Not sure how complete the overlap would be on this one, but if we took a solar eclipse as our diagram generator, I’m pretty sure you’d see a corona around this guy:*
The shooting in Baton Rouge took place as protesters and Republicans were arriving in Cleveland for the party’s national convention. Steve Thacker, 57, of Westlake, Ohio, stood in Cleveland’s Public Square on Sunday holding a semiautomatic AR-15-style assault rifle as news broke that several officers had been killed in Baton Rouge.
After the shooting in Dallas, Stephen Loomis, the president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association, urged people not to take their guns anywhere near Cleveland’s downtown during the convention because officers were already in a “heightened state.”
When asked about Mr. Loomis’s comments and the Baton Rouge shooting, Mr. Thacker said despite the shooting, he wanted to make a statement and show that people can continue to openly carry their weapons.
“I pose no threat to anyone. I’m an American citizen. I’ve never been in trouble for anything,” Mr. Thacker, an information technology engineer, said. “This is my time to come out and put my two cents worth in, albeit that it is a very strong statement.”
Dear Mr. Thacker,
Let me see if I can explain this in words which even an information technology engineer can understand.
Just because you say you are not a threat doesn’t make it so. To everyone but you, you are a guy with a tool for mass murder standing in the street for no apparent reason…which makes you, as seen from outside the eternal sunshine of the inside of your head, a threat to every person in your line of sight. That you think you are a good person puts you alongside just about every self-justifiying shooter.
We do know that the best possible gloss on your actions is that you’re a bully. Guns are tools of intimidation as well as physical violence. That you would show up heavily armed in public spaces suggests you think it’s part of civic life to scare your neighbors. There’s a word for people like that, or rather many, of which the most mild is “asshole.”
And, forgive me for being so blunt, but you’re not just an asshole. You’re an imbecile too. Guns are, of course, both weapons and target designators. Anything goes wrong during the convention — anything — and you’re a man with a gun in a chaotic situation. How is the federal sniper on the rooftop to know who you might be aiming at? Dumb is as dumb does.
Here’s the kindest advice I can muster: go home. Put your freedom-wand penis-extension away. With rights come responsibilities, and one of the most often ignored is the duty not to be a putz.
Try it.
*Yeah, that’s a ridiculously tortured metaphor, but it’s that kind of day.
Image: Ferdinand Bol, Archer Unit, militia led by Colonel Govert Suys, 1653
japa21
3 posts in 30 minutes?
Villago Delenda Est
Bottom line: YOU don’t get to decide if you’re a threat to someone. The OTHER person makes that call.
Baud
I hope Philly officials don’t put up with this crap.
Villago Delenda Est
@japa21: It’s been a busy morning (left coast, best coast!)/afternoon.
japa21
That said, good post.
SiubhanDuinne
That there all by its own self might leave as much of a mark as the entire rest of your letter.
Tom Levenson
@japa21: One’s gotta post when there’s a moment to do so and stuff to say — or to point and snark at.
amygdala
Preach.
Geez, this week. I’m really worried about Cleveland. Gah.
redshirt
I bet this guy also cares a lot about ethics in video game journalism.
Major Major Major Major
@Villago Delenda Est: isn’t that how Stand Your Ground works?
MaryRC
@Villago Delenda Est: Not really. If that were true, we’d be on the side of Florida Man in this story.
bago
People like that are the kind of idiots that put a circular dependency into a build tree. It compiles for them! Turn off brain and go home. Logic.
Major Major Major Major
@SiubhanDuinne: who even describes their job that way? What is that?
gogol's wife
@Villago Delenda Est:
stand yer ground and all that
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@amygdala: I’m quite concerned about hyperactivity of your name in Cleveland this week.
Tokyokie
Actually, the word for people who act like that is not just “asshole,” it’s “assault.” Which, under the common law (meaning it’s the law of the land everywhere except maybe Louisiana), is the use of the threat of violence, real or implied, to coerce others to alter their lawful behavior. It is not the responsibility of the majority to conform its behavior to the wishes of armed malcontents, but rather, the exact opposite. Arrest these bastards and confiscate their preciouses.
