Are you now scared to go to the movie theater?

[Taltarzac725]

With the actions of the Aurora, Colorado alleged deranged gunman, James Holmes, are you scared to go to the movie theater?

I have little or no fear going to the Villages' theaters about some nutjob getting violent, but what about other areas of the country?

Will you change your movie viewing habits because of this monster invading one of the last places in the US that has not seen a mass shooting of some kind?

[ilovetv]

I don't mean this as "taking the high road", but this is a mother and father's son, and so I don't view the shooter as a "monster" even though what he did was monstrously evil.

I would be pretty sure, from having known a couple of young, well-raised men who were fine until college age, and then schizophrenia reared its ugly head and murderous thoughts and actions of theirs have ruined the whole family's life, that this shooter had that happen, too.

I don't go to the movies much because of all the violent and sex-alluring stuff, but I would be okay going to TV theaters and others.

What I fear on the horizon is that theater entrances will be converted into the mess that entering a commercial airplane is.....having to take off your shoes, etc. and get body searched or x-rayed, which slows everybody down to a snail's pace and raises the cost of airport/airline operations.

They could drive the movie theaters into such aggravations and thus have to charge $60 per person to see a movie.....putting the theater operators out of business.

[Schaumburger]

I feel so bad about what happened to those people in Aurora. Just out to have a good time and look what happened. One person who was killed was from the Chicago area, and he was serving in the Navy in Colorado. I have not been to a midnight showing of a movie in many years, but I will keep going to movies. You can't let fear run your life otherwise you would never leave your home. Just my 2 cents.

[asianthree]

i think if its your time it does not matter where you are

[zcaveman]

If someone would have attacked a food court would we have the same poll?

This was a deranged person that decided to attack a movie theater.

Why are you preying on people's fears at a time like this?

Z

[ilovetv]

If someone would have attacked a food court would we have the same poll?

This was a deranged person that decided to attack a movie theater.

Why are you preying on people's fears at a time like this?

Z

The poll was posted by a person who consistently listens to and sees all sides of a story, even if he disagrees.

The thought of staying out of theaters was immediately on many people's minds, I saw online yesterday, and maybe for good reason. A mall food court is wide open into the mall and its many exit doors with wide hallways leading to them, and the food court has wide open paths to its exit doors to get out of the building there.

In a movie theater, you have narrow, one/two-person aisles to only a few exit doors, which translates to stampede conditions in an event like this.

[Taltarzac725]

I don't mean this as "taking the high road", but this is a mother and father's son, and so I don't view the shooter as a "monster" even though what he did was monstrously evil.

I would be pretty sure, from having known a couple of young, well-raised men who were fine until college age, and then schizophrenia reared its ugly head and murderous thoughts and actions of theirs have ruined the whole family's life, that this shooter had that happen, too.

I don't go to the movies much because of all the violent and sex-alluring stuff, but I would be okay going to TV theaters and others.

What I fear on the horizon is that theater entrances will be converted into the mess that entering a commercial airplane is.....having to take off your shoes, etc. and get body searched or x-rayed, which slows everybody down to a snail's pace and raises the cost of airport/airline operations.

They could drive the movie theaters into such aggravations and thus have to charge $60 per person to see a movie.....putting the theater operators out of business.

Hopefully, that will not happen.

This also puts schizophrenics in a very bad light. I doubt if more than one in ten thousand schizophrenics become violent like James Holmes did, or even like say the man portrayed in the book and movie A Beautiful Mind did. This is just a monster who tried to kill hundreds of people but had his plans thrawted by neighbors not trying to go into his apartment to turn off the noise he left blaring.

I also get the impression that Holmes' mother knew what her son was capable of from her statement made to the police that they had the right person. http://www.helpguide.org/mental/schizophrenia_symptom.htm

"MYTH: People with schizophrenia are dangerous.

