Literal attack on GOP unfolds in suburban D.C.

[Don Schneider]

An apparent lone gunman with a rifle opened fired on a group of Republican congressmen and staff while they were practicing for the annual GOP-Dem charity baseball game in Alexandra, Virginia. The GOP whip Steve Scalise was shot in the hip and is reported in stable condition and undergoing surgery.. Others were injured but are apparently not in mortal danger. The gunman is reported to be in custody. A GOP congressman from Florida reported he had been approached in the parking lot by the presumed shooter, a middle-aged white man, shortly before the incident who inquired if the players were Republicans or Democrats.

We shall see as developments unfold.

[Yoda]

Awful. Glad they seem to have avoided anything particularly serious; sounds like it could've been really bad.

I was literally just reading a fun, lighthearted article about the Congressional Baseball Game (https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/06/the-fiercest-battle-in-dc-is-on-the-baseball-diamond/276735/), too.

[ynwtf]

So far all I've heard has been from NPR on the drive to work this morning. Horrible. I had not heard about the Florida Congressman statement. Who broke that quote?

Whether it's random or political, it's just horrible.

Off tone: I never knew there was a congressional baseball charity game?!

[Captain Steel]

Reports say 5 people injured. Good news is no one killed and the shooter was taken down fast by armed Capitol Police.

[Don Schneider]

The gunman has been identified by NBC as James T. Hodgkinson, age 66, from Belleville, Illinois. The motive does not appear to be international terrorism, and there are possible mental health issues. The shooter appears to be in very serious condition having been shot by police.

[Don Schneider]

The gunman has been identified by NBC as James T. Hodgkinson, age 66, from Belleville, Illinois. The motive does not appear to be international terrorism, and there are possible mental health issues. The shooter appears to be in very serious condition having been shot by police.

From The Washington Post:

"The shooter at the GOP congressional baseball practice this morning is James T. Hodgkinson of Belleville, Ill., according to law enforcement officials. Hodgkinson, 66, owns a home inspection business. His home inspection license expired in November 2016 and was not renewed, state records show.

"Hodgkinson was charged in April 2006 with battery and aiding damage to a motor vehicle, according to online records in St. Clair County, Illinois. The charges were dismissed, records show."

[Gangland]

"Hodgkinson Is a Supporter of Bernie Sanders & Democratic Socialism Who Wrote on Facebook, ‘Trump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It’s Time to Destroy Trump & Co." (http://heavy.com/news/2017/06/james-hodgkinson-alexandria-gop-baseball-shooter-shooting-gunman-identified-illinois/)

[Don Schneider]

"Hodgkinson Is a Supporter of Bernie Sanders & Democratic Socialism Who Wrote on Facebook, ‘Trump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It’s Time to Destroy Trump & Co." (http://heavy.com/news/2017/06/james-hodgkinson-alexandria-gop-baseball-shooter-shooting-gunman-identified-illinois/)

Thanks. Here is his Facebook link. It will probably go down soon. Lots of hostile comments and "defriendings" coming in right now:

https://www.facebook.com/jthodgkinson

[Gangland]

Thanks. Here is his Facebook link. It will probably go down soon. Lots of hostile comments and "defriendings" coming in right now:

https://www.facebook.com/jthodgkinson

Wow. The comments on his posts is a literal orgy of liberals and conservatives going at it.

I'm surprised they haven't shut down his page yet.

[Yoda]

https://twitter.com/abbydphillip/status/875015656080629760

https://twitter.com/MEPFuller/status/875015916022583301

[Don Schneider]

President Trump says the shooter has died according to CNN.

[ynwtf]

I made it through maybe 5 comments before seeing a request to share his friends list. Then I had to leave the page. I don't understand that type of anger.

There are friends of MINE posting on their FB feeds trash like "First shots fired" as if this is some call to arms. What is wrong with people? I don't understand the mind of a shooter either, political or otherwise. I don't understand eagerness to hate. I don't understand the desire for violence. I don't understand how a single moment has the potential to ignite a fire. I guess I'm drifting here thinking on social events in general, not just this instance.

**** gets too heated, and some people are overly primed (all sides of any divide). It's all very fascinating (in a morbidly curious sense), as an observer looking in.

*le sigh*

[Gangland]

I made it through maybe 5 comments before seeing a request to share his friends list. Then I had to leave the page. I don't understand that type of anger.

There are friends of MINE posting on their FB feeds trash like "First shots fired" as if this is some call to arms. What is wrong with people? I don't understand the mind of a shooter either, political or otherwise. I don't understand eagerness to hate. I don't understand the desire for violence. I don't understand how a single moment has the potential to ignite a fire. I guess I'm drifting here thinking on social events in general, not just this instance.

