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K-Mart Koulter Totally Would Have Beheaded The Beheader
Debbie Schlussel doesn’t know for sure yet if the Canadian Greyhound murderer is Muslim but she does know that she would have taken down the soon-to-be-determined jihadi at that rest stop back in Neepawa or better yet, before the high-ranking Hamas official even got on the bus.
Or she would have, but for the marginally mitigating factor that she wouldn’t have:
If I were in that situation, I’d probably run, too. But that’s because I’m a woman, and I’m tiny. I could not possibly overpower this murderer, though perhaps I’d try to kick him in the cojones to temporarily neutralize him.
But if Little Big Woman is man enough to admit her own frailty, she’s not so kind to the legion of eight-foot-tall professional mixed martial arts fighters who populate Manitoban long-haul passenger buses — which total fucking pussies had the craven impudence to flee a knife-wielding maniac brandishing a recently severed head without, you know, breaking his balls a little bit:
Most troubling to me is that, instead of pouncing on the beheader and stopping him from murdering an innocent person, the passengers on the bus all fled like cowards. A beheading from what I know from the videos we’ve been ‘treated’ to, by our friends in the ‘Religion of Peace,’ is not an instant thing. Hate to be graphic, but it’s not as quick and easy as cutting soft butter. And there was a lot of stabbing of the victim before that. It could have been stopped and no-one tried, from what I can gather from the story …
Schlussel is also wise not to discount, as a potential ingredient in the affair, the Kremlin’s standing order to its global operatives to behave at all times like sniveling cowards:
While I do not know if it has anything to do with nationality, I’m struck by what I can imagine was a bunch of scaredy-cat people (in this case, socialist Canadians), who didn’t want to risk of themselves to help this innocent victim of a brutal murder.
Alarmingly, not all of Schlussel’s readers agree with her measured reporting. Notes ‘guitarguy’:
….I’m not too sure I’d want to tackle a guy whose holding/using a ‘Rambo-knife’…..unless I had a baseball bat…..or a Desert Eagle. A bus is a confined environment, and this animal was already stabbing/hacking away at the passenger. The passenger was probably already beyond help after the 2nd or 3rd stab. The guy was described as ‘calm’, but no physical description is given. The screaming, the blood, the panic……I can’t fault the passengers for this one.
But the heresy of music-playing faggots does not go unanswered by Debbie’s defenders. Coming to her aid are such Hectors as ‘softwaregurus,’ whose fearsome screen name suggests a grim-visaged fellow who wrestles lines of programming code into place by the force of sheer masculinity alone:
Pussies!!!! On the bus and posting here. “I’m scared of someone with a knife…” COWARDS!!!!
Such is his disgust that by the close of his comment, ’softwaregurus’ seems to be channeling Patton channeling Gollum channeling Irvine Welsh:
There are lots of ways to take a knife away. How about some MEN stepping up, you know, like more than one? How about throwing a blanket over him? How about a tire iron? Bussess do hae them. Canadians=pussies.
Canadians=pussies, indeed. But what if there had been someone aboard who wasn’t a Canadian pussy? Someone or someones with, say, the blood of a more heroic nation coursing through their veins? Debbie wonders too:
That was in Canada.
I contrast that with the shoe bomber, Abdul Raheem a/k/a Richard Reid, on the Air France flight to Boston. American men on the plane — including a minor league basketball player –pounced on this guy and beat him black and blue like he deserved, saving the day.
In that instance, though, the people on the plane knew that if they didn’t stop him, they would all die. On the Canadian bus, they knew if they just ran away, only the victim would be hurt — in this case, fatally.
Would this happen in America?
Commenter ‘FreeAmerican’, not realizing that Debbie’s question is rhetorical — because, duh! — responds in the negative:
… a quick thinking American probably would have smashed this cat on the head with something strong enough to crush his skull a bit.
Our only issue is with the qualifier ‘probably’, but yes, of course that would have happened if an American had been present, seeing as how that’s always what happens when Americans are present.
Meanwhile, ‘FreeAmerican’ admits that the skull-crushing do-goodery he details might not have saved the victim’s life, seeing as how the poor fellow seems to have been stabbed to death with a ginormous knife before anyone could plausibly react. But that’s really beside the point. Quick-thinking American skull-crushers don’t restrict their quick-thinking skull-crushing to situations where actual lives can actually be saved — their willingness to engage in violent confrontations with armed maniacs extends even to aesthetic concerns:
I agree with FIVEOFNINE, that poor boy was in grave trouble after the first stab wound, but at least his body would have retained its human dignity.
Alas, we are finally left with the bitter realization that American testosterone cannot be everywhere present at once, leading to this wry but poignant bit of geopolitical melancholy from ‘Jeff_W’, with which we shall conclude:
To be fair it could happen anywhere, but probably even more so in America, Jr.
After all, they have so much of the Frenchy influence, and WE KNOW how zee French surennders at the drop of a hat and hope America does their dirty work.
Then, what a stupid country that sends us losers like Pam Anderson, Celine Dion, Michael J. Fox, and Bryan Adams among others and ends every single sentence with ‘Eh?’
The Truth said,
August 2, 2008 at 0:33
If softwareguru really commented
I really have to question his software guruness.
Ugh. Let me know when you children want to get serious again.
Marco said,
August 2, 2008 at 0:40
If College Republicans of service age have taught us anything, and they haven’t, they’ve taught us that right wingers will fly into the face of danger to confront any threat.
g said,
August 2, 2008 at 0:40
So, let’s see…. Canadians are all wusses cause they’re French, even in Manitoba, because they didn’t willingly walk into a flailing machete in a confined area..
But it would be awesome if those same wussy frenchified Canadians could carry concealed guns, then they’d have….what? If they were too wimpy to “kick the guy in the cojones” why do you suppose they’d been braver for carrying a gun?
Are they really trying out the theory that someone on the bus would have calculated - “well, I should do something about this, but since I was unable to bring a handgun on board, I guess I’ll just RUN!!”
And as for “kicking someone in the cojones” yes, Debbie, show me exactly how you’d go about kicking a guy whose cojones were facing his victim, in a confined environment, while he was waving a machete around.
and what is it about the French-sneers, anyway? Is it seriously true that there are actual people out there who are still eating Freedom Fries?
Doctorb said,
August 2, 2008 at 0:41
It’s only fair, though — after Katrina all the Canadian blogs were all “If this had happened in Canada, the relief efforts would have been under way while it was still raining” and “Canadians would have evacuated everyone, and if someone didn’t want to evacuate, they would say ‘Sorry, would you mind evacuating please eh?’ because these are extreme circumstances” and “In Canada we wouldn’t neglect our infrastructure so badly”.
Sophist FCD, in his rhadamanthine wisdom, said,
August 2, 2008 at 0:42
Well, sure, if it were an Amercian bus. Ours have have blankets and tire irons under every seat. This being a Canadian bus, however, the probably only had one tire iron, and probably kept it somewhere stupid like the tool kit instead of somewhere sensible where any passenger could can get at it.
softwaregurus said,
August 2, 2008 at 0:43
What do you mean, The Truth? I was saying “let Canadians equal pussies”.
Me = awesome
Arthur Flegenheimer said,
August 2, 2008 at 0:44
The fact is, I would subdued the young boy using French Canadian Bean Soup as we in the heartland are wont to do.
That is, I would have done so if I wasn’t dead. But that is central to my point.
g said,
August 2, 2008 at 0:46
Let me know when you children want to get serious again
We’ll do that. Don’t do anything till you hear from us, okay?
Marco said,
August 2, 2008 at 0:47
Isn’t throwing a blanket over this guy kinda wuss, too? I mean, why make him cozy and comfy? And God knows knives rarely cut through fabrics.
g said,
August 2, 2008 at 0:47
How about throwing a blanket over him? How about a tire iron? Bussess do hae them.
