Howzabout we lighten up on Alec Baldwin,,,

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aarondhgraham

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Howzabout we lighten up on Alec Baldwin just a little bit,,,
Far too many of the posts about him are what my Grannie would call "plain mean".

"He deserves what he will get"
"Serves him right for being a Hollywood liberal"

People in the Pro-2A community are laughing about this tragic event,,,
And roasting him merely for his political stance.

Just imagine what your feelings would be if it had same thing had happened to you,,,
I mean now he has to live the rest of his life reliving that terrible moment,,,
The moment when he pulled the trigger and saw the woman die.

Maybe the truth is that on-set safety was lax,,,
Maybe the truth was that it was deliberate sabotage,,,
In all probability it was some where in between those two situations.

When I read the first news blurb about this,,,
I immediately thought of my days as a cowboy re-enacter.

I was a member of a group (Guthrie Gunfighters) who staged old west gunfights for tourists,,,
That was over 20 years ago but I do remember one event at the Tom Mix Festival in Guthrie.

I carried an Uberti 1858 Remington C&B Pistol,,,
We loaded my revolver with only 10 grains of powder,,,
The cartridge guys used some kind of grain meal as a wad,,,
The C&B shooters ( I wasn't the only one) used those foam packing peanuts.

We had very strict rules on loading the guns:
1) All blanks were made by one member of the group.
2) Two designated members would verify that the 5-rounds to be loaded were indeed our blanks.
3) The brass for the blanks were all colored a bright green to prevent any possibility of substitutions.
4) The shooter loaded the blanks into the pistol then all three of them signed the "shooting Log" book.
5) For us CAB shooters, the same two designated members would watch us charge our cylinders and again we all signed the log book.

There were a few more safety precautions that I won't boor you with,,,
Suffice it to say that we were as careful as a group of people could be.

In the few years I participated we did not have one accident.

But it was always in the back of my mind that no matter how careful we were,,,
There was always the possibility that something could go wrong.

One time though I got the scare of my life,,,
I shot a "bank robber" square in the chest at about 15' distance,,,
This man should have gotten an Oscar for his realistic death performance.

We didn't use blood packs or any props like that in our scenarios,,,
But his dying performance was so believably realistic,,,
For a few moments I thought I had shot him.

Good people, you simply can not imagine what went through my head in that few moments,,,
Every negative emotion that you can think of went through my mind,,,
It was literally the worst few seconds of my life.

Then the "Marshall" signaled that the shootout scenario was over,,,
When the guy jumped up and waved to the crowd,,,
I almost wet my pants in relief.

I'm not saying that I know exactly what Mr. Baldwin was and is going through,,,
But having been in the same situation (even for just a few seconds),,,
I just can't let myself rag on him for being a Hollywood liberal.

Of course he is "deflecting" and trying to shift blame,,,
But I've seen a lot of good people do exactly the same in other circumstances.

No matter what the outcome of the investigation(s) will bring,,,
He will have to live with the event for the rest of his life.

I simply can't understand how so many of my fellow 2A supporters are treating him.
It's as if they seem somehow glad that this happened at all.

This is my not-so-humble opinion,,,
Roast me for it if you wish to.

Aarond

.
 
I agree that he shouldn't be constantly vilified in near-glee. I believe that the industry needs to change, and that safety protocols involving firearms (or anything, for that matter) should also involve everyone who is, well, involved. In that dream world, the armorers would require that any actor handling a firearm be familiarized with it beforehand, and could decline to work with actors (or other persons) who refused such briefings without fear of retribution.

It seems to be coming out that no scene was being filmed at the time of the incident that called for a revolver to be pointed at another person and fired. An apparent culture of occasional horseplay seems to have existed on that set and within the industry, Baldwin got caught up in it, and Miss Halyna (and those who loved her) paid dearly. Still, he bears responsibility for not rising above the "safety-casual" culture himself (especially being the film's producer!), something we all say we would do if we found ourselves in such a position. He will likely be held criminally and/or civilly responsible, in addition to holding himself morally responsible for the rest of his years.

Beyond that, I have said nothing, and have nothing to add.
 
Last edited:
The only reason people beat up on him is due to his political beliefs. No, I do not care for him as a actor and do not care what politics he is into,

If this had happened to Tom Selleck or Joe Mantegna there would be nothing.
(and lets not say well it wouldn' have happened to them)
 
The blame extends beyond Baldwin. There were obviously bad practices and bad judgements in play. The safety person on the set made several errors: live rounds on the set, prop gun being used for target shooting during work breaks, allowing the gun to be pointed at anyone. That’’s just some of the errors to add to Baldwin’s. I listened to an interview of an armorer with over 40 years of experience. He said that when a gun is to be fired in the specific or general direction of actors or crew in any film he works on he orders all the crew and actors off set before the gun is fired. He was amazed that the cinematographer and other person were allowed to stand in place. The camera could have been locked in place to avoid movement to record the scene and no one would have been exposed in the line of fire. Baldwin was the producer of the film. He hired an inept crew. He bares a share of the blame, and part of that was not having a competent crew.
 
This was not a live performance that required an element of immediate apparent realism.
This wasn't even a "take" that required going through the motions, with special effects filling in the gaps at a later date.
This was basically a discussion of what would be recorded later.
There was no reason to have a functional firearm on the set. A rubber duck would have been more appropriate.
There was no reason to point this functional firearm at anyone, regardless of how "unloaded" it was.
There was no reason for anyone to have pulled a trigger.
The person that was in charge of the whole operation and the person that waved the gun around and pulled the trigger should be held responsible... .
 