**** gets too heated, and some people are overly primed (all sides of any divide). It's all very fascinating (in a morbidly curious sense), as an observer looking in.

*le sigh*


Wow, it's really scary that people are still soo politically balkanized after an event like this. My biggest fear is that a right winger will use this shooting to justify shooting a Democratic leader. Political gang warfare was a symptom of the downfall of the Roman Republic.

[Citizen Rules]

Literal attack on GOP unfolds in suburban D.C.

Don, is that a word play in your title with a subliminal meaning?

[Don Schneider]

Literal attack on GOP unfolds in suburban D.C.

Don, is that a word play in your title with a subliminal meaning?

Citizen, No. Please explain what you mean. Thank you.

[Citizen Rules]

Citizen, No. Please explain what you mean. Thank you.
Have you ever seen the movie His Girl Friday (1940)? it was about how the press was viewed as sleezy, only the Hays Movie Code wouldn't allow outright criticism of the press. So the director Howard Hawks cleverly skirted that 'censorship rule' in different ways....most notably was in a clever word usage in the opening credits.

https://trueclassics.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/his-girl-friday-opening-title.jpg

See what he did there?

[Captain Steel]

I made it through maybe 5 comments before seeing a request to share his friends list. Then I had to leave the page. I don't understand that type of anger.

There are friends of MINE posting on their FB feeds trash like "First shots fired" as if this is some call to arms. What is wrong with people? I don't understand the mind of a shooter either, political or otherwise. I don't understand eagerness to hate. I don't understand the desire for violence. I don't understand how a single moment has the potential to ignite a fire. I guess I'm drifting here thinking on social events in general, not just this instance.

**** gets too heated, and some people are overly primed (all sides of any divide). It's all very fascinating (in a morbidly curious sense), as an observer looking in.

*le sigh*

At least, from what I saw, Congress is setting the example of coming together over the situation. And Trump gave a brief statement wherein he didn't politicize it and actually sounded Presidential for a change.

[Redwell]

A few things...

1) Carrying out a terrorist act to hurt conservative reactionaries is the dumbest thing you could possibly do. Power always moves right in times of crisis.
2) It's weird how the gunman was so aware of money in politics and class division, but somehow still saw it as a partisan issue. The two party system is totally complicit in the wealth gap. You think a Bernie bro could see that of all people.
3) Most importantly, this man's political affiliation is not relevant. Nobody of sound mind endorses these actions. This ,like Jared Lee Loughner's attack on Gabrielle Giffords, will not turn into a conversation on mental health, as it should.

[Don Schneider]

Have you ever seen the movie His Girl Friday (1940)? it was about how the press was viewed as sleezy, only the Hays Movie Code wouldn't allow outright criticism of the press. So the director Howard Hawks cleverly skirted that 'censorship rule' in different ways....most notably was in a clever word usage in the opening credits.

https://trueclassics.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/his-girl-friday-opening-title.jpg

See what he did there?

Yes, but maybe I'm dense as I still don't see your point, its correlation with the title i chose for this thread. Perhaps you can spell it out? Thank you.

[Citizen Rules]

I think you deliberately chose a title for this thread that was A) misleading...and B) politicized.

It's the same type of politicized 'us against them' rhetoric that took place in the Terrorist thread.

It wasn't a literal attack or a liberal attack on the GOP, it was one lone gunman who reportedly had mental health issues. The title is disingenuous.

[Captain Steel]

A few things...

1) Carrying out a terrorist act to hurt conservative reactionaries is the dumbest thing you could possibly do. Power always moves right in times of crisis.
2) It's weird how the gunman was so aware of money in politics and class division, but somehow still saw it as a partisan issue. The two party system is totally complicit in the wealth gap. You think a Bernie bro could see that of all people.
3) Most importantly, this man's political affiliation is not relevant. Nobody of sound mind endorses these actions. This ,like Jared Lee Loughner's attack on Gabrielle Giffords, will not turn into a conversation on mental health, as it should.

I was thinking things along the same lines. I always wonder: what do these people actually hope to accomplish (except achieving some personal sadistic thrill by hurting people and getting themselves killed?) Ultimately, these actions always push public opinion toward supporting the victims (at least among sound-minded people as you said).

For someone politically motivated (and not just homicidally insane) peaceful protest is much more effective for garnering support for one's side.

[Dani8]

Dont they have security at those matches?

[ynwtf]

Wow, it's really scary that people are still soo politically balkanized after an event like this. My biggest fear is that a right winger will use this shooting to justify shooting a Democratic leader. Political gang warfare was a symptom of the downfall of the Roman Republic.