FACT: Although the delusional thoughts and hallucinations of schizophrenia sometimes lead to violent behavior, most people with schizophrenia are neither violent nor a danger to others." from above linked article about schizophrenia




This is a sociopath like Jack the Ripper who decided to kill through mass murder rather than through serial murder. I am sure whoever Jack the Ripper was also had a mother and father.

[Taltarzac725]

If someone would have attacked a food court would we have the same poll?

This was a deranged person that decided to attack a movie theater.

Why are you preying on people's fears at a time like this?

Z

The Orlando news stations were asking this question of various movie goers as were a few national news channels last night.

It seems like a legitimate concern. And, I would rather bring it up now, than bring it up in a few months and have people reliving whatever they saw on TV about these horrible shootings.

Movie theaters have not been hit with a mass shooting before now that I can recall. US Churches, schools, restaurants, parks, malls, an Army base, etc. have all shared this misfortune.

[zcaveman]

The poll was posted by a person who consistently listens to and sees all sides of a story, even if he disagrees.

The thought of staying out of theaters was immediately on many people's minds, I saw online yesterday, and maybe for good reason. A mall food court is wide open into the mall and its many exit doors with wide hallways leading to them, and the food court has wide open paths to its exit doors to get out of the building there.

In a movie theater, you have narrow, one/two-person aisles to only a few exit doors, which translates to stampede conditions in an event like this.

Maybe food court was wrong since you have obviously figured out the exits. How about a library or a Walgreen's or a Publix where there are limited exits?

I think that it is wrong to think that we should be scared of someone going into any one place and doing what this weirdo did.

Are we supposed to live our lives in fear because of this one incident?

I do not know what I would do in this situation but I always wonder why some one or somebodies did not take this guy down.

[Taltarzac725]

Maybe food court was wrong since you have obviously figured out the exits. How about a library or a Walgreen's or a Publix where there are limited exits?

I think that it is wrong to think that we should be scared of someone going into any one place and doing what this weirdo did.

Are we supposed to live our lives in fear because of this one incident?

I do not know what I would do in this situation but I always wonder why some one or somebodies did not take this guy down.

I believe this has happened in stores like Publix as well as in libraries. I marked down that I would go to more movies because of this, precisely because I do not want monsters like James Holmes dictating where or where not I can go and still feel safe.

More undercover cops probably will be getting movie theater duty though for a while anyway.

[hulababy]

just have your hubby carry his pistol (concealed) for protection.

[graciegirl]

just have your hubby carry his pistol (concealed) for protection.

,,,,,

[zcaveman]

,,,,,

I assume that is a vote for the concealed weapon.

[wendyquat]

Maybe food court was wrong since you have obviously figured out the exits. How about a library or a Walgreen's or a Publix where there are limited exits?

I think that it is wrong to think that we should be scared of someone going into any one place and doing what this weirdo did.

Are we supposed to live our lives in fear because of this one incident?

I do not know what I would do in this situation but I always wonder why some one or somebodies did not take this guy down.

I'm with you! I'll be "flamed" for it but I believe if only one "properly trained" and armed concealed weapon carrier had been in that dark theater he could have "reduced" the damages by at least disabling the shooter! I've seen so much about gun control as a result of this! Don't "they" realize that evil doers will still get their weapons! Gun control would just leave honest people defenseless! Guns do not kill any more than spoons make people overweight!

[Bogie Shooter]

Everyone should have an assault weapon.

[2BNTV]

With the actions of the Aurora, Colorado alleged deranged gunman, James Holmes, are you scared to go to the movie theater?

I have little or no fear going to the Villages' theaters about some nutjob getting violent, but what about other areas of the country?

Will you change your movie viewing habits because of this monster invading one of the last places in the US that has not seen a mass shooting of some kind?

No, No, No to answer the questions. I very rarely go to the movies but I would not change my viewing habits or give into this type of fear. IMHO

I believe no one can live happily in fear.

What a senseless tradgedy.