I don't agree with taking glee in someone's misfortune and have not done so with this situation. Given the behavior, dishonesty and viciousness of those in Alec Baldwin's circles I can see, however, how pro 2A people could lash out. They lie about us with regularity and if you are from the opposite side of the aisle they'll go as far as fabricating criminal charges against you and trying to imprison you. You can only be pushed so for before you push back. Again, I'm not saying I agree with it, only that I understand when people who have been pushed too far strike back.
 
I think that we should take this learning incident as an opportunity to learn. I thought it was tasteless how people were reacting to it, specially the "Guns don't kill people, Alex Baldwin does" comments.
 
Well, I just hate it that he won't be doing Donald Trump on SNL anymore. I don't care who you are, his skits doing DJT were funny as all get out. That said, he screwed up big time.
 
aarondhgraham said:
Howzabout we lighten up on Alec Baldwin just a little bit,,,
Far too many of the posts about him are what my Grannie would call "plain mean"......
Click to expand...
OH HECK NO.
He deserves the full wrath of the gun community simply for his anti Second Amendment advocacy.
He deserves the full wrath of the public for the death of that woman.
He's the poster boy for hypocrisy.

"Mean" ain't even begun.
 
The concept of guilt is over rated. He will not have "to live the rest of his life reliving that terrible moment"
He has probably already forgotten it. -Minus the money aspect.

Once you reach a high enough level of money and influence you don't really care for the lower classes anymore. Same reason Biden can brush off that courtyard bombing of civilians in Afghanistan. Same reason Truman could order the bombs.

People are finger pointing because they know there will be no criminal charges, minimal, insurance covered civil charges, and everyone involved will go on with their lives, except whoever ends up the scapegoat. And he's helping to make sure if all falls on her.
 
aarondhgraham said:
Howzabout we lighten up on Alec Baldwin just a little bit,,,
Far too many of the posts about him are what my Grannie would call "plain mean".

"He deserves what he will get"
"Serves him right for being a Hollywood liberal"

People in the Pro-2A community are laughing about this tragic event,,,
And roasting him merely for his political stance.

Just imagine what your feelings would be if it had same thing had happened to you,,,
I mean now he has to live the rest of his life reliving that terrible moment,,,
The moment when he pulled the trigger and saw the woman die.

Maybe the truth is that on-set safety was lax,,,
Maybe the truth was that it was deliberate sabotage,,,
In all probability it was some where in between those two situations.

When I read the first news blurb about this,,,
I immediately thought of my days as a cowboy re-enacter.

I was a member of a group (Guthrie Gunfighters) who staged old west gunfights for tourists,,,
That was over 20 years ago but I do remember one event at the Tom Mix Festival in Guthrie.

I carried an Uberti 1858 Remington C&B Pistol,,,
We loaded my revolver with only 10 grains of powder,,,
The cartridge guys used some kind of grain meal as a wad,,,
The C&B shooters ( I wasn't the only one) used those foam packing peanuts.

We had very strict rules on loading the guns:
1) All blanks were made by one member of the group.
2) Two designated members would verify that the 5-rounds to be loaded were indeed our blanks.
3) The brass for the blanks were all colored a bright green to prevent any possibility of substitutions.
4) The shooter loaded the blanks into the pistol then all three of them signed the "shooting Log" book.
5) For us CAB shooters, the same two designated members would watch us charge our cylinders and again we all signed the log book.

There were a few more safety precautions that I won't boor you with,,,
Suffice it to say that we were as careful as a group of people could be.

In the few years I participated we did not have one accident.

But it was always in the back of my mind that no matter how careful we were,,,
There was always the possibility that something could go wrong.

One time though I got the scare of my life,,,
I shot a "bank robber" square in the chest at about 15' distance,,,
This man should have gotten an Oscar for his realistic death performance.

We didn't use blood packs or any props like that in our scenarios,,,
But his dying performance was so believably realistic,,,
For a few moments I thought I had shot him.

Good people, you simply can not imagine what went through my head in that few moments,,,
Every negative emotion that you can think of went through my mind,,,
It was literally the worst few seconds of my life.

Then the "Marshall" signaled that the shootout scenario was over,,,
When the guy jumped up and waved to the crowd,,,
I almost wet my pants in relief.

I'm not saying that I know exactly what Mr. Baldwin was and is going through,,,
But having been in the same situation (even for just a few seconds),,,
I just can't let myself rag on him for being a Hollywood liberal.

Of course he is "deflecting" and trying to shift blame,,,
But I've seen a lot of good people do exactly the same in other circumstances.

No matter what the outcome of the investigation(s) will bring,,,
He will have to live with the event for the rest of his life.

I simply can't understand how so many of my fellow 2A supporters are treating him.
It's as if they seem somehow glad that this happened at all.

This is my not-so-humble opinion,,,
Roast me for it if you wish to.

Aarond

.
Click to expand...
:what:Surely you jest.
 
Because he's in multiple special categories in this society, i.e., actor, wealthy, VIP, etc., I doubt he will get significant jail time.

With his shown attitude towards other people, his unchecked rage, which he's gotten away with several times, I honestly think any sorrow being shown on his part is what he does, acting.

His calling for additional safety on the set when current rules aren't being followed, is like people asking for more gun laws when the ones currently on the books aren't being enforced.
 
mjsdwash said:
The concept of guilt is over rated. He will not have "to live the rest of his life reliving that terrible moment"
He has probably already forgotten it. -Minus the money aspect.
Click to expand...

You are so wrong. Grade A hypocrite and a-hole he may be but unless he is a bonafide clinical psychopath he undoubtedly experienced a great deal of trauma. I doubt he will be able to brush it off.
 
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