Agreed.

There was a post from several days back, now buried deep in a dank thread that asked about fear of American threats in violence as comparison to outside terrorist threats on American soil (I'm paraphrasing here. I don't remember the exact question). For me, this is that fear. I fear a violent reaction to a perceived threat. There are pockets of people ready, willing, and eager for most any trigger point that can be used to rationalize their delusional sense of patriotism and heroism. I am not speaking broadly. I know people like this. I know a lot of it is posturing, but some of it is very real.

I do not fear statistical improbabilities of boogie-men on the horizon. I fear the man down the road having a bit too much to drink one night, drawing lines in the sand, contemplating, and waiting for a cause.

Maybe these are arguably the same irrational fear, but one is clearly more tangible than the other. At least in this region.

Honest to God, I do not want my comments to be interpreted as one-sided judgment or argument bait. That's not my goal. Perspectives are all defined by what we are aware of, and this is my awareness based on the people and personalities that I've met and come to know having lived in the south all my life. Perhaps the chemical make up of my brain is changing with age too. That's a thing ;)

But in all seriousness, politics and ideological views (in this area at least) have been loaded and distilled down to an Iron Bowl football game mindset---us and them, without much gradient in between. That may not mean much to some of you, but SEC Football is only a notch below religion down here, or slightly above depending on the playoffs. *Politics and religion are on equal footing (here). They share such romantic love that, at times, it is hard to distinguish one from the other.

Spooky.



--EDIT--
*added post-post.

[ynwtf]

Dont they have security at those matches?

They do. They did today (just practicing on a field), and that is probably why it did not escalate any more than it did. Or at least that was the commentary from NPR this morning. Honestly though, I've not had time to catch up on the news of it all since, so I could be wrong.

[Dani8]

They do. They did today (just practicing on a field), and that is probably why it did not escalate any more than it did. Or at least that was the commentary from NPR this morning. Honestly though, I've not had time to catch up on the news of it all since, so I could be wrong.

I've so far only seen trending on fb. My god the posters, as you said above, are all going insane. So bloody nasty, and it happens every time. Keyboard warriors.

[Don Schneider]

I think you deliberately chose a title for this thread that was A) misleading...and B) politicized.

It's the same type of politicized 'us against them' rhetoric that took place in the Terrorist thread.

It wasn't a literal attack or a liberal attack on the GOP, it was one lone gunman who reportedly had mental health issues. The title is disingenuous.

I think you're giving me too much credit for cleverness, but I appreciate the backhanded compliment, of sorts. Did it ever occur to you to check the time stamp? The identity of the shooter was not yet known when the title of my post was chosen. As a matter of fact, I truncated my OP at the suggestion of Chris who thought it was premature to speculate about motive. In the part I removed, I noted that older white (as the Florida congressman had identified the shooter) liberals are not noted for such behavior with guns and it seemed more like a radical right wing thing to me. Therefore, I did not assume the assailant was a liberal, let alone a Sanders supporter, as such seemed atypical to me. Ironically (from your apparent perspective), I was wrong.

[Don Schneider]

Dont they have security at those matches?

Congressmen don’t get public security except if they hold leadership positions. Fortunately, the GOP whip qualified which is the only reason why the Capitol Police were there. If that had not been the case, by the time the Alexandria police arrived the carnage could have been very possibly much worse.

[Wplains]

There's been another shooting in San Francisco. Someone shot 3 people at an UPS facility. Don't know what that is all about... :shrug:

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-san-francisco-shooting-downtown-20170614-story.html

[matt72582]

I heard on the radio that there was a shooting at the Barclay Center (NYC)..

[MonnoM]

There's been another shooting in San Francisco. Someone shot 3 people at an UPS facility. Don't know what that is all about... :shrug:

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-san-francisco-shooting-downtown-20170614-story.html

It boils down to the fact that more and more people are unable to grasp their emotions anymore. I remember a time when if you felt angry or sad you'd acknowledge the problem and handle it in a civilized, sane manner. But it seems something's in the water supply and people just can't comprehend the concept of emotion and end up losing their **** when confronted with even an inkling of it. Oh and, you know, they need the world's attention because their plight is far more important.

[Dani8]

I heard on the radio that there was a shooting at the Barclay Center (NYC)..

I just read that. Inoccent bystander got shot in the ankle. OUCH!!!

Saw this on fb the other day

https://www.massshootingtracker.org/data

I knew gun violence there was bad but had no idea. We're not even hlfway through the year yet.

