St. Louis Mayor and Police Officers Shot 2/7

[Nebor]

This guy was fighting for what he believed in. We need more like him.

 

[Baba Louie]

If 2+2 = 4, then he went there that day to shoot and kill Yost. Sadly, he was more than successful.

He's not a hero to me or my way of thinking. He might be to his neighbors, family and firends... misguided as I see it (but I'm sure they could care less).

He might have been a great guy, a good man to those who knew him.

He might have succeeded after experiencing personal failure; many do.

He ran afoul of the law.

For years.

He tried to beat the system... and lost. Over and over again.

In a way he reminds me of that character that Michael Douglas played in Falling Down with no sympathy or pathos given from my mind.

He had issues. He had a perceived enemy (real and/or imagined). He had a gun.

He chose poorly.

 

[One of Many]

Most city government are 3-9 man elected dictatorships bent solely on revenue generation. They make, break and interpret their city ordinances however way it will enrich them and their ilk using the police departments as their enforcers/human shields.

While I regret 2 good officers lost their lives good riddance to the city council.

This is beyond all reason. You are applauding the murder of government officials, for enforcing laws approved of by the people they serve.

The killer had been feuding with the city for many years. The city government gets elected many times during the period of his feud. I doubt that the current city government officials were in office when he started his feud; they inherited the situation when they won the election to the office. The city was trying to enforce laws, and was being as accommodative as possible, by suspending collection of fines he owed. They also decided not to completely bar his presence in ongoing city council meetings, despite his repeated tirades and disruptive action in previous meetings. The city was not going out of it's way to persecute the killer.

This guy was crazy. He was a time bomb with a random time delay, and something jarred his trigger. It is appalling that so many here seem to think understanding a crazy man is important, and that the government should change to accommodate a crazy man. The proper action is to prevent future crazy people from repeating the murderous actions of this crazy person, not to placate the crazy people by letting them get away with violating the rules that hold society together as a functioning unit. Most of those arguing for supreme individual rights, are advocating anarchy and chaos, when the consequences are ultimately considered. Anarchy and chaos are the antithesis of peaceful and profitable society and trade; the only result of those policies is constant warfare with every neighbor, near and far - the destruction of the country and government we know and (hopefully) respect.

 

[bogie]

Now, if I was a paranoid man, I'd figure that we've got a few folks here purposely taking the low road on a situation like this, so that they can then point at "those gun nuts" as being loose cannons, just waiting for the thing to set 'em off...

 

[Eleven Mike]

They also decided not to completely bar his presence in ongoing city council meetings, despite his repeated tirades and disruptive action in previous meetings.

And despite his having assaulted more than one person in relation to his disputes, including one city official he later murdered.

 

[The Drew]

Boy, I sure hope that a lot of you people here who flat out condemn this guys actions as crazy or unjustifiable, and that the law is the law, never get elected into government... Because you obviously have no concept of liberty, property rights, or even what the 2nd was meant for...

Like I said earlier, if the march of government continues in it's direction.. We'll see more of this.

 

[Powderman]

There comes a point at which a government is tyrranical. When that happens, and you've used all non violent means to correct the problem. The only answer is violence. This guy believed he had no other recourse after taking the city to court and losing. He decided to take action and vote with the cartridge box.

No. NO! A thousand times, NO!

This was NOT someone rebelling against a "tyrannical" government.

This was murder. Pure and simple, murder. The taking of another human life, without cause, and not in defense of self or others. Murder.

It does NOT justify violence when you fail to get your way.

Had he exhausted all of his options?

What about legal action? If he received that many citations--and he was within his RIGHT to do what he did--if others were parking their vehicles in the same way, and he was the only one getting the citations--he could have a clear case of harassment, or even discriminatory conduct.

All he had to do for each citation was to agree to go to Court to have his day --and his say--in front of the trier of fact.

Instead, he chose to kill. To take human life. To commit murder.

This man was a rabid dog, and the only cure for him was a bullet.

Do not rationalize or justify this maniac's actions.

 

[AntiqueCollector]

One man's "murderer" is another's freedom fighter...been true throughout history, including our early history...

 

[Reyn]

The man was a nut. Anyones who supports those actions is also a nut.

 

[DKSuddeth]

The man was a nut. Anyones who supports those actions is also a nut.

thank you for that diagnosis, doctor freud.

where is your degree from?

 

[Blackfork]

Open Range

Didn't they make a movie a lot like this? Where the outsiders who were wronged rode into town and killed the civil authority? Maybe not.

Couple of quick lessons:

The more complex society becomes, the more it will squeeze out the folks who can't navigate it.

Suicide killers can't be stopped without some damage.

I wouldn't mistake this guy for a patriot. I would expect more, not less of this kind of stuff. We had the same thing in my town (Tyler, Texas and the Courthouse killer), and the guy is widely regarded as a hero by his (hispanic) community.

We are living in interesting times. God bless the folks and officers who lost their lives in this horrible crime.

 

[bogie]

thank you for that diagnosis, doctor freud.

where is your degree from?

Okay. This student center debate society bit has gone out of hand.

If you do not realize that a guy who displays that sort of irrational behavior over a period of years, and then walks into a public meeting and starts shooting, is NOT a nutjob, then you're probably a liberal Democrat.

My degree in nutjob psych is from 46 years of dealing with my fellow humans. If one cannot realize just who is, and who is not, a nutjob, one is doomed to a life of uncertainty. Possibly lived in academia.

Kirkwood, MO is very similar to Bedford, TX... Both located well-within metro areas.

Just wondering - Do you occasionally protest about the airport and airplane noise?

 

[DKSuddeth]

If you do not realize that a guy who displays that sort of irrational behavior over a period of years, and then walks into a public meeting and starts shooting, is NOT a nutjob, then you're probably a liberal Democrat.

My degree in nutjob psych is from 46 years of dealing with my fellow humans. If one cannot realize just who is, and who is not, a nutjob, one is doomed to a life of uncertainty. Possibly lived in academia.

Thanks, I needed to understand how the expertise exists, and as I only have 42 years under my belt, I'll just accept that I need to learn some more.

So whats the official age of going from liberal Democrat to conservative republican? 45?

Just wondering - Do you occasionally protest about the airport and airplane noise?

No, but the residents of Arlington continually get an earful of my derision for their seflishness in auctioning off their neighbors property for a football stadium that they'll spend years paying off and not learning a lesson from the baseball stadium deal. The Hurst council regularly gets bitched at for the same methods employed for the parking lot expansion of North East Mall.

 

[Reyn]

thank you for that diagnosis, doctor freud.

where is your degree from?

The school of common sense.

 

[Justin]

This guy murdered others over what amounts to a bunch of traffic tickets.

Many of which were waived.

If you honestly think that someone who murdered in the name of a parking spot is a revolutionary worthy of being compared to Thomas Jefferson, and whose actions are a latter-day Boston Tea Party (Risasi, DKSuddeth, ilcylic, Nebor, jaholder1971 I'm looking at you) I find myself questioning how, exactly, it is you possess the mental capacity to breath without mechanical assistance.

Kudos to bogie for being willing to debate such stupidity with a level head.