Yep, this guy would be first out the door, see. “No, really, I was only going to get a tire iron and go back in there….Yeah, that’s the ticket!”
g said,
August 2, 2008 at 0:48
What I want to know is - why were there no Unitarians on that bus?
Djur said,
August 2, 2008 at 0:51
Any REAL MAN has a blunt instrument on hand for tackling beheaders, Musselmanners, jihadis, and so forth — his thick, meaty dong. If Jeff Goldstein had been there, that stabber wouldn’t have had a chance — it’d be like being pummelled by a million egg noodles, all alike.
bughunter said,
August 2, 2008 at 0:55
You can be certain that if Lil’ Debbie were on that bus, she’d be just as stabbergasted as the rest of the Canukistanis thereon.
sniflheim said,
August 2, 2008 at 0:57
Instead, they got off the bus and trapped him inside, neutralizing him with no more blood spilled. The accursed northern vaginas.
The Truth said,
August 2, 2008 at 0:57
Am I really going to get sucked into a discussion of equivalency versus assignment?
S,Y!
mikey said,
August 2, 2008 at 0:58
Yeah. Sure. Tellya what.
Go find somebody with serious training and experience.
Specops, Lurp, even some wannabe at Gunsight Ranch.
Ask ‘em what they would advise for the situation bare hands vs. knife.
Especially considering it was already knife 1, passengers nothing, bottom of the first.
EVERY SINGLE ONE will tell you to disengage unless cornered. Do NOT take this dood on under those circumstances if you have the option to run.
It’s an unfortunate outcome, but it was about as good as it coulda been.
One dead, one in custody. Not three dead, five hurt, one in custody.
See, it’s pretty hard to do any better under the circumstances…
mikey
DragonScholar said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:00
The Canadians==wimps thing always amazes me, and really indicates how the wingnutosphere is based on having someone to hate.
These people are our largest trading partners. They went into WW II before the US did. They’ve got a stable society, a nice economy, with low violence (despite these horror stories). Plus, when you see their military in action, it’s pretty effective. They just don’t use it as a substitute for actual maturity and masculinity.
MzNicky said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:01
Hey, dammit! You guys are posting so much stuff lately I am forced to come into the threads late! Because they expect me to do WORK at my job lately, which unfortunately is cutting into my important BLOG time! Now I gotta go catch up on the stuff below.
Not that I’m complaining. About yous guyz, anyway.
For this and so many other reasons, I hate my phoney-baloney job, gentlemen!
FuriousGeorge said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:02
But that’s because I’m a woman, and I’m tiny.
Debbie obviously hasn’t looked in a mirror recently.
Zing!
mikey said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:03
In honor of MzNicky, I’m calling it a week.
I’m gonna blow this popstand…
mikey
g said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:14
Because they expect me to do WORK at my job lately, which unfortunately is cutting into my important BLOG time!
I got the same problem. It’s totally unfiar.
D. Aristophanes said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:15
The lesson here is that, despite the fact that the reactions of human beings who experience rapid escalations of personally threatening violence tend to map pretty much exactly to the reactions of these Canadian Greyhound passengers, I would have totally leapt cat-like into action and taken away the guy’s knife and done a Zorro sword flick that made his pants fall down and then I defuse the bomb and rescue the little baby and when it looks like it’s all over the guy totally rose from the dead and everybody in the movie theater was like, ‘Look out’ and it totally looked like he was going to kill me but I totally buried the knife that I still had in his chest from like 30 yards out and then I was all ‘Stick around!’ after the knife was sticking out of his chest and then the cops showed up and I was all ‘What took you so long?’ and they were all ‘O’Halloran! We shoulda known it was you!’ because in this one my character’s name is ‘O’Halloran’ and I’m an ex-cop who got framed by a corrupt district attorney.
Jeopardude said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:19
This reminds me to dredge up those bloggers who were all “I would’ve MacGyvered a bow and arrow out of my spiral notebook and pencil and shot the Virginia Tech shooter in the FUCKING EYE? unlike those pussy liberal students” and see if they commented on the brave Unitarian who took bullets– I repeat, took fucking bullets — to protect others in the church while others took the asshole shooter down.
I’m sure they’re full of gushing admiration.
Me said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:23
I notice the right blogosphere in general has failed to comment on how those pussified liberal Americans in that faggoty Unitarian Church wrestled a shotgun-wielding maniac to the ground while he was still firing. Guess that wouldn’t have fit their narrative.
HumboldtBlue said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:25
I bet that bus was filled with a bunch of Canadian lumberjacks, you know what I mean *wink wink*.
And yeah, totally, if I were on the bus my first instinct when I heard the commotion in back of me, turned around and saw Sweeney Todd going all butcher shop horror on this poor soul, I would have leapt from my seat, done a double backflip (pike position) landed squarely on his shoulders and proceeded to do a kato-chop to the neck to subdue him.
Then I would have stumbled around a bit. clumsily knocking into things like intestines and gallons of clotted blood, all the while mumbling in a very Frnch-like way to myself.
Me said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:27
Jeopardude, guess I should read comments before posting. Thanks for saying it better than I did.
Nathan said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:29
Does it ruin her beyond-offensive, corpse-defiling, non-point to point out that two passenger did go grab a crowbar and a hammer once they were off the bus (where such things are kept)?
Gundamhead said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:30
God, these people are pathetic. I guess it makes them feel better thinking that they, or “Americans” (like those faggy, gun controlling, dhimmicrat Unitarians maybe?) would reacted differently. I don’t know, maybe softwareguru is some heroic badass with ice in his veins, who wouldn’t hesitate to jump a murderer wielding a huge bloody knife.
I don’t know, but I kind of doubt it.
Nathan said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:31
That would be “passengers.” Plural.
And yes, I’m Canadian.
Gary Ruppert Number Two said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:38
The fact is, all anyone on that bus had to do was use the Vulcan nerve pinch on the guy. I can’t believe no one thought to do that. It’s criminal negligence.
Blue Buddha said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:40
“You will also notice that your seat cushion also serves as a flotation device. Underneath the seat cushion is a heavy blunt object in the rare instance of a drikadrikajihad!!! attack.”
D. Aristophanes said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:43
Underneath the seat cushion is a heavy blunt object in the rare instance of a drikadrikajihad!!! attack.
‘Rare’? How blind you are to your impending dhimmitude, my liberal friend.
MzNicky said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:44
I got the same problem. It’s totally unfair.
g: That it is. TGIF more than evar this week. To deconstruct and mock right-wingers at S,N! is my reward for having made it through til today without having vomited upon and then punched out my boss.
noen said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:45
softwareguru is a pussy. pfffftt… Real Programmers set the universal constant such the the universe evolves the disk with the data they want.
MzNicky said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:46
Me at 1:23: Thank you darling person.
paul said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:48
You can’t expect intellectual shut-ins who rarely leave the basement to have any direct experience of our Northern Neighbor. Or to have remembered that historically, Canadians and Americans come from common stock.
I hope some of the loudest of these losers has an opportunity to Show Us How It’s Done. Do they all have concealed carry permits? Hand-to-hand training? Or are they just pipe-dreaming Walter Mitty-esque blowhards?
robert green said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:48
this is one of those times i feel like i’m watching performance art. this whole far-right-blog-commenter universe. it just has to be. there is simply so much cognitive dissonance on display here that i can’t believe they don’t all disappear in a cloud of quantum smoke.
Jeff Fecke said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:49
They’re absolutely right — this never would happen in America. In America, the crazy guy would have had a gun, and would have taken out several more people.
This is proof that Canada sucks.
