Gabby Gifford (AZ rep) shot

[Phox]

The fact that the forensics guy was so quickly willing to make sweeping statements about the guy's mental health, and denounce the possibility of an accomplice, just screams "shill".

That was exactly what I thought when he was talking.

[Jenne]

Come on folks, a sense of proportion please.

WBC is a small group of extremists, basically a large family, that picket US service personnel funerals and basically spend their lives acting like complete douche bags. They love getting taken to court, they love being hated. I sent a donation to the Patriot Guard Riders a couple of years back so they could buy some gas and ride out to funerals and blockade the WBC nutters.

Whilst repugnant the WBC hardly seems to be representative of anything other than the narrowest of narrow minded hate mentality. They cower behind the First Amendment. Here in the UK they would be prevented from publishing such vitriol because of our 'incitement' laws, which try and balance the right to free speech with the responsibility to not shout fire in a crowded room.

I doubt Robert Anton Wilson would be surprised by that reading list. Reading only that which reinforces your prejudices, and failing to take in other viewpoints, is a recipe for closed mindedness. Unfortunately in this case it seems that the individual was working with a faulty processor, and rather than getting clarity was instead locked into a fucked up ego fueled delusion. The media pundits and rent-a-expert will fill the airwaves with psychoanalysis for months to come.

Remember that Philip K Dick, Robert Anton Wilson and Kerry Thornley all navigated the labyrinth of Chapel Perilous. Dick received a cosmic message and produced the Exegesis, VALIS etc; RAW became an ultra-agnostic; and Thornley went from seeing everyone as a friend to fearing everyone as an enemy.

You sound like the sort of levelheaded dude that's never been the target of a hate group, nor known many who have.

Proportion, my ass.

[BabylonHoruv]

Every time I see the WBC acting up, I always try to tell myself that they're just trolling us. 

I think they are.  They're damn good at it.

[Adios]

Come on folks, a sense of proportion please.

WBC is a small group of extremists, basically a large family, that picket US service personnel funerals and basically spend their lives acting like complete douche bags. They love getting taken to court, they love being hated. I sent a donation to the Patriot Guard Riders a couple of years back so they could buy some gas and ride out to funerals and blockade the WBC nutters.

Whilst repugnant the WBC hardly seems to be representative of anything other than the narrowest of narrow minded hate mentality. They cower behind the First Amendment. Here in the UK they would be prevented from publishing such vitriol because of our 'incitement' laws, which try and balance the right to free speech with the responsibility to not shout fire in a crowded room.

I doubt Robert Anton Wilson would be surprised by that reading list. Reading only that which reinforces your prejudices, and failing to take in other viewpoints, is a recipe for closed mindedness. Unfortunately in this case it seems that the individual was working with a faulty processor, and rather than getting clarity was instead locked into a fucked up ego fueled delusion. The media pundits and rent-a-expert will fill the airwaves with psychoanalysis for months to come.

Remember that Philip K Dick, Robert Anton Wilson and Kerry Thornley all navigated the labyrinth of Chapel Perilous. Dick received a cosmic message and produced the Exegesis, VALIS etc; RAW became an ultra-agnostic; and Thornley went from seeing everyone as a friend to fearing everyone as an enemy.

You sound like the sort of levelheaded dude that's never been the target of a hate group, nor known many who have.

Proportion, my ass.

I wonder what he would do if it was his 9 year old daughter whos funeral was going to be picketed.

[Triple Zero]

You all should check this Reddit thread, some guy did a bit of really good google-fu digging*, found he used to post on Above Top Secret forums (huge tinfoil hat nuttery forum for those that don't know it), and is really quite insane indeed:

http://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/eyqt8/looks_like_jared_laughner_giffords_shooter_was_no/

Also, some possibility that this wasnt quite politically motivated in the way people assume, something about his hatred for NASA and Gifford's connection with that: http://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/eyqt8/looks_like_jared_laughner_giffords_shooter_was_no/c1c01t7

If that is the case, it kind of reminds me how Pim Fortuyn got shot, not by a muslim or some other minority he pissed off, but by a radical animal rights / environmental activist.

