Thanks for the episode. I've been deliberately avoiding thinking about the massacre because I don't delight in imagining helpless movie goers being gunned down in the theatre and dwelling on the incident won't do anything to help the victims nor myself in any similar event. I saw the movie this weekend just like I planned then I went to the Eaton Center food court (the "Canadian food court" that had the recent shooting) later.

In some ways it seems strangely disrespectful to carry on with my life as though nothing has happened, while the victims and their families can't. I think most people feel divided like I do. They want to move on from the unpleasant thoughts that the horrific event brings up but they still want to show some sort of respect. This is likely why people feel the need to interject themselves into the situation through facebook and twitter campaigns. Though I feel this sort of reaction is mostly usesless, I try to take it as a positive sign that atleast some sort of compassion genuiley exists in people's hearts. They may not know the best way to express themselves but they want to give their sympathy to the victims.

What really bothers me is when people use tragedies to further their own agendas, so I do have to give you all credit for not turning this into a political discussion/rant (I am sure you all have very strong opinions on this as a political issue as well, i.e. gun control).

Here in Toronto, the city is still coming to terms with the worst mass shooting in its history. This happened last week at a neighbourhood barbecue. The truth is that even a considerably safe city like Toronto, we always face an element of risk. We faced the same risk before these shootings reminded us of it and we will continue to face the same risk after these stories died down.

It is important to talk about these things because it is a natural part of the way humans deal with tragedy so thanks for a discussion about a serious topic that was (for the most part) void of the authoritative pronouncements, knee jerk reactions, overly serious tone or hype that I find elsewhere and felt more like four friends trying to come to terms with the tragedy themselves. I think it was cathartic for all of us.

Last edited by Keith LaPlume (2012-07-24 02:03:19)

I dont mean to sound crass, but I haven't seen the movie yet. Are there TDKR spoilers in this ep.?

Made me wonder if iconography of the Twin Towers is similarly inappropriate when considering those thousands of murders. Its service as a national symbol and a real tangible thing complicates the matter quite a bit.

So now the victims have met two American Psychos in the same week.   Hey-ooohhh.

/sorry, but the strain of behaving got to be too much

I agree: horrible tragedies belong in Australia. Sorry, Australia. It's science.

Well...
I said a little bit wrong. First there was talk about the Black Swan Theory. Then you guys were all in agreement the black swans were "incredibly rare". And my point is they are not. Then you guys talked about the "fallacy" as "clearly that's not a swan because no swans are black". 
That was what I meant when I said "a little bit wrong".

Last edited by AshDigital (2012-07-25 20:05:30)

Are you saying I made an ad hoc attempt to retain an unreasoned assertion?

I really don't understand... Did me pointing out black swans are not "incredibly rare" really piss you guys off so much?

Ridiculed and executed or executed and ridiculed? I'm just asking cause it's nice to have a choice...

And afterward, a small reception at the Ramada Inn near the airport.  Followed by ridicule.

No, Ash, my point was "clearly that's not a swan because no swans are black" was more of a No True Scotsman argument than a Black Swan Fallacy argument.

Or, more specifically, my point is if we went down that path, we confused ourselves for a minute in the podcast.