MzNicky said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:51
By the way, may I suggest that Fox “News” is one of the greatest indictments against the capitalist system ever. Rupert Murdoch, if I understand anything at all about spirituality, is the Antichrist.
pedestrian said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:54
The attacker had an Asian-sounding name, so we probably would have invaded an Asian country. North Korea and China are the biggest threats to our security, but Japan is easier and has more stuff that we want. Plus, Japan bans American beef, which is totally undemocratic and unfree. Why, they would probably welcome us with ikebana and sushi!
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:54
What Debbie doesn’t know is that by the time the first witness saw what was happening the victim had been stabbed in the throat 6 or 7 times (deeply) with a large butcher knife and by the time the second witness jumped up - who happened to be a guy in the armed forces - the men pretty much knew it was too late (arterial blood was spraying the entire back of the bus) and to get everyone off the bus as quickly as possible, which they and the bus driver did. It happened incredibly fast. The police said the passengers acted exactly as they should have acted and that the men on the scene who kept the perpetrator from opening the doors to get out, prevented more carnage.
These armchair wingnuts make me sick with their accusations. Here are these poor cops, women, children and men who have to live with what they’ve witnessed for the rest of their lives. You’d think they’d get some sympathy and support for what they’ve been through, but no. Thuffering Thlussel has to weigh in with her caped crusader declarations of courage and bravery…such as she’s never had to demonstrate at any time in her putrid life.
The murderer has said nothing, nobody knows why he did it. They don’t know much about him yet, but he’s clearly very loonie toons since he also cannibalized the body after beheading and gutting it on the bus. I’ve yet to hear of a political terrorist - however fucked up - cannibalizing bodies.
Gary Ruppert Number Two said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:58
Awesome. Thousands of blogs of all types on Blogger get locked out, and Gun Counter Gomer thinks it’s a conspiracy of Obama supporters to shut down wingnut blogs.
mikey said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:59
I’ve yet to hear of a political terrorist - however fucked up - cannibalizing bodies.
I’m pretty sure the only one who has ever done so was Barack Obama.
Of course, he was much younger then…
mikey
g said,
August 2, 2008 at 1:59
I don’t know when the last time was that Debbie or her commenter took a plane trip, or even a Bus trip, but next time you’re on one, check out the arrangement of seats and aisles and stuff, and just imagine how easy it would be to judo-chop a knife-weilding assailant a couple rows back (or forward! - imagine being trapped in the rows behind this mayhem! yikes!)
For one thing, visibility is so poor you’re not even sure what’s going on two rows behind you. Plus, you can’t move if one other person is in the aisle. Unless Our Hero flung himself over the seatbacks of several rows of seats, tacking the Bad Guy while lying prone on top of the heads of his fellow passengers, I don’t see this situation as one where you’d be attacking from strength.
SamFromUtah said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:01
I’ve yet to hear of a political terrorist - however fucked up - cannibalizing bodies.
That does make it sound like the guy was / is wacka-wacka. Have Li’l Debbie’s commenters argued that Islam requires you to eat the bodies of infidels or anything like that?
D. Aristophanes said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:02
Someone please register to comment on her site as ‘Passenger Heinz 57′ and talk about how much ass you would have kicked on that bus.
J— said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:03
I’m sorry for going off topic, but I have some important, trouble news to share. McCain is winning the Web War over Obama. I know this because some McCain interns did a spreadsheet.
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:05
someone should set up a simulated event for Debbie and that civilian softwareguy. It’ll be totally fake of course, but they won’t know that. throw some burly actor on board with a fake knife and put up a cam to record Debbie and softwareguy saving the day. (Of course, the two of them will be running screaming from the bus, trampling old women and school children on the way…but it would be nice to have it on the permanent record. T’would keep them quiet the next time some event occurs and they claim they’re better and braver than other people).
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:08
SamFromUtah said,
That does make it sound like the guy was / is wacka-wacka. Have Li’l Debbie’s commenters argued that Islam requires you to eat the bodies of infidels or anything like that?
Not them, but a several wingnuts from the US dropped in on a CBC comment thread late last night saying that the Koran has chapters on eating the flesh of your enemies. I asked the moderator to delete their comments (because they were fanning the flames of hatred against Muslims) but she deleted mine instead. That’s when I deleted my account with the CBC.
pedestrian said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:10
Didn’t Obama cut off the head of a classmate when he was 9? I’ll bet he’s responsible . Even if it is proven (and it hasn’t been yet!) that he didn’t do it, he clearly inspired it.
D. Aristophanes said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:12
After Obama cut of the head of that classmate the files mysteriously disappeared from the house of the former Chicago city comptroller he was too much of a pussy to crush the skull of with something strong enough.
Leonard Pierce said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:14
This is my most favoritest thing ever:
Yes, let’s consider that conversation in the afterlife, shall we?
“So, pal, how did you die?”
“Well, I was out of work, and I traveled to the city to try and get a job. But my bad luck just kept on coming — I couldn’t get a job, and I had to go back home in shame. I had no money so I had to ride the bus, and that was where it ended.”
“Wow, tough break. What, did the bus crash?”
“Nah, I was taking a nap, and all of the sudden some goddamn maniac stabbed me in the neck six times with a butcher knife. I died in horrible pain, with my blood sprayed all over the back of the bus like in a samurai movie, pissing and shitting myself, screaming inside because I had no idea what was happening to me or why, and my own gore hanging down over the front of my last clean shirt.”
“Jesus.”
“Worse still, a bunch of crazy political cranks from another country used my death as a political football to alternately scare themselves over a nonexistent terrorist attack and criticize my countrymen for being a bunch of commie wimps. They got so heated up about it that they confused me with the guy who murdered me.”
“Unbelievable. Man, that’s rough, fella.”
“Well, it could be worse.”
“Really? How?”
“One of the other passengers tackled the guy before he finished sawing my head off with a butcher knife, so at least I kept my dignity.”
SamFromUtah said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:15
That’s when I deleted my account with the CBC.
Holy shit - I don’t blame you.
Nathan T said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:16
It’s strange how these far-right loons (thx bildo) talk about taking out this guy when they have had ample time to sign up and take out some real beheaders? Pussies talk shit, those with real balls get shit done. Those keyboard warriors forget WW1, WW2 and the Stan (JTF2 were the first boots on the ground) and countless peacekeeping mission. And at times I’ll say fuck Canada too, cause ultra patriots are fucking spineless weasels. Lastly, you’ll find about as many french speakers in Manitoba as you will in Kentucky, there are in quebec and those that boarder it.
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:18
g said,
I don’t know when the last time was that Debbie or her commenter took a plane trip, or even a Bus trip, but next time you’re on one, check out the arrangement of seats and aisles and stuff, and just imagine how easy it would be to judo-chop a knife-weilding assailant a couple rows back (or forward! - imagine being trapped in the rows behind this mayhem! yikes!)
The victim (22 year old, 5′5″) was at the back of the bus in a window seat asleep with his headphones on. The murderer was sitting at the front. The murderer got up, walked to wear this kid he didn’t know and had never met before was sitting and asked politely if he could sit down. The kid barely woke up and said go ahead and fell asleep again. The bus was dark, overhead lights were out…it’s dark, quiet, people are reading, watching a movie. And then next thing the passenger just ahead of the victim hears terrible sounds and sees the big thug holding this poor kid up and stabbing him repeatedly. It happened incredibly fast. No one had time to react…there was no warning, nothing. Even when people were running out of the bus many didn’t even know a stabbing was going on, they were just reacting to being urged to get out. Tossing kids ahead, clambering over seats, etc. The middle aisle is very narrow and permits single file only. Three men (including a passing trucker who stopped when he saw the commotion, were armed with various things like a crowbar and a hammer and they could not get at the killer. They tried…they couldn’t stop it. I can only imagine what they must be living with. The guilt they should not have to carry. And for them to have to listen to these armchair caped crusader morons speculating about what they would have done is sickening. Ditto for what the cops are going through. People are calling the cops cowards and pussies for not shooting the murderer (after the killing) - as if they’re going to do such a thing in front of little kids and mothers standing outside. Good grief. They contained the loon and got him out. But by the time they got there the victim was long gone.