*edit: evidence is sort of circumstantial, he basically searched for odd and nutty typical phrases the guy used in his youtube vids, in an attempt to cut through the media crud and find background on him. However it does seem to add up, and the phrases are quite specific, in their lopsided ways.

[the last yatto]

someone with a Samurai sword.     

Seems like quite a few of those in the past year...

Kinda reminds me a little of ghost in the shell

the emergent presence of the invited-refugees intensified their confrontation with the "Individualists", who called for national isolation, which then led to the increased incidences of terrorist attacks. Under these circumstances, a terrorist group called the Individual Eleven carries out a suicide attack. But there was a greater scheme behind their action.

[Phox]

Come on folks, a sense of proportion please.

WBC is a small group of extremists, basically a large family, that picket US service personnel funerals and basically spend their lives acting like complete douche bags. They love getting taken to court, they love being hated. I sent a donation to the Patriot Guard Riders a couple of years back so they could buy some gas and ride out to funerals and blockade the WBC nutters.

Whilst repugnant the WBC hardly seems to be representative of anything other than the narrowest of narrow minded hate mentality. They cower behind the First Amendment. Here in the UK they would be prevented from publishing such vitriol because of our 'incitement' laws, which try and balance the right to free speech with the responsibility to not shout fire in a crowded room.

I doubt Robert Anton Wilson would be surprised by that reading list. Reading only that which reinforces your prejudices, and failing to take in other viewpoints, is a recipe for closed mindedness. Unfortunately in this case it seems that the individual was working with a faulty processor, and rather than getting clarity was instead locked into a fucked up ego fueled delusion. The media pundits and rent-a-expert will fill the airwaves with psychoanalysis for months to come.

Remember that Philip K Dick, Robert Anton Wilson and Kerry Thornley all navigated the labyrinth of Chapel Perilous. Dick received a cosmic message and produced the Exegesis, VALIS etc; RAW became an ultra-agnostic; and Thornley went from seeing everyone as a friend to fearing everyone as an enemy.

You sound like the sort of levelheaded dude that's never been the target of a hate group, nor known many who have.

Proportion, my ass.

I wonder what he would do if it was his 9 year old daughter whos funeral was going to be picketed.

It's also important to note that this dude is from the UK. Which means he probably doesn't know fuck all about the actual social atmosphere of the United States.

[Jenne]

NO he does, he just doesn't care.  Better to be patronizing as FUCK rather than cop to the fact that the wackos out here are, in fact, 169% wackos, who will, as it happens, accidentally your whole family and not give a flying fuck.

But we here in the US just make too much of our wackos, who are cuckoo in name only.  Never ever set fire to your dog, or steal from you or PSHAW! shoot up your banks, schools and neighborhoods.

NAW.  Folks like the WBC nutjobs stay in their nice little perimeters, and there's a sort of natural "bark off" that sounds off whenever they stray too far from their 5 mile radius.  No one EVER has ANY influence on ANYONE else around here, and we should all grow thick nubuck hides and get the FUCK OVER IT.

America,

A bunch of fucking whining pantywaists, GODDAMMIT

[Jenne]

  I'm sure that was uncalled for.  Not sure where it came from, either.

[Phox]

  I'm sure that was uncalled for.  Not sure where it came from, either.

I almost said something similar, but I decided to be nice. 

[Jenne]

  I'm sure that was uncalled for.  Not sure where it came from, either.

I almost said something similar, but I decided to be nice. 

Yeah, Nice is better than Snark.   I blame the beer. *squints*

[Triple Zero]

but aren't the WBC just a tiny church of just 100 people or so? who are all family?

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

  I'm sure that was uncalled for.  Not sure where it came from, either.

Nope, I think it was COMPLETELY called for.

[BadBeast]

but aren't the WBC just a tiny church of just 100 people or so? who are all family?

Who? The Walker-Bush Clan?

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

but aren't the WBC just a tiny church of just 100 people or so? who are all family?

Yes, they are.

Here's the thing.

What they do is what a scarily accurate over-the-top lampoon of "Moral America" would look like. The reason it's so hard to tell whether they're trolling is because it's too close to reality.