"We Aren’t Sorry Enough to Lift a Finger to Prevent It from Happening Again"

"The new wrinkle in the Aurora, Colo., tragedy is that we now learn that the purchase of tear gas grenades is perfectly legal in Colorado, even though there is no legitimate need—none—for someone not in law enforcement or the military to engage in 'control and disbursement of crowds,' to quote an ad selling tear gas grenades online for a mere $16.95 a pop."

Timothy Noah in The New Republic reacts to the Friday morning massacre at a Colorado cinema.


"Piecing together a profile of the typical perpetrator, Mullen noted that among “pseudocommandos” (another term from the literature) feelings of guilt and worthlessness were conspicuous for their absence. These were invariably young men with a high (if deluded) self-regard, who believed they had been grossly undervalued by the world—so much so, their lives had become one long psychic injury. They had often been bullied or neglected as children, had grown up into loners, and often had recently lost their last shred of emotional connection or support (job, girlfriend) with the world. But their dominant experience was one of persecution; their dominant affect, one of resentment."

As does Stephen Metcalf in Slate.