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:21
wear=where. I’m tired today. Couldn’t sleep after that news story.
pedestrian said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:22
They don’t know much about him yet, but he’s clearly very loonie toons since he also cannibalized the body after beheading and gutting it on the bus.
Ah, then he definately wasn’t a Muslim. It isn’t halal unless you drain all the blood out of your victim before eating.
David said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:22
….wait, how were they supposed to help the dead guy, exactly? Does she think that kicking the psychopath in the nuts would have spontaneously reattached his victim’s head to his neck?
alec said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:23
Leonard Pierce: *awards you the Internet*
Lesley: in-re CBC: Christ. In-re the other thing - absolutely. It’s hard to even imagine what it is in these pathetic churls’ lives that makes them mistake the real world for a Die Hard sequel.
Terrence and Philip said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:25
We’re not your ally, buddy!
We’re not your buddy, guy!
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:27
here’s what’s very likely given what’s known.
The murderer has no criminal record. he appears to be a loner. He’s 40. he’s probably got a history of mental illness/schizophrenia what have you. The Canadian government has reduced funding for mental health services and many mentally ill people are now left to fend for themselves on the streets. Some are dangerous to themselves and others. They should be institutionalized but our neocon gov’ts don’t want to pay for that. So they’re out there wandering around like powder kegs set to blow. In an environment like that you can’t control their medication or ensure they are taking it, you can’t monitor where they are or what they’re thinking or feeling. They fall through the cracks. And presto, one day one of them goes ballistic on a bus in the middle of the night. It could have happened anywhere. I blame the government for its messed up priorities. People like Debbie will blame Osama bin Laden and the Koran even though the perp is Chinese and probably some long lost loner looniet who should be in a home medicated up the ying yang somewhere.
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:34
well..haha re kicking him in the nuts would reattachthe head. he decapitated and gutted the guy after everyone was off the bus. Then brought the head to the door and held it up at a window for all the children to see.
I’m sure if someone had had a gun at that point they would have fired it, but Canadians don’t carry loaded fire arms like Americans do. That’s another thing Americans are saying…if our gun laws weren’t so strict someone could have shot him, but I’m picturing a crowded bus, screaming frantic passengers, a knife wielding nut and some civilian or more than one firing a gun would have resulted in a horrifying slaughter. Maybe later through the bus window would have been satisfying, but I don’t see how that would lessen the trauma of the children and adult witnesses. Just more killing.
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:39
sorry for the graphic details. I’ll put an end to that now. if some of those right wing gomer pyles are in the thread maybe they’ll think twice before making assumptions and spouting off the usual bullshit coulda woulda shouldas. dipshits.
if they want to be useful, they can send some kind thoughts to Tim McClean’s family and wish the passengers and cops well who faced that nightmare first hand and have to clean up the mess. otherwise they should just shut the fuck up.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:39
Well I don’t know about any software gurus or framed cops or ex-special forces guys but I’m pretty sure I would not have run away.
.
.
.
I’d have stood frozen in fear and horror and hopefully someone would have dragged me to safety. Also I might have pooped myself.
J— said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:43
The Canadian government has reduced funding for mental health services and many mentally ill people are now left to fend for themselves on the streets. Some are dangerous to themselves and others.
When I read what he did to the victim, I thought, “This sounds like someone who should have been institutionalized or at least closely monitored. The guy was probably in a different world when he did what he did, one in which his reality at the time had little or nothing to do with that of the others on the bus.”
Fozzetti said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:53
What’ve they got against Pam Anderson. She was in the first movie to filmed entirely in Slow Motion!
J— said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:53
Yuck. The updates at Schlussel just make it worser and worser.
mikey said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:54
Look. This is getting drooling crazy.
We kinda need to stand down on this.
I mean, bad things happen. This was one murder.
National Enquirerer level bizarre, but just another homicide.
It’s not fodder for breathless ranting on either side. And just because many right wing nutjobs have superhero/action hero/war movie fantasies, the question really kind of has to arise. Is there something more egregiously fucked up we could focus on?
Maybe Anthrax or offshore drilling?
No?
Sorry. Carry on…
mikey
pedestrian said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:54
The Canadian government has reduced funding for mental health services and many mentally ill people are now left to fend for themselves on the streets
So it all comes back to Reagan.
The guy was probably in a different world when he did what he did, one in which his reality at the time had little or nothing to do with that of the others on the bus
I immediately thought of the animal rights literature i’ve read that links concentration camps with factory farms, etc. Here you have someone treating a human like we typically treat a farm animal. I’m not blaming cheeseburgers for what this monster did, but it makes more sense than immediately jumping to “Must be a Muslim”.
ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:56
D. Aristophanes said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:02
Someone please register to comment on her site as ‘Passenger Heinz 57? and talk about how much ass you would have kicked on that bus.
How about as LEEEEEEEEROY JANNNNNNNNNNNKKKKKINNSSSS!!
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 2:59
Yes J. When he appeared in court today he was downcast and silent. He couldn’t even reply to the judge. I think he’s just very sick and this is one of those senseless events that can never be explained to anyone’s satisfaction. What infuriates me is that this guy - if he has a history of mental illness and I can’t see this guy not being on file somewhere - why wasn’t he under lock and key. That is a question the government has to answer and account for. He has no criminal history so the justice system can’t be held accountable for him. But no citizen of this country should be cast adrift like this. In my mind it is criminal. Not just to the victim but to the murderer. Everyone. This event symbolizes everything that is going wrong in this country with social policy. I think this is why it kept me awake all night and upset. Extreme violence is not rare anymore. These are no longer isolated events that can never happen again. I very much suspect it could happen again because Canada has stopped caring about its citizens. For Christ sake, in BC now, Hep C sufferers are being denied medical treatment. Some are dying. This is what is happening, all in the name of saving a buck. I hate it. I’m ashamed. In some ways, you could say the government killed Tim McClean. It’s a strong statement but I think it’s overdue. They are putting our lives at risk all in the name of deep integration, keeping the corporations well fed, making a buck. I hate them for it. It’s a profound grief I feel about the end of this fledgling little democracy that seemed get its start in the 60s and abruptly end in the mid-eighties. It’s been nothing but down hill all the way since then.
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 3:05
Mikey you’re right in a way, but this is a pretty big deal in Canada. We may have the second largest land mass but our population is small. Until recently, homicide numbers have been very low and most are the result of domestic disputes or they are gang related, not random like this. You just don’t see shit like this here. It’s very weird. Anyway, you’re probably right and we’re just getting melodramatic about it. Still, I’ll be interested to know more about the history of the loon. If he’s another homeless outcast or someone who wandered away from yet another inept underfunded halfway house, there will be hell to pay I think.
Oh no you don't! said,
August 2, 2008 at 3:08
I wonder if that moron has been in an actual street fight? Okay, it is a rhetorical question. I have been in one in New York. Well Queens, but that is almost New York. And I wasn’t in it because I thought, gee, this guy has killed someone and I need to protect the dignity of the victim. I was because I thought, holy shit this guy may be trying to kill me (he was robbing my car at the time and I stumbled on it and he moved at me) and unless I hurt him really badly he may. And once I realized that he was hurt and running I stopped chasing him and started running in the opposite direction screaming for the cops. Anyone who would go after someone killing someone with a knife in that situation, when the is probably already dead is an absolute and complete moron. Well, or a liar in this rather putative case. Oh, and I’m from the US and not even one of those East Coasters. I was born in the midwest.