[Wplains]

It boils down to the fact that more and more people are unable to grasp their emotions anymore. I remember a time when if you felt angry or sad you'd acknowledge the problem and handle it in a civilized, sane manner. But it seems something's in the water supply and people just can't comprehend the concept of emotion and end up losing their **** when confronted with even an inkling of it. Oh and, you know, they need the world's attention because their plight is far more important.

I think it's because there are a lot of crazies out there -- many more than we think. Problem in the US is, they have easy access to a hell of a lot of firepower.

[Stirchley]

Hodgkinson, 66, owns a home inspection business. His home inspection license expired in November 2016 and was not renewed, state records show.

Just imagining what his customers now think who let him into their homes.

[Gangland]

Agreed.

There was a post from several days back, now buried deep in a dank thread that asked about fear of American threats in violence as comparison to outside terrorist threats on American soil (I'm paraphrasing here. I don't remember the exact question). For me, this is that fear. I fear a violent reaction to a perceived threat. There are pockets of people ready, willing, and eager for most any trigger point that can be used to rationalize their delusional sense of patriotism and heroism. I am not speaking broadly. I know people like this. I know a lot of it is posturing, but some of it is very real.

I do not fear statistical improbabilities of boogie-men on the horizon. I fear the man down the road having a bit too much to drink one night, drawing lines in the sand, contemplating, and waiting for a cause.

Maybe these are arguably the same irrational fear, but one is clearly more tangible than the other. At least in this region.

Honest to God, I do not want my comments to be interpreted as one-sided judgment or argument bait. That's not my goal. Perspectives are all defined by what we are aware of, and this is my awareness based on the people and personalities that I've met and come to know having lived in the south all my life. Perhaps the chemical make up of my brain is changing with age too. That's a thing ;)

But in all seriousness, politics and ideological views (in this area at least) have been loaded and distilled down to an Iron Bowl football game mindset---us and them, without much gradient in between. That may not mean much to some of you, but SEC Football is only a notch below religion down here, or slightly above depending on the playoffs. *Politics and religion are on equal footing (here). They share such romantic love that, at times, it is hard to distinguish one from the other.

Spooky.



--EDIT--
*added post-post.


I live 40 minutes south of New Orleans, so I understand the "us vs. them" mindset (especially with the recent removal of the Confederate monuments) and football season being the epicenter of culture. Since Scalise is from Louisiana, that's all that has dominated the local media today. While running some errands for work after lunch, I was listening to the radio, and had more than one caller blame Trump for the shooting. Several other callers called in and said something to the effect that you never see Republicans shooting politicians (which is blatantly false). At least at face value, our politicians are trying to reach across the aisle; It's the blood lust from the common voter that has me concerned.

[Dani8]

It's the blood lust from the common voter that has me concerned.

I had a conversation with someone about that the other day. Not about American voters as such but the incredible blood lust on social media from some for the next tragedy. It's like a return to the barbarism of the colosseum. Highly disturbing.

[ynwtf]

I do hope something good can come of this, and more than a headline gesture. Emotions have been primed for some time though, so I absolutely agree with your concern.

=\

[Gangland]

I do hope something good can come of this, and more than a headline gesture. Emotions have been primed for some time though, so I absolutely agree with your concern.

=\

Unfortunately, in the long run, I doubt it. I'm extremely dissapointed to already see both sides using the shooting as political fodder.

[Don Schneider]

Bad, sad news: After initially being reported as having been stable, Rep, Scalise's condition has apparently been downgraded to critical:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/06/14/virginia-gop-baseball-practice-shooting-multiple-people-shot.html

Also:

"Zack Barth, a congressional aide to Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, and Tyson Foods director of government relations Matt Mika were also injured in the incident. Mika was shot multiple times and was in critical condition, his family said in a statement."

Let us pray.

[Don Schneider]

Well, apparently the newfound "unity" among our respective denizens of Capitol Hill has lasted all of one day. Nancy Pelosi speaks (CNN):

http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/15/politics/nancy-pelosi-steve-scalise/index.html

[Captain Steel]

Well, apparently the newfound "unity" among our respective denizens of Capitol Hill has lasted all of one day. Nancy Pelosi speaks (CNN):

http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/15/politics/nancy-pelosi-steve-scalise/index.html

Meanwhile, outspoken right-wing musician, Ted Nugent, promises to stop engaging in violent or inflammatory rhetoric!

"I will avoid anything that can be interpreted as condoning or referencing violence," Nugent continued. "I condemn violence. I am 100% against any harm to any human beings, particularly my brothers here in America."

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ted-nugent-advocates-zero-violence-article-1.3250772

[mark f]

Nugent should just go back to scratching his "cat".

[Captain Steel]

Nugent should just go back to scratching his "cat".

I hear that if you're famous, they'll LET you do that? ;)