The Dark Night Indeed...

On a night where the Batman movie, "The Rise of the Dark Knight" was set to be screened at a AMC theater in Aurora, Colorado, something unexpected happened.  A deranged young 24 year old entered an auditorium, threw a can of gas and began firing at all those in attendance.  He did not care who he shot at.  Men, women, children were all equal targets.

The movie goers did not know what to do.  At first, some thought this was a prank or part of the "show."  However, when the reality set in that this was a massacre, people began running for their lives.  Many of them heroically threw themselves over their loved ones, friends and strangers in order to shield them from the bullets.

Dozens were killed and over 70 injured.  James Holmes, a PhD student in neuroscience with a great academic record was arrested after being found outside of the theater armed to the teeth.   He identified himself as "the Joker" to the police and had his hair dyed red.

The details are still coming in.  No one seems to know why this young man did this horrific act.  He has no criminal record, no past mental illness issues and based on his academic record was set to be a brilliant neuro-scientist had he continued his Phd studies.

Reuters reported that Holmes is a Militant Atheist, but other sources say he went to church weeks before the attack.  More is still being discovered.

Holmes also booby trapped his apartment by setting a timer on his stereo system.  As the stereo went on with loud Techno music, cops would have shown up due to nuisance complaints.  Holmes purposely left his door unlocked so had anyone entered and tripped the wires, a bomb would have gone off.  Some speculate that this was some sort of diversion to lead cops to the apartment while he began his massacre at the theater.  

The media is all over reporting on this and unfortunately Twitter allowed Holmes' to trend instead of allowing the memory of the victims to trend.  People all over the nation and the world are in mourning.  President Obama ordered all flags at half staff.

Colorado is not a stranger to gun violence.  In  April of 1999, two disturbed Atheist kids who were fans of the self proclaimed "anti-Christ" heavy metal rocker "Marilyn Manson" entered their Columbine high school in Littleton,Co and killed dozens before turning the guns on themselves.

A connection between this theater shooting and the one in Columbine can possibly be made.  The aggressors were loners.  Human beings are social beings.  Without social contact, the human mind does not function properly.  It is by social interaction that human beings learn.

In any event, my prayers and thoughts go out to all those involved in the tragedy.  It was indeed a Dark Night.

We must rethink the direction our nation is going.  Our youth are desensitized due to the constant bombardment of violence by means of the media.  The trailer for the Batman movie had a scene where a villain enters and shoots in a theater.  This scene has been removed from the trailer after the tragedy.  

Morality and religion are seen as archaic and useless superstition relative solely to particular peoples and not the whole of society.   When anything pertaining to God and morals become offensive and violence and immorality becomes "cool" and the norm, rest assured incidents like this will continue to happen.


Source:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/21/names-of-victims-emerge-i_0_n_1691615.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmaing10%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D182390

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/21/century-16-aurora-movie-theater-_n_1691676.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmaing10%7Cdl1%7Csec3_lnk1%26pLid%3D182390

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/21/james-holmes-colorado-shooting_n_1692381.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmaing10%7Cdl2%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D182386

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/21/james-holmes-colorado-shooting_n_1692381.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmaing10%7Cdl2%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D182386

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/21/colorado-shooting-james-holmes_n_1691616.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmaing10%7Cdl2%7Csec3_lnk3%26pLid%3D182386

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/21/century-16-aurora-movie-theater-_n_1691676.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmaing10%7Cdl1%7Csec3_lnk1%26pLid%3D182390

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2176695/Aurora-Dark-Knight-shootings-Warner-Brothers-cut-gun-scenes-Batman-trailers.html