Kate said,
August 2, 2008 at 3:15
This is a seriously horrible thing that happened. Seriously. Horrible. Also, Debbie Schlussel is a ridiculous person who has watched far too many action movies and who is an asshole to boot.
The real tragedy, however (if I may), is that this, my actual favorite site on the internet, remains blocked at my work. If I cannot get a Congressional hearing on this soon, I may vote for McCain.
Kate said,
August 2, 2008 at 3:18
I might have staged a sit-in on the Congressional floor, but the goddamned Republicans already did that today, so maybe I’ll just set myself on fire. Wait, that might have been a good thing for the people on that bus to have done…where on earth were the US flamethrowers like the one I keep under the seat of my car?
God, Canadians. So unprepared.
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 3:19
Neepawa is the boonies for sure. My mother grew up there, attended a one room school house until she went to university. Margaret Laurence and she attended the same little school. Different grades, different rows, one teacher. Another time, altogether.
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 3:22
Kate, I experience the same thing but I write to the net nanny web master bot thingy and it or they usually open up the sites. They even blocked the economist magazine, the morons. There’s usually no rhyme or reason to net nannies. For example, they blocked access to the actual whitehouse, but allowed whitehouse.com which is or was a porn site. (We didn’t let them know right away…)
MileHi Hawkeye said,
August 2, 2008 at 3:57
I’m so adding this to the list of reasons for sitting near the doors on the bus.
His Grace said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:00
Lesley, I don’t know what to say here, except please spare the guess-diagnosis. Obviously the man is disturbed, but speaking as a Canadian Schizophrenic just lay of on the diagnoses ok? He might be one, he might not be. Until he’s evaluated please refuse from commenting on the specifics of his illness. I’m having a hard enough day writing letters on the freakin’ bigotry about this whole thing as it is. Not all of us mental patients are powder kegs believe me.
J— said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:00
I wouldn’t call this guy a monster. He’s human, just like the rest of us. A broken human, no doubt, perhaps for the moment he did what he did, or for a longer stretch of time that contained this horrible moment, or maybe more permanently, and we don’t know which part or parts didn’t or don’t work. But that doesn’t render him unhuman.
Chief Brody, Amity Island said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:03
You’re gonna need a bigger blog.
Some Guy said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:07
“But that’s because I’m a woman, and I’m tiny.”
What a pussy.
My best friend is 5′4″, tops, and didn’t break 100 pounds until high school, and she would be more then willing and able to take down a full-size male assailant.
“Most troubling to me is that, instead of pouncing on the beheader and stopping him from murdering an innocent person, the passengers on the bus all fled like cowards.”
Wait, she just said that SHE’D run too.
“And there was a lot of stabbing of the victim before that. It could have been stopped and no-one tried, … ”
But not her of course. She’s too frail and petite. And a total pussy. (see above).
“I’m struck by what I can imagine was a bunch of scaredy-cat people (in this case, socialist Canadians),”
Well she’s have to imagine what they looked like, wouldn’t she? Seeing as how in her very first paragraph, she openly stated that she would be pushing strollers and elderly out of her way as she fled the scene, I don’t think she’s have much time to get a good look.
“How about throwing a blanket over him? How about a tire iron?”
I ALWAYS pack blankets and tire irons on my bus trips.
mikey said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:11
J– and Grace add a desperately needed dose of humanity to what was becoming nothing more than a second grade playground argument.
I woulda…
You would not…
Fuck that.
You want to know the truth? Killing’s easy. Guns, knives, hell, I almost went to prison for crippling a guy with a piece of metal. I threw an asshole roomate out a second floor window. He broke in several places.
There’s nothing special about the dood that killed, the dood that died or the people who happened to be on the bus. We’re a violent bunch. I’ve lived with madness and violence for what, close to five decades.
And ultimately? There’s no answer.
Or maybe there is. Treasure your time here. Love and support each other. Make love passionately and often. Weapons aren’t bad, motives are. We are neither the sum of our things nor are we the measure of our worst motivations. Sometimes we hurt, sometimes we lash out. Sometimes we do something courageous, or at least we don’t back down in front of something we can recognize as evil.
But there ARE answers. We know what we can do. Should do. Might do. Let’s just know that we have within us the capacity to do magnificent evil. And sometimes we do something better than that. And maybe that’s all we can ever aspire to?
mikey
zuzu's petals said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:16
I’m only sorry that she typed this inanity rather than blathered it on Faux News.
I guess we just have to imagine her bad Rachel Dratch impression.
commie atheist said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:20
Speaking of cheetos:
http://suzatlarge.wordpress.com/2006/05/03/the-jesus-cheetoh/
Wait, what?
g said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:26
I think, too, in the IslamoFacist Terror Handbook (3rd Edition, 2008) they recommend attacks be carried out in public places in order to inflict mass terror and take out a lot of individuals and/or inflict a lot of property or institutional damage.
I’m not aware of any directive to followers that killing single young travellers in the middle of the night, in the back of a bus, in rural Manitoba forwards the cause of Jihad.
the fact that the right-wingers are wetting their pants over the idea that the Caliphate is going to conquer us by stealth one-on-one warfare, in the back of Greyhound buses, is hysterical.
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:28
His Grace, my apologies for the comment about schizophrenia. I should have left it with “mentally ill” since clearly someone who slaughters someone randomly on a bus like this cannot be in his “right mind” however you want to take that. I sincerely didn’t intend a slur there.
_____________
Somehow Mikey…you’re hitting my last nerve again. Maybe I’m completely misinterpreting but I think you’re directing your comments at me. Giving you the benefit of the doubt …perhaps you’re attempting to get me and possibly others to “see the light” but shitting all over us for not having the benefit of your war experience or experience with violence and seeing life or the event the way you do doesn’t make me warm to your statements. (been here before.)
As for none of the people involved being special, I disagree. They are special to someone. This is the ultimate tragedy. If people aren’t special, your subsequent statements about aiming for greatness and loving one another mean very little, if anything at all.
If you look up the thread to an earlier post of mine I was saying that people who venture into coulda shoulda woulda territory with this event need to STFU. I realize that includes me, but since I’ve had no sleep and it’s been weighing on my mind, grant me some space. There are elements of this story that are close to me. Some of that is merely geography.
I will speak freely about what goes on in my country any way or time I please. If you don’t like it or think you know more about what goes on here when you don’t live here and know squat about it’s sociopolitical history, you’re wrong.
You can put my comments on ignore. Your choice.
If I’ve read you wrong I’m sorry, but this wouldn’t be the first time you’ve jumped all over me and I just don’t put up with that shit from anybody. Even heroic admired old you.
g said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:28
Oh, wow, Lesley. I love Margaret Laurence’s books.
Joy said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:29
OK, I got lost at the point where she said she was tiny.
D.N. Nation said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:30
The fact is, shit once again i’m trolling ye olde sadlyno while fuck diddily ding dong heh indoozily fucked up and i mean FUKED UP and for sake of ocnsidering the fact thatoconcerning this than ad the other, and the other, for sake of loving yes, well here we are sodd off and suck one and here we are regarless of whatever human condition be best to be bringins us here yes
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:31
I think it’s fair also to say for all the jumping on me on the mental illness statements that I’ve faulted less the murderer than the government. And I do have some authority on that. There are plenty who have a lynch mob mentality when it comes to this guy. I do not. So take it easy.
D.N. Nation said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:34
lesley chicekn marsala for king ans dus for sake of us su us, sure, yes, there be a piece awaiting, yes sure
g said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:37
It’s really the same situation as here when some
crazedguy (sorry for using a charged adjective) pushes someone under a subway train in NYC.it’s tragic, it has a lot to do with the Mental Health system, and it’s - fortunately - rare.
Lesley, I don’t know anything about the Canadian system, but I would wager that bad as it is it’s marginally better than the system in the US.
g said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:37
Whoa, DN. Hope you’re not driving.
