kimmy

So, regarding the Mad King, and shouting "Burn them all!" ... I've been thinking, and I'm sure others have been thinking the same, that perhaps didn't go mad, but rather got Hodor'ed. As in, perhaps the command "Burn them all! Burn them all!" is coming from a battle against White Walkers in the future through Bran. Does this seem possible, or am I mental? -k

So you know how some of the most outspoken gay-haters turn out to be closeted gays? It turns out that Omar Mateen may have in fact been a regular at the club, and was a user of the gay hook-up app "Grindr". -k

I've written about Steven Anderson and Kevin Swanson several times. Nobody on the forum has written more about Christian bigots than I have over the years. There's no double standard. As for bigotry, I confess: I hate Muslim bigots and Christian bigots. I just think Orlando's Muslims ought to stop telling everybody how much they love gay-people considering they had this hate-preacher come to speak in Orlando just a couple of months ago. -k

While the media are sending out these stories about the loving, compassionate Muslims of Orlando who are donating blood and putting flowers at the memorial and giving out free hugs and so on, I'd like to remind you of the loving, compassionate Muslims of Orlando who invited this "scholar" to speak at their event just a few months ago. Perhaps in the future, the loving, compassionate Muslims could show their loving, compassionate nature by not inviting speakers who advocate death for gay people to come speak at their events. -k

I think I get to be furious over the massacre of dozens of people for a while longer before I start worrying about the Muslims whose feelings have been hurt in the aftermath. -k

Mostly it bothers me that "mental instability" is being employed-- not just here, but elsewhere-- as a dodge, an excuse, a way to avoid talking about the inherent hatred of gay people in Islam (and in other religions as well.) It also bothers me that the media seems to be trying to make Muslims the victims of this attack. Just as after Cologne we were deluged with stories about Muslims who felt bad about what happened, Muslims whose feelings were hurt by negative comments about Islam in wake of the mass assaults, Muslims who were giving flowers to German women, Muslims who were upset that German women didn't want to go #withinarmsreach of them, and so on. Now we're being inundated with stories about Muslims who feel bad about what happened, Muslims whose feelings have been hurt by negative comments about Islam in wake of the mass shooting, Muslims who are donating blood, Muslims who have gay friends, gay Muslims who have gay friends, Muslims who put flowers at makeshift memorials, Muslims who have put rainbow bumper-stickers on their cars, and so-on. Fricking stop. It makes me want to puke. -k

Enthusiasm? The courage to act while others just think? A different interpretation of scripture than most? Angrier? How should I know what motivates a religious idiot to do stuff? I'm just saying that your conclusion that he must have been mental is a subjective assessment based on your own normative set of values, and may fail to take into account many factors such as those above. My subjective feeling is that religious beliefs are inherently pretty irrational, but I'm not judging religious people based on whether their actions make sense to me. -k

That's just a matter of opinion, though. If you knew that doing something would get you an Eternal Reward in Paradise, why wouldn't you do it? -k

That you can't comprehend his mindset doesn't mean that he was unstable or insane or not in control of his actions. He seems to have been very methodical in planning and carrying out this act. I see no reason to think that what he did was anything other than a deliberate and conscious choice. It's not a choice that you or I would make, but neither of us believes that an Eternal Reward is waiting in heaven for those who smite down sinners. -k

