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Shooting in Aurora

Last night I had a rather unique movie-going experience. Well for me at least, as I imagine several thousand people had the same experience. What was it? Well, I went to a marathon of all three Batman movies back to back to back. It was intense, it was amazing, and it was more than a little overwhelming. It goes along with some of the best movie going experiences of my life, and one I will remember fondly for a long time to come. However, for one audience it was anything but positive. In Aurora, Colorado a lone gunmen entered a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises with a rifle and two semi-automatic pistols. He set off a smoke or tear gas canister and then opened fired on the unsuspecting audience. 12 people were killed, another 39 sustained injuries including patrons in adjacent theaters. I can't help but feel personally violated by this. How could someone take what was a wonderful shared experience and pervert it into one of the most horrible acts of violence on American soil in years? This had absolutely nothing to do with the movie. This was the actions of one sick and twisted soul who wanted to cause suffering, no matter what his motivations were. The fact that happened alongside a movie with a lot of violence is inconsequential. But that's not what we'll hear. We are going to get another debate about how violence in movies influences young minds. The irony is that the man couldn't have even seen the movie. He attacked at the 1st screening of the film. I'm not going to stand on a soapbox and say how we should change our gun laws, or curb violent images in fictionalized media. Because it doesn't matter. These poor people don't deserve to be sensationalized, or turned into a political opinion. They should be honored and respected, they should be mourned. Their families should be supported with whatever help we can give. But above all we should forget the killer, so I won't even mention his name. He doesn't deserve the attention, in my opinion he should be thrown into a deep hole and forgotten. The writers here at Doux Reviews wish to extend our hearts to the families of the victims, and the survivors of this tragedy. I don't know what else to say, except that our thoughts will be with them.

11 comments:

  1. J.D., thank you for posting this. Like you, I don't know what to say, except that my thoughts are with the victims and their families.

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  2. It's so awful. Senseless. I just don't understand how anyone can do this. And it might not be a popular sentiment in the U.S., but our gun laws are insane.

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  3. Christopher Nolan, the director of The Dark Knight Rises, released this lovely statement:

    "Speaking on behalf of the cast and crew of The Dark Knight Rises, I would like to express our profound sorrow at the senseless tragedy that has befallen the entire Aurora community.

    I would not presume to know anything about the victims of the shooting but that they were there last night to watch a movie. I believe movies are one of the great American art forms and the shared experience of watching a story unfold on screen is an important and joyful pastime.

    The movie theatre is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me.

    Nothing any of us can say could ever adequately express our feelings for the innocent victims of this appalling crime, but our thoughts are with them and their families."

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  4. This was just horrible. My deepest sympathies to the victims and their families.

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  5. Another senseless tragedy. Especially hurtful is the case of Jessica Ghawi amongst the victims.

    I AM going to stand on a soapbox and say you guys HAVE TO change your gun laws. It is simply amazing that such a damaged individual was able to buy not only a couple of pistols, but an automatic rifle.

    There is something VERY wrong in a country in which a nipple in screen is a scandal of biblical proportions, but nobody cares that it is easier to buy guns than tobacco.

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  6. Oh my.

    My first reaction when I heard was : what ??!! again !!? One of my colleagues tolm me that the shooter said to the police....that he was the Joker...Oh great, another sick little puppy unable to make the difference between the world of imagination and this realm of existence. It's cute to see a 10 year old pretending to be Superman. Less when he jumps off the roof and breaks his neck. Line crossed.

    This the price we have to pay for....free will. Yes exactly. Humanity can give us the best AND the worse at the same time. We have several centuries of History behind us to prove my point. And we see this on a daily basis.

    Billie and you all, you know that I love you guys. I'd hug you if we'd meet on the street (and I'd buy ya coffee, probably dinner too). But sometimes, I look at the American Dream and I frown in how twisted it can get sometimes. Come on, the LAST thing I want when I go eat in a restaurant is to see that the guy at the table next has a GUN on his lap. WO !

    Come onnnn ! Yes to personal liberties, and mostly yes to personal RESPONSIBILITY, but SOB, this cowboy mentality is totally outdated. There are some limits to decency.

    And with Anonymous' comment about the nipple. Scandal you say ? And what about the US porn industry ? Sheesh. (Hey Mom, if you put your hand on your kid's face because of that nipple, but you have no idea what he looks on the Internet, do I have news for you.)

    The states fascinate me AND scare the bleep out of me at the same time. Oh heck.

    I consider Scandinavia to be paradise on Earth as far as democracy and social environment, laws, etc are concerned. But, as we saw recently, even there they had their horror stories.

    We should not hide while facing horror; we should look at it and say NO. That's enough. Life goes on.

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  7. a ps

    I don't need a gun on my lap to feel like a MAN. Look at me people, I have a gun, respect me. Duh. I don't need a gun either to fuel fears that are ALL between my 2 ears.

    Nah, I prefer to respect myself, then others (Amanda Tapping's comments about respect are insightful in Sanctuary 4's extras on the DVD set BTW).

    And then stay in my blissful enthusiasm (even after a Kafkaesque day at the office). And nobody will get hurt.

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  8. I've been so wrapped up in my own life that I hadn't seen the news. I just heard about this now.

    I, too, believe that being able to purchase 6,000 rounds of ammunition on the Internet is shameful. But, I like Marc's comment about free will as well. Where to draw the line is for smarter people than I.

    In the meantime, my sympathies to all caught up in this senseless tragedy.

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  9. Max,

    Simply take J.D.'s paragraph as an extension of his (her) Soul speaking on this level, the human heart. Plain and simple.

    When my colleague put her beloved cat to its final rest, spontaneously I spoke to people in the office about her ordeal. A thing that I wouldn't have done in a different event. Shoot no.

    That day, I just let my heart do the talking.

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  10. I can't even express how horrific this is. I do know that I will not be able to watch this movie for a very long time. Just thinking that people lost their lives, that this was the last thing they will ever see, will make viewing the movie more emotional than I can handle right now. My heart definitely goes out to them all.

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  11. We heard about this on the news in Spain... was quite a shock! I feel so bad for the victims and their families! And outraged that it's so easy for someone to get hold of guns and ammo and go out and do this! :o(

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