Gary Ruppert Number Two said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:37
Lesley, I don’t know what to say here, except please spare the guess-diagnosis. [...] Not all of us mental patients are powder kegs believe me.
The fact is, I second that motion. I worked in a psych ICU for a while going through school, and it was very enlightening. I worked with many, many patients with schizophrenia who had stopped taking their medication (often why they ended up in the hospital), and only one ever made me feel unsafe around them for a period, and even she still wouldn’t have hurt anyone (just liked to make you think she would). I would notice in their charts that most were educated professionals with solid career and family lives, and would usually be turned around within a few days, ready to go back to their lives, with many people they knew probably never having a clue about their diagnosis.
There certainly were diagnoses that I learned quickly were a sign of possible serious trouble with staff or other patients, which I won’t mention out of respect, but schizophrenia wasn’t one of them.
People should refrain from Bill Frist unqualified clairvoyant diagnoses of this guy.
D.N. Nation said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:38
better b e huge rusre yes
mikey said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:38
Hey Leslie.
2 things.
1.
It’s NOT all about you.
2.
I couldn’t care less if your last nerve went to thailand and bought a house on stilts.
Jeez, woman, get out of your own shit for three seconds and start thinking about what is important.
Important. You know. To people? You know about people, right? I mean, other than your own sorry ass?
Or don’t. ‘Cause know what? Who gives a fuck and a half?
mikey
Chief Brody, Amity Island said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:38
Whoa, DN. Hope you’re not driving.
Or diving, for that matter.
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:39
G, I read all of her books as an adolescent and was tickled to find out that my mother and she were mates at school. Her novels gave me plenty of insight into my mother’s life as many of them are set in Neepawa (fictionalized as Manawaka).
henry lewis said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:41
Margaret Laurence and she attended the same little school.
Small world and all that, Leslie.
When I was 5 or 6 years old I lived a block away from Ms. Laurence (west side of Vancouver). I used to play with her son, David.
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:42
yeah, Mikey I know it’s not all about me. right back at you.
but you have this way of shitting on me and I’m reacting to it. I don’t like it or appreciate it and often I’d just like to put a clamp on your tendency to judge what you do not know.
I want to respect you, but you make it hard sometimes. This is going to get me into hot water for sure, because you’re regarded highly here. I’m just going with my gut instincts.
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:45
see, mikey you’re interpreting all of my comments one way that has nothing to do with who I am or even what I’m saying. You’ve made all kinds of assumptions that aren’t true. You do that with people sometimes. Assume they are assholes. That’s fine. You’re entitled, but like I said before, ignore who and what you don’t like here. I’m not asking you to like me. Just lay the fuck off occasionally, if you can. It’s not like I’m the enemy of compassion or liberalism or your ideals.
g said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:49
Aw, dammit, here I wanted to hear more about Margaret Laurence n you guys are gonna get in a fight. [pouts]
henry lewis said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:50
Whoops. Sorry. I should have written Lesley.
Ummm…
Hey, you two. Get a room.
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:51
H Lewis or G, have either of you seen the film version of The Stone Angel? I’ve resisted but I hear it’s good.
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:54
fight’s over. i don’t like fighting, but I will defend myself. i don’t hate schizophrenics and I’m not a melodramatist knowitall. I do know A LOT about government and how it works and policy decisions. And how these affect vulnerable people.
I have been affected by this story…it’s a little close to home. Lots of Canadians have been affected by it. I’m ok with that. It’s humanity trying to sort shit out. Any how, moving along. It’s not about me… :)
henry lewis said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:54
I can’t tell you much, g, except I remember a hole in their backyard (construction?) that we filled with water from the garden hose and called a swimming pool.
My Mom visited with her a few times but it’s too late to call.
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 4:58
West vancouver must have resembled rural cottage country in those days, HL. It was where people travelled to go on holiday from Vancouver. So much has changed.
henry lewis said,
August 2, 2008 at 5:00
Lesley, no. And I’ve only read one of her books (so long ago). That probably makes me a lame-ass.
This makes a nice reminder, though, doesn’t it. Thanks.
Gonna go watch that Dylan movie with all the different actors playing Bob…
mikey said,
August 2, 2008 at 5:03
I’ve given up trying to figure out how I ran afoul of Leslie.
I wrote what I felt. I do that. You don’t have to buy it.
But to be insulted by it? I just don’t get it.
Lesley. Hopefully for the last time. I don’t know you. I don’t have any problem with what you do or who you are. I do not write comments on sadly no directed at you. You can relax. I’m neither out to get you, nor do I feel we have some kind of problem. Frankly, you aren’t in my world.
Any belief or feeling that I am somehow targeting or picking on you exists only in your world. Not in mine. So do your thing. Make your points. Write what you believe.
And fer gawds sake, relax, ok?
mikey
henry lewis said,
August 2, 2008 at 5:08
Sorry, Lesley, west SIDE of Vancouver. West 21st Ave. just east of Dunbar St.
But yes, it was a different town then.
[sigh...]
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 5:12
Mikey:
2.
I couldn’t care less if your last nerve went to thailand and bought a house on stilts.
Jeez, woman, get out of your own shit for three seconds and start thinking about what is important.
Important. You know. To people? You know about people, right? I mean, other than your own sorry ass?
Or don’t. ‘Cause know what? Who gives a fuck and a half?
Looks like a lack of respect and assumptions to me. according to you
a) I’m a narcissist
b) I don’t know shit about anything, especially what’s important. To People!
c) or don’t change bitch. no one gives a fuck anyway.
you uh are going to need to change up your approach to this here people, because I’m not seeing kind indifference in your words. If you think this is a reasonable approach to another human being, may be just keep your thoughts to yourself.
This doesn’t work for me.
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 5:13
italics should have ended before “Looks…”
George Smiley said,
August 2, 2008 at 5:14
Canadians? Buncha cowards. Duh.
http://members.shaw.ca/junobeach/index.htm
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 5:14
henry, I live on the west side. near ubc. it’s pretty nice.
mikey said,
August 2, 2008 at 5:15
I just went up and checked.
Under the ROE, you opened fire.
THEN you wanted respect?
Can’t have it both ways, babe.
You’ve lost my respect. Pretty much forever.
But keep bringin it if you’ve got nothing better to do…
mikey
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 5:16
what’s the ROE? and where did I “open fire”. I’m really not seeing that I opened fire on anybody but Debbie and her gang. didn’t target anyone here.
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 5:19
hey, why would I target anyone HERE? I like it here. I like the people here. I respect this blog. I’m sympatico as they say. Of a like mind, more or less without the intellectual acumen. I try to keep up with the great minds of SadlyNo.
mikey said,
August 2, 2008 at 5:23
I read this as incoming fire.
I STILL read it that way….
mikey
mikey said,
August 2, 2008 at 5:24
See, I was just writing my response to the events on that bus.
Kinda just like you.
But you saw fit to call me out.
Sorry again, babe. I ain’t gonna live with that crap…
mikey
Heretic said,
August 2, 2008 at 5:33
It must be pointed out that this whole ‘Canadians are pussies, Americans are real men’ meme is just sadly, not true. The only time us red-blooded American patriot true men went up against the Canucks in war, we got our asses handed to us. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_1812#Great_Lakes_and_Canadian_theatre
mikey, good point about unarmed vs. knife tactics. And to everyone else who pointed this out, it is indeed a shame that there were no weak Canadian Unitarian pussies around to overpower that dickwad with, well, nothing, and still have it work.
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 5:39
yes I called you out for saying
J– and Grace add a desperately needed dose of humanity to what was becoming nothing more than a second grade playground argument.
I took exception to this, since I’d made quite a few pointed comments and observations. I took this to mean your trivializing my point of view. I also said that if I’d misinterpreted your remarks that I was sorry. But since you’ve attacked me several times in the past, quite pointedly and viciously, I’m rather sensitive to your remarks sometimes.
