama said (in this case) was the pro forma statement a president should make. No problem.
I have more of an issue with his comparing his kids to Trayvon Martin, as that was inserting himself into the case and taking sides.
IN this case, there is no "alternate side to take", like the shooter was somehow justified or acted out of defense, etc.
ABC has now retracted their Tea Party "link". Funny how they are so quick to jump to certain conclusions, but in other cases they will suspect everyone BUT the obvious perp.
It was deliberate, which is why Brian Ross still has a job. The strategy is to put the Tea Party Violence meme out there in the public mind.
It would be like it we publicly accused Brian Ross of being a pedophile. He would forever be associated with it, even after the "retraction".
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