Mugshot of Andrew Lester, who shot a kid in the head for mistakenly ringing his doorbell
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I also want to know how he even heard the doorbell with Fox News turned up to 11.
And another today
There are a lot of similar comments to this one below, ie that in a lot of areas, especially southern and rural, that when approaching a house you should act like you expect to be shot by the occupant (to be clear not victim blaming nor claiming that this is right, just stating what is apparently a truism where they live):
what a fucking world in these people’s heads - the ones who say one should or worse do shoot for just this … god forbid someone does a three point turn … let alone ring the damn doorbell
There are a lot of similar comments to this one below, ie that in a lot of areas, especially southern and rural, that when approaching a house you should act like you expect to be shot by the occupant (to be clear not victim blaming nor claiming that this is right, just stating what is apparently a truism where they live):
what a fucking world in these people’s heads - the ones who say one should or worse do shoot for just this … god forbid someone does a three point turn … let alone ring the damn doorbell
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such a scary woman. this is what fox and friends want everyone scared so they buy more guns. the NRA lives for this. the whole stand your ground laws make it so if a black person defends them selves they would only have a 3% chance of using it as a defense.
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There was another one i heard about this morning. A cheerleader opened the wrong car door in a supermarket parking lot, saw it was the wrong car because a guy was sitting in it, apologized and shut the door. He shot her.
Sorry if I’m mistaken, but if you’re referencing my post, just like in @Eric ‘s OP it was the older man doing the shooting. The woman was killed.
You really have to wonder how often these situations happen (of people shooting people without any justification) that you never hear about unless there happens to be a strong gun control theme in the media that decides to pick up the story.
I think any sensible gun owner would accept that guns are more or less a last resort option. If something goes bump in the night you don’t take your AR-15 you are sleeping with and aimlessly fire around your room. If someone rings your doorbell you don’t shoot first and ask questions later. And perhaps if you’re fearful of who is at the door or who might be at the door, maybe just don’t answer it?
It’s hard for me to believe the people that act like this have all their marbles. Even in the states with the most forgiving gun laws, if you shoot someone it’s usually still often much more of a case of proving your right to shoot the person than assumed innocence. And the stress and cost of defending your actions is enormous.
But don’t get me wrong, I am no way defending this man or whatever bigotry he may or may not have. This guy absolutely deserves to be put away for the remainder of his life if he wrongly shot this boy. While racism very well might be the cause of this shooting, the guy is also 84 years old- which I say not to excuse any bigotry, but to highlight that again, he may have not had all his marbles.
Even if this guy was a card carrying white supremacist, I have trouble believing even the worst white supremacists feel entitled to kill innocent black 16 year olds. At 84 there’s a decent chance this guy had dementia, which can manifest with paranoia. There is no question underlying racist ideology could manifest through paranoia.
And even that there was no underlying dementia or other psych disorder, at 84 decision making skills may or may not be particularly sound.
While the media is making this very much a story about dangerous gun carrying white supremacists,I think there is possibly a much more meaningful narrative- at least when it comes to guns. That is, the mental stability of people who own guns. That is often a topic associated with the school shootings, but the question should certainly be raised about mental stability and how it can vary and degrade as time progresses.
I haven’t looked into this case much beyond the headlines but it’s not clear to me this man was even racist or as racist as the media claims he is. Assuming this was a split second decision, his actions could be more related to what some would call implicit bias than objective racism. But I have no firm judgement on that, merely raising the possibility.
And don’t get me wrong, assuming the narrative is correct that this man opened the door and shot the boy without cause is correct, he deserves to spend the rest of his life beyond bars- which unfortunately probably won’t be very long.
I have long been a proponent of requiring psych evaluations for gun ownership- at least for more dangerous weapons such as pistols and assault rifles. It’s definitely on the more difficult policies to ever enact though.
I think any sensible gun owner would accept that guns are more or less a last resort option. If something goes bump in the night you don’t take your AR-15 you are sleeping with and aimlessly fire around your room. If someone rings your doorbell you don’t shoot first and ask questions later. And perhaps if you’re fearful of who is at the door or who might be at the door, maybe just don’t answer it?
It’s hard for me to believe the people that act like this have all their marbles. Even in the states with the most forgiving gun laws, if you shoot someone it’s usually still often much more of a case of proving your right to shoot the person than assumed innocence. And the stress and cost of defending your actions is enormous.
But don’t get me wrong, I am no way defending this man or whatever bigotry he may or may not have. This guy absolutely deserves to be put away for the remainder of his life if he wrongly shot this boy. While racism very well might be the cause of this shooting, the guy is also 84 years old- which I say not to excuse any bigotry, but to highlight that again, he may have not had all his marbles.
Even if this guy was a card carrying white supremacist, I have trouble believing even the worst white supremacists feel entitled to kill innocent black 16 year olds. At 84 there’s a decent chance this guy had dementia, which can manifest with paranoia. There is no question underlying racist ideology could manifest through paranoia.
And even that there was no underlying dementia or other psych disorder, at 84 decision making skills may or may not be particularly sound.
While the media is making this very much a story about dangerous gun carrying white supremacists,I think there is possibly a much more meaningful narrative- at least when it comes to guns. That is, the mental stability of people who own guns. That is often a topic associated with the school shootings, but the question should certainly be raised about mental stability and how it can vary and degrade as time progresses.