You don’t live with crap. I get that. What makes you think I do?
I don’t agree with what you said about the people involved in that bus incident not being special and I don’t agree with you that killing is easy. If it was easy, people wouldn’t suffer horrendously after the fact. PTSD wouldn’t exist. This was a reasonable response. You seem to view that as firing on you. I’m not going to take back what I said.
You’ve been places I haven’t, experienced things I haven’t and vice versa. I don’t judge your past. I have a great deal of respect for where you’ve been, but I don’t elevate that to some pedestal and negate other experience and perception because of it. I also don’t think you know better because you’ve been in a place where people aren’t special and killing is easy. I don’t believe for a second you mean any of this.
This is messed up communication. I don’t like conflict with people I more or less should have no conflict with. We’re on the same page, really. I guess I don’t understand you getting hostile with people here who are on the same page. I get the hostility to the Schlussel tribe, but with people here (who aren’t Gary Ruppert).
If I make mistakes I am willing to own up. I think I’ve demonstrated that. But I didn’t express anything that could be regarded as school playground mentality. And I’m not a narcissist.
jim said,
August 2, 2008 at 5:40
“I would have” is a really dumb way to start a sentence - makes more sense to just be honest & say “I didn’t” - eh?
I asked the moderator to delete their comments (because they were fanning the flames of hatred against Muslims) but she deleted mine instead. That’s when I deleted my account with the CBC.
Amusing “Ultra-Liberal CBC” anecdote time: back in 1991 I was one of the 20 or so folks at the Peace Camp who were camped out on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery protesting the outset of Desert Storm … & after a night of alternately being threatened by skinheads & a large contingent of obviously eager-to-hurt cops, the CBC Radio crew came by bright & early in the morning “to get our side of the story” - a few of us were smart enough to tell them to bugger off (politely), but we were overruled. They sat there for over an hour asking stock questions & looking totally bored. As soon as one young lady jokingly blurted “it’s is a great excuse not to have to go to school” they acted like they’d just won the lottery, packed up their gear, & promptly scooted back to their studio. Poor kid was heartbroken when she realized what’d just happened. Bonus points for guessing which sound-bite they used that day, eh?
Yeah, I must be a pussy too, because I’m trained in self-defense & know damn well that in an enclosed & crowded space, your odds of getting off a good shot at someone with ANY weapon are piss-poor, & your odds of accidentally braining or perforating an innocent bystander are excellent - & thus, the best thing to do when the ugly-train starts rolling is to just GTFO, eh?
Uh, & Canada isn’t your #1 trading partner … last time I checked it was still China, & we’re all, like, totally butthurt about it too, eh?
Bet you way can’t tell I’m like, a hoser from the Great White North & shit, eh?
anonymoose said,
August 2, 2008 at 5:44
Okay– you’ve both had your say now but can we please please pretty please stop with the circular firing squad for Christ’s sakes. There are WINGNUTS OUT THERE, PEOPLE. Aim at THEM.
Candy said,
August 2, 2008 at 5:45
jim, you are so making me want to watch Strange Brew.
mikey said,
August 2, 2008 at 5:47
Huh? To somehow make the stretch that this was aimed at you and not the wingnuts acting like second graders on the playground kind of indicates you seem to want to take pretty much everything personally.
Where does it say your name? Where have I EVER been shy about confronting someone I thought was full of shit?
Again. Jeezus. Nothing here was about you. If you want to walk down the street picking up imaginary bruises, hey, rock n roll, sweetheart. But don’t start crying “he hit me” ’cause you got some kind of martyr complex…
mikey
anonymoose said,
August 2, 2008 at 5:49
I guess perhaps we can’t. Okay, carry on then! *pops popcorn*
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 5:49
heretic, the whole canadians are pussies line is just one expression of america’s insular nature and superiority complex. canada’s just one of many countries americans like schlussel disregard and ridicule out of sheer ignorance. many other americans do not share this point of view. guys who fought together in world war ii on both sides certainly don’t foster this idea. it’s just these armchair cheeto eating idiots who have rambo on rewind and haven’t a clue.
Candy said,
August 2, 2008 at 5:52
I can’t access World-O-Crap or Orcinus. I suppose it’s due to the Blogspot outage what’s got TIDOS Yankme’s panties in a knot.
I’m guessing the problems with Orcinus and WOC aren’t likely due to Obama’s minions. Sorry, Gomer.
Redleg said,
August 2, 2008 at 5:54
STUPID FUCKING CUNT.
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 6:03
mikey, well i did apologize in advance in the event I was misinterpreting but you skimmed right past that and called me a dumbass anyway so either way, you let me know I was full of shit. Heh. I stand by my initial response to you.
jim, re the CBC, it has gone to shit hasn’t it? I am so sad about that. CBC radio’s news service is still worth a little something but not much. I am so disappointed in the tabloid fare the on-line and local news have become. The only reasonable paper left is the Globe and Mail, for what that’s worth, the Georgia Straight, and the Vancouver Courier. Vancouver Sun has a few good writers, but not many. Vaughn Palmer and Daphne Branham.
D. Sidhe said,
August 2, 2008 at 6:06
I have no issues with anybody here, I kinda agree with everything everyone’s said, humanity being a complex critter and all, and I certainly have agreed with Lesley both in this thread and others, but every time this sort of thing happens, someone says “Why wasn’t he under lock and key?”
As an American schizophrenic, among other problems, I can say that often these people are not under lock and key because they have committed no crime. Maybe they’re saving it all up for the big one, who knows. Maybe they were just never that crazy or that violent before.
But how the hell does anyone propose to sort out guys like that from people like me and His Grace, who may or may not have the usual gamut of emotional and overly emotional reactions to the world–Christ knows I’ve said things that would lead listeners to believe I was at least potentially violent, and Christ knows my family and friends spend a lot of time convinced I’m at a minimum a danger to myself–without just locking away everyone with a diagnosis?
This is one of the reasons I lie about my identity on the interwebs, why I use an alias with anybody who doesn’t have a legal right to know my legal name, why I refuse to deal with mental health professionals who are not willing to pretend my meds are for other issues and to not fudge labels in their reports to my insurance company, and why, though I am certainly qualified for a disability check, I do not get one. I don’t want my legal name linked with a diagnosis that’s going to get me rounded up one day when you allegedly sane people feel there’s been one crazy incident too many. I have no confidence in your ability to determine which of us is too crazy to be allowed freedom, and it’s more than possible I’d be locked up while actual batshit violent people are still free to commit acts like these.
And if that sounds paranoid, remember my diagnosis. But also keep in mind it happens all the time. I know people who are no danger to themselves or others who are “supervised”, and it is patently clear that at least a few of those who are dangerous are still roaming around.
Absent a criminal record, you’re not going to be able to pick out the hazards. And that’s not going to keep you safe. So you’d have to lock us all up, and forgive me if I’m not willing to give up my freedom so the rest of you can feel better when this sort of incredibly rare shit happens. Forgive me also if I don’t think it’d even work, since not all of us *are* diagnosed and when seeking treatment means a go to jail card you can assume fewer people will bother to seek treatment.
Mal de mer said,
August 2, 2008 at 6:06
Lesley, don’t worry about it. I got chased out of this blog from that uber-patriot drug-addled weirdo, Mickey. Just ignore him.
mikey said,
August 2, 2008 at 6:08
Oh, gee.
I guess if I had just apologized in advance if I had it all wrong I coulda gone ahead and called you anything I wanted.
Um, you know, instead of not even noticing you were there until you felt all insulted.
You’re gonna have to stand by all your initial response babe, ’cause you just can’t walk it back. You’re gonna have to live with the fact I think you’re a crazy bitch with persecution issues.