Troublesome Carp fka Geeno
@Major Major Major Major: No one in IT that I’ve ever met.
Sounds like a self-aggrandizing operations gnome.
raven
No active shooter remaining in Baton Rouge.
TriassicSands
That depends on who’s doing the glossing. If it’s the NRA and a large slice of America the obvious gloss is that Mr. Thacker is a Constitution loving, Second Amendment supporting American Patriot.
Dog Dawg Damn
Looks like the Baton Rouge shooting was a a crime shoot out and *not* a police targeting event. Just as it appears the EgyptAir crash was a fire in board and not (necessarily) ISIS.
The media has gotten extremely skippy in rushing to judgment to satisfy their bloodlust, but his has got to stop. Even Obama sent out a letter condemning this attack before it has even been determined to be such.
Really pissed off about all this. Cooler heads need to start prevailing.
amygdala
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Me, too. The Atlantic‘s James Fallows, whom I respect, has tweeted that things currently still aren’t as bad as 1968. Putting aside how low a standard that is, I can only hope he’s right.
Major Major Major Major
@Troublesome Carp fka Geeno: the kind who information technology engineers the power cord out of the router, information technology counts to ten, and information technology engineers it back into the router?
raven
@Dog Dawg Damn: wrong
scav
@Dog Dawg Damn: The morale of the police and the optics of the news cycle far outweigh any mere concern for mere facts or truth or politically correct nonsense.
Technocrat
@Major Major Major Major:
Seriously, that’s got to be one of the most uninformative buzzword titles I’ve ever heard. It would cover people who design routers for a living, and people who reset printers for a living.
I’m guessing he’s closer to the latter.
Major Major Major Major
@Dog Dawg Damn:
Please to point to the time period you’re referring to where it wasn’t like this.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@amygdala: I join you in that hope. I respect Fallows immensely, but still wonder how social media will amplify the tension in a way that couldn’t have happened in 1968. I can’t quite shake a gut level anxiety about the coming week. And the BZD class is not among my 1st line assists of preference, however effective they may be.
rikyrah
Judd Legum ✔ @JuddLegum
UPDATE: Ohio Governor rejects plea from Cleveland police to suspend open carry during GOP convention
scav
@Major Major Major Major: At least with the big mechanical presses that ran in the middle of the night with significant costs incurred if one yelled dramatically “Stop the Presses!” some of their earlier rushes to judgement didn’t make it further than the circular file. Or, they really had time to consciously ignore the actual facts while pushing their particular bloodlust.
SiubhanDuinne
Lizzy L
@rikyrah: The Governor of Ohio is, of course, John Kasich.
Do you think he will take any responsibility if a Bad Thing happens at the Convention?
Yeah, right.
Renie
I wish your letter could be sent to all newspapers for everyone to read.
Major Major Major Major
@SiubhanDuinne: If he was a Dem and suspended it, his star would rise dramatically. For a republican it’s death. Tells you all you need to know.
Iowa Old Lady
@SiubhanDuinne: If I were the Secret Service, I’d restrict guns too, but how do they have the authority to do it when, say, a store owner doesn’t?
Major Major Major Major
@scav: That’s a change in behavior I guess, but only out of necessity. If they could have done it they would have.
debbie
Good ol’ Ohio. Guns okay. Tennis balls, not so much.
Villago Delenda Est
@MaryRC: Were the teenagers open carrying at the time? I mean, beyond open carrying their smart phones? And their pokemons?
We’re talking about an asshole openly brandishing an AR-15. I don’t think these teens were openly brandishing an AR-15, therefore obviously they were an authentic threat, unlike the asshole in Cleveland, who is no threat to anyone even though he’s brandishing an AR-15.
? Martin
@SiubhanDuinne: The clue there is he mentions federal laws. He’s trying to thread a needle that open carry is a 2nd amendment right when it clearly isn’t. There’s no federal law that applies here.
Villago Delenda Est
@Major Major Major Major: “If it bleeds, it leads”. Has been the case since the 70’s, at least.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@debbie: I want to sign the petition demanding reversal of the tennis ball prohibition. Do you know where I can find it? Are dildos banned too?