[784caroline]

What happened in Colorado was very sad but in my opinon it could happen in any place where a large crowd congregates.......so replace movie theatre with the Villages Square at Lake Sumter Landing or Spanish Springs on market night with a well known band playing or a major athletic event, or a place or worship???? Are you going to stop going......I dont think so....but dont for one moment believe it cannot happen in your own back yard. I am not sure what the answer is, but if we do stop our everyday life...these people, whoever they are, win !!

[NotGolfer]

What happened in Colorado was very sad but in my opinon it could happen in any place where a large crowd congregates.......so replace movie theatre with the Villages Square at Lake Sumter Landing or Spanish Springs on market night with a well known band playing or a major athletic event, or a place or worship???? Are you going to stop going......I dont think so....but dont for one moment believe it cannot happen in your own back yard. I am not sure what the answer is, but if we do stop our everyday life...these people, whoever they are, win !!

I'm going to post what a friend posted elsewhere As the other poster said...this could have happened anywhere!!

"The media try to exploit a bad situation and turn it into their agenda (gun control). This has to do with mental illness and the change in behavior that was ignored. Very sad when you think his gift was wasted...very few have the aptitude for Neuroscience."

[Posh 08]

This is gun (out of) control. Three firearms purchased within 60 days. The sad part is that gun sales will spike for a while. Hopefully training will spike with that.

Seldom go to the movie houses with so many good options for movie viewing at home. We would not be fearful of going though because of this senseless slaughter. If Miss Sam and I were to "carry" ya'll would never know it.

[pooh]

Sadly, this sort of thing can happen anywhere and it has.


Some of world's worst mass shootings:

• July 20, 2012: At least 12 people are killed when a gunman enters an Aurora, Colo., movie theater, releases a canister of gas and then opens fire during opening night of the Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises."

• July 22, 2011: At least 80 people are killed at a summer camp on the Norwegian island of Utoya. A man arrested also is suspected in a blast earlier the same day in downtown Oslo that killed seven.

• April 30, 2009: Farda Gadyrov, 29, enters the prestigious Azerbaijan State Oil Academy in the capital, Baku, armed with an automatic pistol and clips. He kills 12 people before killing himself as police close in.

• March 10, 2009: Michael McLendon, 28, killed 10 people — including his mother, four other relatives, and the wife and child of a local sheriff's deputy — across two rural Alabama counties. He then killed himself.

• Sept. 23, 2008: Matti Saari, 22, walks into a vocational college in Kauhajoki, Finland, and opens fire, killing 10 people and burning their bodies with firebombs before shooting himself fatally in the head.

• Nov. 7, 2007: After revealing plans for his attack in YouTube postings, 18-year-old Pekka-Eric Auvinen kills eight people at his high school in Tuusula, Finland.

• April 16, 2007: Seung-Hui Cho, 23, kills 32 people and himself on Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Va.

• April 26, 2002: Robert Steinhaeuser, 19, who had been expelled from school in Erfurt, Germany, kills 13 teachers, two former classmates and policeman, before committing suicide.

• April 20, 1999: Students Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, opened fire at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., killing 12 classmates and a teacher and wounding 26 others before killing themselves in the school's library.

• April 28, 1996: Martin Bryant, 29, bursts into cafeteria in seaside resort of Port Arthur in Tasmania, Australia, shooting 20 people to death. Driving away, he kills 15 others. He was captured and imprisoned.

• March 13, 1996: Thomas Hamilton, 43, kills 16 kindergarten children and their teacher in elementary school in Dunblane, Scotland, and then kills himself.

• Oct. 16, 1991: A deadly shooting rampage took place in Killeen, Texas, as George Hennard opened fire at a Luby's Cafeteria, killing 23 people before taking his own life. 20 others were wounded in the attack.

• June 18, 1990: James Edward Pough shoots people at random in a General Motors Acceptance Corp. office in Jacksonville, Fla., killing 10 and wounding four, before killing himself.

