Nothing surprises me anymore.
I was a bit out of the loop this weekend newswise, so when someone informed me that there was a bit of traction coming from people who believe that the tragic events at Sandy Hook Elementary School were either partly fabricated or a complete hoax, possibly from an administration who wants to crack down on gun control, it's sad to say that I didn't even flinch.
I never expected anyone to come up with something so heartless and cruel as to suggest some of the grieving parents were actors, but I was not surprised. I didn't think that someone would demand to see the bodies of the 20 murdered children because they didn't think it actually happened, but I'm not surprised.
We are a conspiratorial nation. We have been lied to numerous times (quiz show scandals, Watergate, WMDs, Bill Clinton, possibly the JFK assassination), so it goes without saying that we would be skeptical when anything crossed our path. But in this situation, it seems that the conspiracies are coming from those who are firmly set on one side of the gun control debate. And I can think of few things more depraved than calling out the validity of the murder of children. That is not in question, not even in the absence of surveillance video. Clinging to the notion that crying parents are "crisis actors," that the sister of one of those killed is actually the girl herself in a photograph with the president, is desperate at best and sickening at worst.
We should question authority, obviously. We should make sure we are smart and vigilant and we should always ask the right questions. But we should also be logical and compassionate. This latest group is neither.
But it doesn't surprise me.
Comments (14)
Add commentThey're everywhere...
Much like the 9-11 conspiracy theorists who believe the Bush administration orchestrated the whole thing to justify going to war. Those people would probably be on the other side of this gun control issue.
*sigh*
.....Bill Clinton, possibly the JFK assassination.....
Dude, seriously.
dont forget
Pearl Harbor...many historians believe that FDR knew of the impending attack, which would explain why the carriers were gone.
However, the consensus is that, at the time of the attack, the battleships were considered more important.
But, you can make a conspiracy from anything.
Bobby Petrino is another. Pretty much it's common knowledge in NWA that there was no motorcycle accident.
Just for shiggles
Can you elaborate on the BP theory? I've yet to hear this.... and now I'm curious.
it's just rumor
But I've heard from two reliable people that it was the fiance of the girl that caught up to them on the bike, pulled them over and proceeded to assault BP.
Would explain the lack of injury to the passenger and lack of damage to the bike.
I thought conspiracy until I heard it twice from two different sources.
The only issue I have with it, is the outcome ended up being the same, so why lie about the wreck? No need in lying.
Emotions
Of course there are conspiracies, I can't think of any big event that has not been questioned by some.
We should, however, be wary when someone uses a conspiracy, or a tragedy, for or against legislation. Both sides of this are simply trying to bring emotions into the argument. Fair and rational discourse is, in my opinion, the best way to insure a prosperous future.
To argue that a tragedy has occurred, and therefore we must now pass legislation that did not need to be passed previously, or that the tragedy is a conspiracy and did not occur, and therefore we should not consider legislation, are faulty arguments.
Should we look into gun control and make certain that we, as a nation, are being responsible with civilian weaponry? Certainly. Should we take care that the 2nd amendment is not infringed? Absolutely. We should diligently examine all that we do, the nation changes, we change, our resources change, our laws should change as well.
However, whether Sandy Hook happened or not is irrelevant to an argument for or against legislation. That something of its scale is possible should be examined within rational discourse. Emotions need not be involved.
the whole country is paranoid...
One of the clips I saw was saying something about there being more that one gunman and the gun that was used to kill everyone was a rifle, yet the rifle was still in the kids trunk...
ya I heard that too
But, it was a SHOTGUN in the trunk, not a rifle.
for the thumbs down-ers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Hook_Elementary_School_shooting#Perpe...
Investigation
A large quantity of unused ammunition was recovered at the school, along with three semi-automatic firearms found with Adam Lanza: a .223-caliber Bushmaster XM-15 rifle, a 10mm Glock 20 SF handgun and a 9mm SIG Sauer handgun.[18][17][19][66] A shotgun was found in the car Lanza had driven to the school.[19] At home, Lanza had access to three more firearms: a .45 Henry repeating rifle, a .30 Enfield rifle, and a .22 Marlin rifle.[11][67][68][69]
video
if anyone is curious, here's a link to the video I believe Richard is referring to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx9GxXYKx_8
The last 3 minutes are interesting.