I haven’t looked into this case much beyond the headlines but it’s not clear to me this man was even racist or as racist as the media claims he is. Assuming this was a split second decision, his actions could be more related to what some would call implicit bias than objective racism. But I have no firm judgement on that, merely raising the possibility.
And don’t get me wrong, assuming the narrative is correct that this man opened the door and shot the boy without cause is correct, he deserves to spend the rest of his life beyond bars- which unfortunately probably won’t be very long.
I have long been a proponent of requiring psych evaluations for gun ownership- at least for more dangerous weapons such as pistols and assault rifles. It’s definitely on the more difficult policies to ever enact though.
rdrr
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The problem with the MO shooting is not only did he shoot him in the head, he then proceeded to shoot him again when the boy was on the ground. He should have been able to assess the situation before shooting the first time, and clearly the boy wasn't a threat before he shot him the second time. Something else was the motivation, and of course race has to be on the table.
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These people are insane and they have guns. What could go wrong?
I would agree that in “normal” situation the second shot would not happen- having made a proper assessment of the situation. I suppose part of the question would have to be how much time elapsed between the first and second shot. If he was somehow mentally affected, the time delay may have not made any difference if his assessment skills were impaired. If there was a nefarious motive, indeed the second shot would show extra brutality.
But fact of the matter remains, as far as we know, he had zero right to shoot the child in the first place.
It’s an absolute miracle the victim survived a gunshot to the head at such a close distance, let alone a second second gunshot. Google says only 9% of people survive headshots. That’s not to say the victim’s life won’t be severely affected by this inexcusable action, but he is awfully lucky to alive.
I don't think it's that complicated. Without training, humans are poor decision-makers in acute situations, especially where negative emotions and emotional responses like fear, hate, and jealousy are involved. All gun ownership should be closely regulated. In particular, allowing people to carry guns outside the home without much, if any, oversight is ludicrous. It should only be permitted in limited scenarios, with strict guardrails. But the gun-related fatality rate here is much higher than in other first-world countries because of widespread availability. People in the U.S. aren't so different, apart from the pervasive notion that the second amendment enables unfettered availability of firearms.
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you don't see this often. this guys brain was altered by Fox News.
www.huffpost.com
Grandson ‘Disgusted’ With Man Who Shot Ralph Yar
Ludwig said that over the past several years, he and his grandfather lost touch largely due to Lester falling down “the right-wing rabbit hole,” according to the Star. Lester engages in a “24-hour news cycle of fear and paranoia,” fueled by conservative networks like Fox News and OAN, that “reinforces and galvanizes racist people and their beliefs,” his grandson said.
Grandson ‘Disgusted’ With Man Who Shot Ralph Yarl
Klint Ludwig said his grandfather Andrew Lester, who pleaded not guilty in the case, had fallen down a "right-wing rabbit hole" in recent years.
I’ve never seen it, but I think there was a documentary about that very issue. The subject was the director’s father and it was about how they lost them to right wing media. It was made awhile ago and I think also examined conservative talk radio in addition to cable news.you don't see this often. this guys brain was altered by Fox News.
Grandson ‘Disgusted’ With Man Who Shot Ralph Yar
Ludwig said that over the past several years, he and his grandfather lost touch largely due to Lester falling down “the right-wing rabbit hole,” according to the Star. Lester engages in a “24-hour news cycle of fear and paranoia,” fueled by conservative networks like Fox News and OAN, that “reinforces and galvanizes racist people and their beliefs,” his grandson said.
Grandson ‘Disgusted’ With Man Who Shot Ralph Yarl
Klint Ludwig said his grandfather Andrew Lester, who pleaded not guilty in the case, had fallen down a "right-wing rabbit hole" in recent years.
Ah here it is:
The Brainwashing of My Dad - Wikipedia
Taking a dispassionate step back it would be interesting as a study to figure out what percentage of people are changed by constant exposure to such media, what features of their personalities get them latched on it, and what percentage are “given permission” by such media to be more open about what they already are. Difficult to do especially as you know you can’t do a lab experiment for obvious reasons but rather have to track people over long periods of time while not influencing them merely by taking part in the study. I’m in population genetics and our experiments and retroactive analyses can be extremely difficult to untangle. But we’ve got nothing on psychology/sociology (or economics if it comes down to it).
Back to being passionate about the issue: fuck our media ecosystem.
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you don't see this often. this guys brain was altered by Fox News.
Grandson ‘Disgusted’ With Man Who Shot Ralph Yar
Ludwig said that over the past several years, he and his grandfather lost touch largely due to Lester falling down “the right-wing rabbit hole,” according to the Star. Lester engages in a “24-hour news cycle of fear and paranoia,” fueled by conservative networks like Fox News and OAN, that “reinforces and galvanizes racist people and their beliefs,” his grandson said.
Grandson ‘Disgusted’ With Man Who Shot Ralph Yarl
Klint Ludwig said his grandfather Andrew Lester, who pleaded not guilty in the case, had fallen down a "right-wing rabbit hole" in recent years.
Saw that a day or 2 ago. Thought it was a really sincere and heartfelt statement by his grandson, another rarity.
And again