• Dec. 6, 1989: Marc Lepine, 25, bursts into Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique college, shooting at women he encounters, killing nine and then himself.

• Aug. 19, 1987: Michael Ryan, 27, kills 16 people in small market town of Hungerford, England, and then shoots himself dead after being cornered by police.

• July 12, 1976: Edward Charles Allaway, a custodian in the library of California State University, Fullerton, fatally shot seven fellow employees and wounded two others.

• Aug. 20, 1986: Pat Sherrill, 44, a postal worker who was about to be fired, shoots 14 people at a post office in Edmond, Okla. He then kills himself.

• July 18, 1984: James Oliver Huberty, an out-of-work security guard, kills 21 people in a McDonald's restaurant in San Ysidro, Calif. A police sharpshooter kills Huberty.

• Aug. 1, 1966: Charles Whitman opened fire from the clock tower at the University of Texas at Austin, killing 16 people and wounding 31.

[Bogie Shooter]

This is gun (out of) control. Three firearms purchased within 60 days. The sad part is that gun sales will spike for a while. Hopefully training will spike with that.

Seldom go to the movie houses with so many good options for movie viewing at home. We would not be fearful of going though because of this senseless slaughter. If Miss Sam and I were to "carry" ya'll would never know it.

And 6000 rounds of ammunition.

[Posh 08]

And 6000 rounds of ammunition.

Precisely, and a 100 round drum magazine for the assault rifle. :(

[JoeC1947]

And 6000 rounds of ammunition.

I have been and still am surprised that ammo can be purchased and delivered to your door over the internet. Isn't Ammo a hazmat thing?

I wonder what the outcome would have been if one of the theater goers were armed and actually knew how to shoot?

[billethkid]

If people get in their car every day without fear of losing their lives, then they most certainly have no fear of going to the movies or any other safe venue.

Is it because the media does not remind us every 35 seconds how dangerous it is and how likely we are to be maimed or killed each time we get in our cars.....we are so easily led by the nose.....fickle....gullible....and sometimes just dumb.

btk

[rubicon]

The media with their talking heads will over analyze this issue and introduce pundits with their psychological points of view. Others will fight over the gun issue and once they get all the capital they can drain from this story they will move onto the next juicy story.

The issue here is society's lack of dealing effectively with people suffering neuro-brain disorders. The psychiatric community is way behind in discovering effective treatments and often doctors misdiagnose disorders. Care workers are found far too often to abuse or ignore these patients. The police agencies are not properly trained and fail miserably in containing situations often actually exacerbating them..Families unable to cope toss these folks to the curb. Then we have the fine balance of civil rights vis a vis safety issues for the public.

In the city Geel Beligum people with neuro-brain disorders live with host families. If they need hospitalization then they are taken to the hospital treated and returned to their host families. Living normally along with Geel residents provides a stable and normal environment for people with mental disorders. As a society in same manner or way we need to deal with this societal problem and prhaps we can reduce some suffering

[Taltarzac725]

The media with their talking heads will over analyze this issue and introduce pundits with their psychological points of view. Others will fight over the gun issue and once they get all the capital they can drain from this story they will move onto the next juicy story.

The issue here is society's lack of dealing effectively with people suffering neuro-brain disorders. The psychiatric community is way behind in discovering effective treatments and often doctors misdiagnose disorders. Care workers are found far too often to abuse or ignore these patients. The police agencies are not properly trained and fail miserably in containing situations often actually exacerbating them..Families unable to cope toss these folks to the curb. Then we have the fine balance of civil rights vis a vis safety issues for the public.

In the city Geel Beligum people with neuro-brain disorders live with host families. If they need hospitalization then they are taken to the hospital treated and returned to their host families. Living normally along with Geel residents provides a stable and normal environment for people with mental disorders. As a society in same manner or way we need to deal with this societal problem and prhaps we can reduce some suffering

Good thoughts, Rubicon.