Mnemosyne
@Iowa Old Lady:
Now I’m getting confused — I thought that in most open carry states, store owners DO have the right to say that their stores are not open carry stores.
Trentrunner
Aaaand the shooter is black, according to CBS.
? Martin
@Villago Delenda Est: Also notable that the police issued a reminder that people should be playing Pokemon Go safely. They issued no statement that you shouldn’t shoot at people arbitrarily.
I’m sorry but this is another situation where the police leadership are playing politics with the 2nd amendment folks. They had as much discretion as they needed to admonish either side, but chose to ignore the people shooting and instead focused on people using their phones who pose no harm to anyone. If anyone wants to understand why police are earning the reputation they are, here’s why. This isn’t a beat cop attitude – it’s from the chief who approves the press statement. Why is the chief not calling out gun violence if not politics?
Villago Delenda Est
@Mnemosyne: What? Store owners have rights equal to ammosexuals? What is this country coming to?
Dog Dawg Damn
@Major Major Major Major: it wasn’t that long ago that the media held some restraint before rushing to judgment. Can’t be denied that the 24/7 news cycle and Twitter feedback loop has accelerated the flow of misinformation. Don’t you remember when news organizations held off on reporting until they could verify?
debbie
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):
Ohio is a dildo, so no.
I know nothing of petitions. I was Googling around, trying to find a picture of this Thacker guy. A childhood friend of mine, now a minister in Cleveland, was trying to reason with an AR-15 packer earlier today, and I wanted to see if the photos matched. The only pictures I could find were from behind, where his weapon dangled, I thought, dangerously.
? Martin
@Mnemosyne: Private property vs public. Property owners have considerably latitude. Government does not.
Dog Dawg Damn
@Villago Delenda Est: I’m not referring to the “bleeds it [email protected] but to the fact that this mentality has led to a faster news cycle that rushes to judgment before verifying central facts. So every Muslim is a member of ISIS and every police officer killed is a result of #BLM. This is a newish phenomenon.
Schlemazel Khan
@Major Major Major Major:
I’m old enough to remember that time. The days before the 24 hour news cycle. Yes, they still tended to get hyper about events but not to the extent of the current crop. There were more calm heads on TV. But then they didn’t have to fill 86,400 seconds with attention grabbing nonesense
? Martin
@Dog Dawg Damn: I would also add that we have a greater political inclination to assign blame. Every event must be the fault of some political actor that we seek to discredit. No activity can be unblamable. Even hurricanes are the fault of some political group.
lamh36
Being reported that the alledged that shooter is linked to the Sovereign Citizens group, a white supremacy non-gov’t group…If this holds to be true, how does this fit the BLM stoking violence narrative…
Oh wait, who am I kidding…won’t matter will it.
ETA: now seeing possibly Black male…but if so, I’d assume he wouldn’t be part of that group unless we have a Clayton Bigsby type of narrative.
Villago Delenda Est
@? Martin: Not one of these assholes is the member of a well-regulated militia.
Fuck them.
scav
@Major Major Major Major: O!, I wouldn’t argue they’re better, but there is a technological change that’s magnified the consequences. See also semi-automatics and the militarization of the police kit.
andy
Rights do come with responsibilities- let’s start with the fact that the shooters in San Bernardino and Orlando would have been considered Law Abiding Gunowners™ by gunfondler organizations which would have supported every single action they took up to the millisecond they opened fire. Consider, too that gunfondler dogma insists that every single Law Abiding Gunowner™ is a member of their militia, and that they furthermore claim that this militia is the greatest fighting force on the planet, fully capable of winning against the US Army and overthrow the government. All this implies some kind of organized activity. By their own accounting, gunfondlers have a massive discipline problem, either that or they are kids playing army except with real guns instead of sticks.
Dnfree
Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity. —
Hanlon’s razor.
Iowa Old Lady
@Mnemosyne: It must depend on how the law is written.
Schlemazel Khan
@andy:
Every gun owner is a responsible gun owner right up until they are not
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@debbie: I so support the UT “cocks not glocks” movement. And I expect you’ll be hearing from counsel for dildos very shortly w/r/t your image. I think it’s a facetious change.org petition, but I haven’t found it yet.