I question what evidence there is that this guy was mentally unstable. Is "mentally unstable" a clinical diagnosis, or is it just a phrase that you can use to shrug off his motivation? He apparently had a violent temper and beat his former wife. Does that mean he's mentally unstable, or does it just mean that he had a violent temper and beat his former wife? Is an aggressive or violent or abusive personality evidence of mental instability? Is intense hatred evidence of mental instability? Was this guy able to make decisions? Coherent? In control of his actions? Capable of discerning the real world? All signs point to yes. Our disbelief and inability to grasp the mindset of someone like this might lead us to say "only a lunatic could do something like this!" But there's no reason to think that he wasn't in control of his actions. Some people seem to wish to find some other explanation for what he did. Ever see the "Twin Peaks" TV program? Agent Cooper comes to the conclusion that some sort of demon had possessed Laura Palmer's father. Sheriff Truman says he finds that hard to believe. Agent Cooper asks him if he finds it easier to believe that a man could rape and murder his own daughter. I think that some people need to believe that Omar Mateen must had some sort of mental issue because it's easier for them to accept than the idea that a man just hated people he hadn't even met so much that he wanted to kill them. As well, I question whether yourself and the waldo would be as eager to chalk this up to mental instability if it weren't so convenient to your particular political views. Say, for example, that the situation had been different Sunday: Omar Mateen had been stopped on his way to the Pulse club, while James Howell had continued on to the LA Pride Parade and killed some untold number of people with his assault rifles and explosives. And while we don't know for sure yet what Howell's motivation was, suppose we assume he wanted to "kill the gays to stand up for Christians". There's no doubt that instead of Islam, today we'd instead be talking about the heated anti-gay rhetoric from Christian leaders and politicians. Would you and the waldo be as quick to dismiss that and say it's just a crazy guy being all crazy-like? Color me skeptical. -k

I would think that the board's newly minted Muslim Expert would be aware that Mohammad didn't come along until almost 600 years AFTER Jesus. And to reiterate what I said earlier: if your new comedy schtick starts derailing this thread into a bunch of inane banter, it's going to end. Consider this the "thin ice" warning. -k

You don't actually have any idea what you're talking about, do you. -k

Will it be a huge shock to anyone if the Indiana kid who was on his way to the LA Pride Parade with a car-load of guns and explosives was just such a guy? -k

So even though Islam has a vocal and violent stance on homosexuality, you can't entertain the idea that perhaps Islam likewise played a role? What bothers me about the mental health aspect of this is that it's being employed as an excuse to whitewash the rest of it and pretend it's not there. Similar to "Oh, the Montreal Massacre wasn't inspired by hatred of women, Marc Lepine was just crazy, that's all it was." Well, no, that's not all it was. Is it unrealistic to suggest that extreme rhetoric, like the kind of anti-gay rhetoric we hear from religious conservatives, might have an influence on people who are already volatile or violent by nature? -k

I just knew the Sparrow would have an angle to make sure Cersei couldn't use the trial-by-combat to weasel out of her predicament. I wasn't sure what to expect when the Lannister forces entered Riverrun either, but whatever Jaime said to Edmure must have been extremely compelling. I am personally expecting that Jumping Fish banners will arrive at Winterfell to boost the Stark army considerably. I liked the scene with Brienne and Jaime... earlier in the series, she was our window into Jaime, the way in which we discovered that he isn't just a douchenozzle but also a guy with some genuine nobility and decency. Everybody else on the show thinks he's a lowlife, but she thinks the world of him. I was hoping she'd kiss him. I also enjoyed Podrick and Bronn reuiniting. It's nice that the writers remembered that they'd spent a whole season hanging around together as Tyrion's companions. You called it right, Boges, the scene with Arya and the candle proved to be prophetic. I object to the amount of sprinting and leaping she did with her abdominal muscles cut to ribbons. But, whatever. It's not a documentary. Seeing the waif's smug, punchable face on the wall next to all the other faces was satisfying. Will Yara's fleet sail into the harbor behind the Masters' navy and kill 'em all? How do they even do naval combat in a world without cannons? Whatever the case, we've heard that the Ironborn are unbeatable in naval combat. I expect a bunch of black sails show up in the harbor, Yara says "arrrr!!! They be attackin' our meal-ticket!" and smack the crap out of the Masters in short order. Then, Yara and Theon land in Mereen. Dany will be like "You have defeated our foes, and I owe you many thanks." And Yara is like "arrr! A fiesty pirate wench I be, and I am-- Helloooooo! M'lady... I be here for ye booty, m'lady!" and meanwhile Theon, Grey Worm, and Varys get together and talk about things other than women. -k