Still do not see James Holmes as someone with a mental illness. He reminds me a little bit of Ted Bundy. Except that Ted Bundy had great social skills. I have never heard Ted Bundy described as having a mental illness. Both look like they knew exactly what they were doing and planned things out very carefully.

Some of these mass killers could have been stopped though if more people had tried to help them. http://ajas29.tripod.com/massbio.html

[courtyard]

Many people on the Net have reported:

"The terrible tragedy of Aurora Colorado is already being attributed to a government plot. The theory is that the Obama administration was behind it in order to create an anti-gun public outcry in order to provide the votes he needed to pass the UN Small Arms Treaty so he can take away our Second Amendment rights."

[Bogie Shooter]

Many people on the Net have reported:

"The terrible tragedy of Aurora Colorado is already being attributed to a government plot. The theory is that the Obama administration was behind it in order to create an anti-gun public outcry in order to provide the votes he needed to pass the UN Small Arms Treaty so he can take away our Second Amendment rights."

Why would you even repeat such trash??
Just because people reported it in the net, so what?
And who are these people you are quoting?

[courtyard]

Why would you even repeat such trash??
Just because people reported it in the net, so what?
And who are these people you are quoting?

Alex Jones at Infowars.com.

[rubicon]

Good thoughts, Rubicon.

Still do not see James Holmes as someone with a mental illness. He reminds me a little bit of Ted Bundy. Except that Ted Bundy had great social skills. I have never heard Ted Bundy described as having a mental illness. Both look like they knew exactly what they were doing and planned things out very carefully.

Some of these mass killers could have been stopped though if more people had tried to help them. A History Of Madness - Serial Killers (http://ajas29.tripod.com/massbio.html)

I agree that's why I started out by citing the usual 24/7 news coverage. Reporters do more harm now than good. Good journalism is a thik of the past
Its all mostly tabloid stuff now. How can you allow the same amount of sound bites concerning the economy as you will about kardashian love lifebarf

[Bogie Shooter]

Alex Jones at Infowars.com.

That site could make your mind sick.....................

[asianthree]

after paying a small fortune to go to the movies and snacks, it has scared me to stay at home:ohdear:

[mermaid72]

I'm with you! I'll be "flamed" for it but I believe if only one "properly trained" and armed concealed weapon carrier had been in that dark theater he could have "reduced" the damages by at least disabling the shooter! I've seen so much about gun control as a result of this! Don't "they" realize that evil doers will still get their weapons! Gun control would just leave honest people defenseless! Guns do not kill any more than spoons make people overweight!

A movie theater full of armed, albeit "properly trained" people? Each one believing that he will be the only one capable of saving the rest from murderous psychopaths? What a horrific situation. Who knows who is armed if all the guns are concealed?
Guns do kill people, as do bombs and knives and a million other weapons in the hands of wackos. Guns are weapons, period. They are specifically manufactured to kill or maim.
The crazed shooter in CO bought his weapons and bullets and chemical goods all legally. Assault weapons are legal.... Please tell me why an upstanding and honest and sane person needs an assault weapon? Please?
I just don't understand.
No one is taking your gun away, or your right to own one, put please how many more people does it take to die before weapons like these are banned?

I am not flaming anyone, and expect the same courtesy in return.

[MelZ]

I'm with you! I'll be "flamed" for it but I believe if only one "properly trained" and armed concealed weapon carrier had been in that dark theater he could have "reduced" the damages by at least disabling the shooter! I've seen so much about gun control as a result of this! Don't "they" realize that evil doers will still get their weapons! Gun control would just leave honest people defenseless! Guns do not kill any more than spoons make people overweight!

Well Said
:bigbow:

[Villages PL]

Perhaps those who are frightened should stay away from movies that feature excessive violence. It was said that schizohrenia could be involved; the gunman said he was the Joker. So it could be that this type of movie (with schizohrenia in it and excessive violence) is just what it takes to set off a mentally unbalanced person.

