The work of a madman
The accused Colorado gunman appears in court Monday. AP Photo
The suspect in Friday’s horrific shooting at a Colorado movie theater appeared in court today and didn’t speak a word. Police have said he isn’t speaking while in their custody, either, so it could be some time before we learn whether there was any kind of motivation for the man charged with murdering (as of now) 12 people and wounding dozens more.
My rule of thumb in these cases, absent any evidence, is to begin by assuming they are the work of madmen with thoughts and beliefs unthinkable to the vast, vast majority of us. Until investigators and reporters closer to the situation uncover more about the accused, I would argue that’s a good working basis for all of us.
At Hot Air, Mary Katharine Ham has compiled an excellent series of brief sketches from various news outlets about the 12 who have died so far (there are others with life-threatening wounds), complete with photos. I’m struck that survivors said five of the 12 died protecting others, including two soldiers and a Navy veteran who gave their lives.
***
This post is rather late in the day and pretty brief, and there are reasons for that. Among other things, I have a family funeral to attend tomorrow and two speaking engagements soon afterward for which I need to prepare today. I plan to post something tomorrow morning, but it may be a couple of days before I’m blogging on a regular schedule again. Thanks in advance for your patience, and please try to keep it clean on the comment threads in the meantime.
– By Kyle Wingfield
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
261 comments Add your comment
Rightwing Troll
July 24th, 2012
11:20 am
“Then tell me how the cities with the highest gun crime rate all have strict gun laws.
“I believe that we need to rethink how we regulate gun control in America.”
Same here. Ban criminals and gangs.”
It’s too bad Kyle won’t let us libs “comment” like he does the wingnuts… but whatever it’s his blog… It’s frightening how ugly it gets when you all wingnuts and your ilks get together in one place.
Anyway… I can’t help but notice that those same cities with gun laws and high crime rates already have laws against criminals and gangs… ergo that approach doesn’t work either.
Kyle Wingfield
July 24th, 2012
11:22 am
Rightwing Troll: You’re free to comment here as long as you follow the rules. See No. 2.
SBinF
July 24th, 2012
12:22 pm
I wonder why middle class murderers from the suburbs are “madmen” while gang banger murderers from the inner city are thugs.
The guy isn’t mad. He’s a killer. That’s it.
Logic was never intended for libs
July 24th, 2012
12:26 pm
“It’s too bad Kyle won’t let us libs “comment” like he does the wingnuts… but whatever it’s his blog… It’s frightening how ugly it gets when you all wingnuts and your ilks get together in one place.”
Too bad you can’t type a coherent sentence.
Rightwing Troll
July 24th, 2012
1:22 pm
What can I say… I’m a product of the GA education system… that’s what happens when you teach wingnuttery in schools instead of the 3 R’s…
md
July 24th, 2012
1:25 pm
“md: So expressing sympathy with the boy’s family, the people who have to live with the loss of their son, is premature? If Zimmerman is telling the truth, does that make the death of a teen-age son any less disturbing to his parents?”
Mr B….one can express sympathy without jumping to conclusions and possibly putting one’s foot in one’s mouth.
Let’s pretend that Martin turned out to have had more in his background than was/is currently known……suppose the guy was found to be a real honest to goodness thug…….
Now, apply his comment and see how it sounds…………that is why a smarter man would choose his words more carefully.
Common Cents
July 24th, 2012
1:33 pm
Weighing in on the gun control question, I don’t blame my tooth brush or my dentist when I get a cavity and I don’t blame uns for Holmes killing 12 people and injuring scores more. Do we need to make a better toothbrus? Definitely! Holmes should have never been able to stockpile the number of bombs, chemicals and weapons he did in such a short period of time. However, the ultimate responsibility lies with James Holmes and no one else. Not the NRA, not gun manufacturers,not hollywood for making movies and defintiely not his parents (who of course pushed him too hard and didn’t hug him enough).
gm
July 24th, 2012
4:43 pm
Wow, surprise he is not a Mulism from the brother hood, we have so many idiots like M. Bachman and scum bag R. Limbaugh and the racist Glen Beck, who are so bent on accusing people of color as terrorist yet all the major killings have been inside terrorist of sick white males.
gm
July 24th, 2012
4:52 pm
Amazing, Travon Martin had no record was only 17, walking home not bothering anyone yet he was killed and the right wing nut jobs accuse him of being a thug, and the killer goes on misinformed fox and make up a story because a dead man can not talk and the right makes him hero.
This monster kills 12 people and all you hear from the right he had a mental break down, and the right wonders why people around the world look at them as a bunch of bigots and hypocrites””””
Old Farmer
July 26th, 2012
3:54 pm
I do not think that Holmes is a madman. I do not believe he is legally insane. I believe he is putting on an act.
This man knew what he did was wrong. When he was caught he warned the cops that his apartment was full of explosives. This proves he knew right from wrong. A true madman would have seen no need to warn the cops.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
July 29th, 2012
1:38 am
Slick Rick: repeal of the “right to bear arms” is the only solution to our gun crazy problem.
———-
The fascist Democrat wet dream of dismantling the Bill of Rights is not an option.
And tell us why we should believe any effort to ban possession of firearms would be any more successful than the war on drugs.