Before you get too carried away, the guy arrested on his way to the LA Pride Parade with assault rifles and enough Tannerite to put a man into orbit turned out to be a white guy from Indiana. -k

Does it matter if he received an Official ISIS membership card? ISIS encourages "lone wolf" attacks to be committed in their name. They actively invite this. "Don't ask our permission, just do it!" If he says he did it for ISIS and Islam and Allah, who are you to doubt him? -k

I have several guns that pack more wallop than an AR-15, but none of them have 30-round magazines. I am convinced that large magazine capacities and the ease with which additional magazines can be carried and deployed is a contributing factor to the high death toll in incidents like this one and Sandy-Hook. I certainly don't blame the incident on guns, but I think it's an aggravating factor in the shocking death-toll. I can't buy that this many people would have been killed had he gone in with a brick, a knife, a pressure-cooker full of ball-bearings, a can of gasoline and a lighter, a bolt-action rifle, a revolver, or even a semi-automatic with a fixed 5 or 10 round magazine. I won't say it's impossible, but I think having a 30-round magazine and 4 more 30-round magazines strapped to your vest makes it a lot easier for the shooter. Or pistols with high-capacity magazines. I know full-well that most of the time when phrases like "military-style assault weapon!!" are thrown around it's uninformed media hype or political talking points. It's often used to describe weapons that are neither military-style nor assault weapons. A gun with a wooden stock is just as dangerous as one with a black synthetic stock. I own guns and I go shooting frequently. I'm not somebody who hates guns or wants them banned. And I still think the stance taken by some of the hard-line NRA fanatics is ridiculous. But I agree, guns are not the *cause* of this incident, and I think that by the end of the week the Muslims and the gun-nuts will all be arguing that they're the real victims of this. Freedom-living Republicans have been fighting tooth-and-nail against laws that would prohibit the sale of guns to people on the FBI watch-list. -k

The broader Muslim populace invited this "scholar" to speak at an Orlando mosque. As you watch this piece of garbage speak, ponder whether he seems insane or mentally unstable. Evil, for sure. But insane? Millions of Muslims around the world believe the same thing. It's easy to find clips of other Imams saying the same thing. In some Muslim countries the execution of gay people is an official state policy. In others, it's imprisonment rather than execution. Is it reasonable to suggest that millions upon millions of Muslims, including clerics and scholars and entire governments, are all mentally unstable? Is it reasonable to suggest that Omar Mateen must be mentally unstable for believing the same thing that millions of his brethren also believe? Likewise: is it reasonable to deny that Islam itself has a serious problem with LGBT people when Muslim scholars and clerics and governments around the world share the belief that Omar Mateen put into action last night? -k

I dunno. I just saw Wendy Mesley talking about it in an ad during the hockey game. -k

Trigger Warning for Waldo: tonight's "The National" plans to discuss a link between Islam and homophobia. -k

This is the part I find most upsetting. I've always had this idea that Muslims who grow up in western countries would embrace western values. My personal interactions with Muslims have been pretty much that. Aside from the aversion to pork, they were pretty normal guys. But apparently a Muslim guy born in New York and lived all his life in the US decided that he would just up and commit a mass murder in the name of the caliphate. We've seen this before as well-- Canadian-born-and-raised Muslim dudes deciding they had to go to the Middle East to fight for Islam. Converts like Michael Zihaf-Bibeau and John Nutall and Amanda Korody deciding they had to commit mass murder for Allah. Is Islam a magnet for crazy? -k

You've got to admit: conservative Christians might talk a good game when it comes to killing homosexuals, but only Muslims seem willing to put their murder where their mouth is. -k

Yes, watching people on the far right declaring their newfound concern for the safety of gay people is extremely touching. And then there's Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, who kicked off his Sunday morning by tweeting: "Do not be deceived: God will not be mocked. You reap what you sow. -Galatians 6:7" -k