Personally, I don't like movies that feature excessive violence. I like comedy. So my movie going habit won't be changed.

[ilovetv]

Hopefully, that will not happen.

This also puts schizophrenics in a very bad light. I doubt if more than one in ten thousand schizophrenics become violent like James Holmes did, or even like say the man portrayed in the book and movie A Beautiful Mind did. This is just a monster who tried to kill hundreds of people but had his plans thrawted by neighbors not trying to go into his apartment to turn off the noise he left blaring.

I also get the impression that Holmes' mother knew what her son was capable of from her statement made to the police that they had the right person. Understanding Schizophrenia: Signs, Symptoms, and Causes (http://www.helpguide.org/mental/schizophrenia_symptom.htm)

"MYTH: People with schizophrenia are dangerous.

FACT: Although the delusional thoughts and hallucinations of schizophrenia sometimes lead to violent behavior, most people with schizophrenia are neither violent nor a danger to others." from above linked article about schizophrenia
........

"AURORA, Colo. — The suspect in the Colorado theater rampage was seeing a University of Colorado psychiatrist who studies schizophrenia, according to court records released Friday, indicating for the first time that university officials were familiar with James Holmes’s mental state."

Also, I know two sets of parents whose family members' lives have been destroyed for years because of their sons becoming schizophrenic and murderous around age 20. Both schizophrenic men (in different communities/states) have tried to kill their parents and neighbors in some of the most brutal ways imaginable (bullets would have been quicker, kinder, gentler). Most of the time they're quiet and docile, but that can't be counted on as "safe". It's an ongoing nightmare for the families.


Colorado shooting suspect James Holmes was seeing psychiatrist at university before massacre - The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/colorado-shooting-suspect-james-holmes-was-seeing-psychiatrist-at-university-before-massacre/2012/07/27/gJQAsTwHEX_story.html)

[Taltarzac725]

"AURORA, Colo. — The suspect in the Colorado theater rampage was seeing a University of Colorado psychiatrist who studies schizophrenia, according to court records released Friday, indicating for the first time that university officials were familiar with James Holmes’s mental state."

Also, I know two sets of parents whose family members' lives have been destroyed for years because of their sons becoming schizophrenic and murderous around age 20. Both schizophrenic men (in different communities/states) have tried to kill their parents and neighbors in some of the most brutal ways imaginable (bullets would have been quicker, kinder, gentler). Most of the time they're quiet and docile, but that can't be counted on as "safe". It's an ongoing nightmare for the families.


Colorado shooting suspect James Holmes was seeing psychiatrist at university before massacre - The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/colorado-shooting-suspect-james-holmes-was-seeing-psychiatrist-at-university-before-massacre/2012/07/27/gJQAsTwHEX_story.html)

If you look at the literature on paranoid schizophrenia though most of the patients suffering from this mental disease are not violent, neither for themselves nor for others. http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=schizophrenia9


"Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that affects 2.4 million American adults over the age of 18. Although it affects men and women with equal frequency, schizophrenia most often appears in men in their late teens or early twenties, while it appears in women in their late twenties or early thirties. Finding the causes for schizophrenia proves to be difficult as the cause and course of the illness is unique for each person."

There are not 2.4 million people out there in the US committing suicide or harming other people due to paranoid schizophrenic rages.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/paranoid-schizophrenia/DS00862
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/schizophrenia/DS00196
http://www.schizophrenia.com/family/faqindex.htm
http://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/frequently-asked-questions-about-schizophrenia

I just see James Holmes as an evil person who could not handle whatever was stressing him out in his life. From the news reports, it sounds like he sent those materials to a psychiatrist he knew would not get his package until after the The Dark Knight Rises premiere on July 20, 2012. He very carefully planned out the July 20, 2012 attack for months. These are not really the acts of someone who just suddenly goes off the deep end. What I am trying to say is that you cannot medicate away evil.