While I have some concerns about locals and the NAACP convention after today’s news from Baton Rouge, I am so happy that the RNC picked Cleveland. I have a friend who’s volunteering to either 1)wish visitors a happy time, 2) monitor protests from the sidelines, or 3) monitor protests as a participant. I’ll report her selection when I hear it. She’s a former ACLU staff attorney, so she’s got the right kind of brain for the gig.
Villago Delenda Est
@Schlemazel Khan: Then, in a manner that Minitru could only envy, they instantly are irresponsible and have always been irresponsible and there actions should be in no way confused with the actions of a responsible gun owner.
Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)
@Major Major Major Major: A pretentious, preening asshole. Network engineer, OK. Systems engineer, cool. “IT engineer?” Load of crap.
SiubhanDuinne
@debbie:
Why single out tennis balls? Why not baseballs, bowling balls, golf balls?
Schlemazel Khan
@Villago Delenda Est:
EGGS – act – lee
darker than a paper bag = terrorist or gang banger
lighter than a paper bag = lone wolf loser / unstable
This is the world 7×24 news has built
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@debbie: @SiubhanDuinne: I suspect it’s because tennis balls are more easily and comfortably carried than golf or bowling balls. And baseballs are just too macho America fuck yeah to ban. Umbrellas but not baseball bats?
So I signed the petition objecting to the tennis ball ban.
SFAW
@Major Major Major Major:
He either does data entry, or cleans up the detritus from the punch tapes. I hear he’s big into Hollerith, too.
Luthe
@Villago Delenda Est: Something many a man doesn’t understand when dealing with women.
Troublesome Carp fka Geeno
OMG! I just found out I’m going get to care of my friend’s dog Daisy for a week next month!
I am very happy. I lurves the Daisy puppeh, and she lurves me.
This friend has a long history of picking the most excellent dogs. She’s a dog person like me, but she has an amazing eye for the best dogs at the shelter. I am taking her with me if/when I can ever think about getting a dog of my own (my wife has vetoed them so far, and she has more than earned veto privileges).
HinTN
@Mnemosyne: Yes, and now in its infinite wisdom the Tennessee legislature had decreed that if an open carry gundamentalist is injured while deprived if his sacred carry by some store owner, said store owner may be sued for depriving the gundamentalist of his sacred protection, which surely would have actively prevented said injury. IOW we have gone batshit crazy down here.
Barb2
The original penix extension.
Papua New Guinea
Images like this are found in Cultural Anthropology textbooks.
Today I saw images of cops wearing their long guns which looked very much like the tribal New Guinea penix extenders. I took a lot of Anthropology courses, specifically the Pacific Oceania region.
Now I’m seeing similar male tribalism and the same pampering of guns.
There is one photo from today with a cop and his rifle in a black case, strapped to his chest making the gun look like an extension of his penix.
Males are going tribal – not even realizing that their display has been done before. And done better. The tribal guys are at least honest.I suspect anyone with a degree or interest in Pacific cultures are checking for the phallic art of New Guinea. This is the place that is killing and burning witches in public
Too dog damned much testosterone.
debbie
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):
I think it’s the whiff of elitism about tennis that made it the target for that scurrilous law. I’ve signed the petition. Harrumph.
Leto
@amygdala: Preach
Second that: fucking preach it.
Barb2
@Barb2:
This guy – modern, current era – penix extension .
The photo copying New Guinea is about half way down the page. Cultural Anthropology 101
pseudonymous in nc
A wild Reddit libertarian gun fetishist ESR admirer appears.
J R in WV
@scav:
My next door neighbor is the late night city desk editor of the urban newspaper nearby. He has the responsibility to go to the press room and stop the presses.
Contrary to most presentations of this, he doesn’t shout “Stop the press!” because no one would hear that. He uses the traditional sign language, moving his hand across his throat, to symbolize to the press foreman to push the STOP button on the controls.
He has done this twice in his 20 year career, much to the envy of my retired wife, who worked 40 years in the news biz and never got to run to the press room to stop the press…
Modern newspaper presses are huge steel monsters, when they run full out the buildings built around them tremble. And ink is delivered to these presses in tanker trucks. Or rail tankers.