Las Vegas: Active shooter reported near Mandalay Bay

[Sanguine]

Charles Whitman had a pecan sized brain tumor.  The findings were mixed, but neuroscience was at a different level then.

But, Whitman wasn't a "normal guy" long before he went to the Tower.

[BassWrangler]

Those reptiles stick together....

Precious bodily fluids!

[edpc]

But, Whitman wasn't a "normal guy" long before he went to the Tower.

Perhaps the tumor was why.  We don't know a lot about Paddock yet, but he has been referred to as a recluse and abusive.  That's out of the norm.

[Silver Pines]

Some missing words there, obviously.  Perhaps "Deep South" and Rouge...must be talking about Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

@Suppressed

LOL

[TomSea]

Millionaire, that doesn't fit the usual stereotype. Even multi-millionaire.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/las-vegas-gunman-stephen-paddock-was-a-millionaire-whose-father-was-a-psychopathic-criminal-201489/

http://news.sky.com/story/las-vegas-gunman-stephen-paddock-not-an-avid-gun-guy-his-brother-says-11064690

[Silver Pines]

I've been browsing threads and they are absolutely insane, almost becoming worse than 4Chan. If you can think of the most waked out conspiracy theory, someone has brought it up about this.

@AbaraXas

I wonder if some of them really are 4Chan trolls.

[TomSea]

They should consider some sort of ban on mentioning 4chan, or something, it was real aggravating to see that cited as if a legitimate source.  Infowars is more or less, banned.

[Silver Pines]

Well, you have to have pink cheeks when you're that deep in the state, doncha know?? :dx1:

@musiclady

Where'd you get that from?  The Soros daily email?

*suspicious look*

[Silver Pines]

On that FR thread, they were already putting out there he was a burned CIA agent or other stories like that.

It really reinforces my belief many are just trolls trying to see what crap they can spread.

@AbaraXas

Where's Butterdezillion?  I can't believe she's missing out on that.

[TomSea]

I saw earlier in the thread it mentioned that one did not recognize any names and other than BGill; I didn't recognize the names either. That place, yes, can get trolls for different causes. Anyway, I don't think we should be talking so much about them in this thread.

[ABX]

@AbaraXas

I wonder if some of them really are 4Chan trolls.

I know for sure many are just because you can see them post on both and bring the nutty stuff from 4Chan over. Some even used screen names that were unique to 4Chan language long before it was cool (and they are still there). There also were posts in the past, especially during all the birther stuff, about trolling FR and seeing how much they could get away with. In the past, they had many trolls from Something Awful come over as well. SA had an entire forum dedicated to trolling FR with tens of thousands of posts, called Jeepers Freepers (you can still find the public version of that forum if you search for it, they had several non-public iterations started a few years ago). Landover Baptist was also a big trolling front during the Crevo debate years and at least one obvious one from there is still a big respected member on religion threads.

I would bet at least a quarter to half of active posters are some sort of troll.

[TomSea]

Bringing up "over at 4chan" and this stuff, just destroys credibility, where you might have some legitimate talk. There are legitimate posters but these others are just trashing the place in the wake of this national tragedy imo.

[TomSea]

 

[Sanguine]

Perhaps the tumor was why.  We don't know a lot about Paddock yet, but he has been referred to as a recluse and abusive.  That's out of the norm.

Well, only if he'd had it most of his adult life.  And, if so, why did he change when he did?  Doesn't make sense.

[ABX]

Well, only if he'd had it most of his adult life.  And, if so, why did he change when he did?  Doesn't make sense.

There is a difference between being a self-centered SOB and a mass murderer.

[Smokin Joe]

I think it was around 2011 but I'm not sure.

https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/las-vegas-shooting/casino-security-video-shows-vegas-shooter-2011-n807016

Mandalay Bay shooter Stephen Paddock may have been a high-roller, but he lost a slip-and-fall lawsuit against a Nevada casino in 2014 — and still owed $270 in court fees when he killed at least 59 people Sunday, including himself.