But somehow, I reckon you’ll get through it. I doubt I’m the only dood who’s out to get you in Lesleyworld….
mikey
LowerManhattanite said,
August 2, 2008 at 6:09
If Debbie Schlussel’s photographically-captured swollenness is considered “tiny”, then my black ass is Edgar-fucking-Winter.
mikey said,
August 2, 2008 at 6:12
Hey mal.
I chased you out, huh?
It wasn’t, oh, any other thing, huh? Just me.
Wow. Guess I have done something good for my country…
mikey
WereBear said,
August 2, 2008 at 6:15
Oh, Debbie’s a giirrrrrrrrlllllllllll, so she can’t be expected to leap on a maniac.
Hypothetical men, now, they’re totally disposable.
Wingnuts have to believe they would be able to handle any situation, because their worldview is that we are all on our own, making our heavily-armed way through some kind of Wild West, Mad Max, let-the-weak-die, scenario in their own heads.
Of course, outside of their heads, the world is thankfully not like that, because the scenario is an inherently unsustainable society that would devolve into stone knives and bearskins.
It’s just Compensation, capitalized and Freudian.
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 6:17
D. Sidhe, I sympathize; and what may have seemed a flippant remark re lock and key is more about ensuring people are being cared for appropriately than thrown in virtual jails and left to rot. There’s no reason people who have problems with violence can’t be integrated successfully into the community - although I can’t speak about this guy. (I can’t see this guy being integrated freely any time soon after this event.)
One of the homeless people in my neighbourhood used to walk around wielding a stick and threatening people with it. He has FAS and when he’s not being treated he’s extremely violent. In the past couple of years he’s been in care and he’s back in the community working, on meds that seem to work for him and all the businesses and the people in the community are involved and interested in his well being. He seems to be doing very well. He needs ongoing committed care to ensure he is safe and the community is safe. He is earning money and he seems to be on the right track. This does take a committment by gov’t. This is what I mean…not really an archaic institutionalized life.
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 6:22
Mikey, I didn’t call you anything. I just disagreed with you, but keep the insults like “lesleyworld” coming if it makes you feel good.
You’re stuck somewhere Mikey…not sure how well it serves you. As I said, I’m not your enemy and really, I’m not a bitch and a wack job. But if you need a couple of targets here to be that for you for whatever reason, I guess I’m it. Just don’t fault me if I ignore you and decide there’s nothing I can say or do that will ever make you treat me like I’m a human being. I also won’t put up with your bullshit.
And I don’t worship you because you’ve been in battle. Sorry. (Been there, done that. It’s a load of crap, really.)
Ripley said,
August 2, 2008 at 6:23
I have a bit of training as it regards naughty people. So, next time I see Debbie Schlussel walking down the street, should I feel free to “take her out”?
As far as I’m concerned, she’s an enemy of Humanity.
I’d be in the right… right?
noen said,
August 2, 2008 at 6:25
Lesley, I didn’t see that you were attacked.
This is messed up communication.
Yes, it is. The medium itself introduces certain distortions.
Are you familiar with the idea of ‘being triggered’? I think that both Mike and yourself were triggered by the violence of this story. From there both spun out into emotion mind. No one is at fault.
When one is emotionally disregulated the thing to do is to use any of a number of techniques to manage the distress. Breathing is good, so are ice packs. These things work.
Ed Marshall said,
August 2, 2008 at 6:28
This is the issue John McCain needs to run on. I look forward to the ads. “Fifty-Four Forty or Fight”. It can harken back to the political contests of his youth.
mikey said,
August 2, 2008 at 6:37
Mikey, I didn’t call you anything. I just disagreed with you, but keep the insults like “lesleyworld” coming if it makes you feel good.
Whatever you need to believe. I honestly don’t have a dog in your fights.
You’re stuck somewhere Mikey…not sure how well it serves you. As I said, I’m not your enemy and really, I’m not a bitch and a wack job. But if you need a couple of targets here to be that for you for whatever reason, I guess I’m it.
Yeah, really. I guess so, ’cause we’ve seen how much trouble I’ve had getting along with other people ’round these parts. Must just be I’m a problem child.
And I don’t worship you because you’ve been in battle. Sorry. (Been there, done that. It’s a load of crap, really.)
You proud that you can try to hurt with a low blow? You feel good about sinking one right into the nutsack? Yep, you know how to find that carefully hidden weak spot, dontcha? Wow. Nothing like that combination of insight and courage.
Has anyone here EVER said it was anything BUT a load of crap more than me? Have you ever had to sit up through the long, dark nights of the dead?
But hey. As long as it makes you feel better, you go right ahead, honey.
Hey! Know what? You could call me a murderer and a baby killer too.
That oughta get you all kinds of buzz….
mikey
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 6:38
noen, that’s nice that you can’t see it. I don’t know what you’ve opted to read but blatant insults are up and down the thread. it’s not really your business either is it? thanks for your two cents though.
The one thing I can’t stand is when people who say mean things deny it or tell me I imagined they meant anything by it. Fuck that socially twisted crap.
After heaps of blatant insults you’re going to tell me I’m either stupid or paranoid and tell me that isn’t an insult too? Get real.
Me said,
August 2, 2008 at 6:38
I’ve finally found an analog to these role-playing idiots who always think they would have wrestled some maniac to the ground, or scaled the Texas clocktower barehanded to disarm Charles Whitman. You know that jackass in the movie “Airport”, the passenger who’s always bitching about something, to the point where a priest eventually slaps him? Yeah, him. The complete douchebag who fucks up the whole plan to disarm the guy with the bomb because he can’t keep his mouth shut.
And of course, in the moment of crisis which follows, he blubbers like an old woman. That’s when the priest slaps him. Yep, that’s our wingnuts–the people you wouldn’t depend on for anything in a real crisis, and sooner or later you’d have to slap them out of hysteria.
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 6:48
well yes, I think you’ve admitted more than one time you’re a “problem child” for all kinds of valid reasons. But then who isn’t in these parts? And I thought part of these here parts was accepting that problems exist and that people are complicated especially when they’ve been exposed to vast quantities of utter shit in their lives they didn’t choose.
And for that reason I have compassion for you Mikey. But I also won’t put up with your crap. I won’t agree with you when you get all soldierly and say people who get killed and kill don’t matter and that killing is easy. No. I won’t even if well goddamn, what right do I, a civilian who has never seen war, have to make that claim. I guess because I’ve seen violence in other circumstances. Domestically you might say in the family home.
And yes you get along with the people you choose to get along with. But there are people you just jump on sometimes for no good reason except their expendable in your mind. I don’t respect that.
As for sitting up in the long nights with the dead. I would never claim I can know where you have been. But as I’ve explained and hinted, I’ve been places you haven’t and seen things you haven’t and so have a lot of other people here. Maybe they were beaten as kids. Maybe they were raped and sexually abused. You think these worlds are worlds apart? They aren’t.
I think also I let you know about my sister in Cambodia - some time ago when you jumped down my throat for not knowing shit and I explained a few things to you and you apologized for assuming I was some dipshit.
You’re doing it again, Mikey.
I do not judge you, Mikey. You know I don’t. I respect you enough to disagree with you and not behave like some pansy ass admirer.
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 6:52
‘except they are expendable’
i hate when i make mistakes like that.
Lesley said,
August 2, 2008 at 7:01
me, I think people leap on simplistic solutions because the alternative is too troubling. the most ironic comments i read on the cbc accused, on the one hand, video games and the latest batman movie for inspiring the violence and on the other suggested that the passengers and cops should have been batman. it’s human nature to want simple scenarios. heroes, bloodless coups. painless endings. answers.
the trouble with this is there are none.
oh, and then you have the God-believers who attribute the random seemingly inexplicable violence to God…a message to humanity about future salvation.
our