Security video from the Cosmopolitan Hotel shows Paddock slipping and falling on Oct. 30, 2011, as he walked from a hotel shop towards a high-stakes area in the casino. Paddock said he had slipped in a puddle of liquid and sued the hotel in 2012, initially asking for $100,000, according to the attorney for the hotel, Marty Kravitz.

"They always ask for a lot more than they can get, but he got nothing," said Kravitz.

(more at the link) Paddock claimed 32K in medical bills, but lost.

[Suppressed]

That thought is a lot scarier than terrorism, being a spy or working for a cartel. That something like a tumor or something in our brain's chemicals go haywire that could turn anyone into another Paddock.

Exactly.  Recall Brenda Spencer?

The silicon chip inside her head
Gets switched to overload
And nobody's gonna go to school today
She's going to make them stay at home
And daddy doesn't understand it
He always said she was as good as gold
And he can see no reason
'Cause there are no reasons
What reason do you need to be sure


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2I84-A9duY



And another possibility that many seem unwilling to consider is that there is no reason.  No tumor, no conspiracy.  A gang banger shoots up innocents and nobody bats an eye because his body count is so low. But this guy had the means to make an impact.  Besides, white people aren't supposed to do that (even though the stereotype is to watch out for whites because of their mass-shooting tendencies).

Remember, there's something primal in making things happen. 



Civilization might have taken that out of us so it seems inconceivable to act that way, but consider the upbringing of this guy...with a father who "sold garbage disposals during the week, volunteered for the local search-and-rescue team and counseled wayward youths in his spare time"...yet was a bank robber, con man, etc., and diagnosed as psychopathic.  And his mother concealed the truth from him. 

[edpc]

https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/las-vegas-shooting/casino-security-video-shows-vegas-shooter-2011-n807016 (more at the link) Paddock claimed 32K in medical bills, but lost.

@DB
@Smokin Joe

It was a completely different casino ownership group than MGM.  I doubt they're connected.

[Sanguine]

There is a difference between being a self-centered SOB and a mass murderer.

Say what?

[ABX]

Say what?

I think I misread the intention of the post.

[edpc]

Bringing up "over at 4chan" and this stuff, just destroys credibility, where you might have some legitimate talk. There are legitimate posters but these others are just trashing the place in the wake of this national tragedy imo.

It's less about the places and more about garbage reports and disinformation, which is completely relevant to the subject.  Threads will meander a bit, anyway, with the lack of new information and high interest in the topic.

Unclench.

[Suppressed]

Bringing up "over at 4chan" and this stuff, just destroys credibility, where you might have some legitimate talk. There are legitimate posters but these others are just trashing the place in the wake of this national tragedy imo.

@Weird Tolkienish Figure @TomSea

'Bringing up "over at 4chan"' ping

[Frank Cannon]

I heard some of a press conference on this idiot on the radio. Everything we have been sold about this azzhole from his family is total and 100% bullshit. His brothers are either liars or just very stupid. The cop also made reference to this guy being a sicko and an all around piece of shit. I also doubt this guy had two nickles to rub together.

[edpc]

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) claims the attacker who opened fire on Las Vegas concert goers was only stopped “because he didn’t have a silencer on his weapon.”

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/10/04/tim-kaine-vegas-attacker-stopped-because-he-didnt-have-a-silencer/

I guess he believes he's still on the trail, echoing Hillary.  A suppressor only makes it quieter, not silent.  Besides, he wasn't using subsonic ammo, so the report would still be quite loud and the muzzle flash still visible.  Also, the volume of fire filled his room with smoke and set off the detectors.  What a clown.

[bigheadfred]

This is the subject I was trying to broach the other day but just yelled and screamed instead.  This article is from a couple of years ago.


Are mass shootings the new normal for America?

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/about/article/Are-mass-shootings-the-new-normal-for-America-6674539.php

How much more freedom are people going to be willing to give up if it means greater security? And how will that increased security actually stop something like this? It won't, if it is governmental in nature.

I have some other thoughts on this but I am exhausted.