The Great Debate: Should We Change Our Lives Because of The Sniper?

robfromga | October 21, 2002 | robfromga

[RobFromGa]

Since this is such a hotly contested topic that tends to hijack other news-related threads and turn them into flame-wars, I thought I'd set up a new thread just for this debate.

[RobFromGa]

Go at it. And feel free to point others to this thread whenever the topic comes up on other threads where it is a side issue.

My opinion: stick with your normal routine, don't walk in zig-zag patterns, keep your eyes and ears open for strange things, love your family and friends.

[My2Cents]

Two words: Body armor.

[bankwalker]

vote out the gun grabbers.

[NittanyLion]

CAP: Maybe all those who currently live in the area can stay at home, and all the "patriotic" Americans who bitch about it can catch a bus and take their places at the gas stations. There. Problem solved.

Well, it appears many folks in the area continue to go about their daily lives. I'm sure you've got enough unafraid people there to keep things up and running.

[tobiasjodter]

I live in Fairfax County and myself and extended family have not changed anything about our normal patterns. I can't say it's not occasionally on our minds and we are more aware of our surroundings but we are not living in fear.

I have lobbied my kid's school to drop the "lockdown" with no success. I just do not see the point in trying to protect against a random act.

One thing everyone can do is look out for others. When I am driving past shopping malls, strip malls, gas stations, etc. I am looking for any vehicles and/or persons that are or could be positioned in a line of fire. Or anything suspicious. What more can one really do? We can't wait to go back to normal until the sniper/s get caught. It could be months or never...

[RobFromGa]

Words to Live by...

[Crusher138]

We the people, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility...

How much are we at risk? An not only from this sniper, but from other terrorists, Islamic or otherwise?

I think that the government has been holding back information regarding the links between events and terrorist organizations operating in this country. I think part of it is politics - don't let the sheeple know how much you can't protect them - but it is also a big chunk of "they would freak if they knew how bad it was." Case in point, the Washington DC sniper.

Here we have one or more individuals who have disrupted the lives of millions with one gun and a few bullets. The economic impact in the area is staggering. Imagine if such a mindset were to grip us nationwide?

What if the Oklahoma City bombing were orchestrated by Islamics? What if TWA flight 800 was taken down by terrorists with a stinger missle. What if the plane that crashed in Queens was a terrorist attack? What about the bus attacks, the train derailments, the airport shootings? Is it inconceivable that these are all attacks on America that we are being kept in the dark about because we can't handle it?

Home of the brave, indeed.

[CobaltBlue]

I live in Fairfax, too. We were shopping at Fair Oaks area Home Depot when the Falls Church Home Depot shooting occurred. We were standing in line waiting to check out and a man standing next to us got a call on his cell phone telling him there had been a shooting. You'd have to be nuts not to be apprehensive, in my opinion.

Changes in routine: I drive my kids to school and pick them up after school, am alert when in public, pump gas where there is no clear line of sight, and for now am not shopping at Michael's, not that I go to craft stores much anyway.

[Cu Roi]

I'm in Rockville/Aspen Hill area and agree with you on the schools...but I understand why they're doing it. If you're the principal, the chances of one of your students getting shot is approaching zero, but if it does happen, the media and every trial lawyer in DC are gonna go absolutely wild on you.

I'm avoiding uneccessary risks...there's an isolated bus stop near me that I wouldn't go to on a bet...right next to the park. Also making sure my wife lets me take the car out to pump gas for her. Not likely to make a difference but it lets her know I care and its cheaper than flowers. When I do pump gas, I think of it as an opportunity to squeegee the windows instead of just standing there holding onto the pump. Casually looking around is a good idea also- it makes criminals of any stripe less comfortable targeting you.

[CubicleGuy]

It pretty much boils down to how one feels about death and dying, doesn't it? The earliest Christians seemed to take the attitude of "if God's ready to take me now, I'm ready to go now".

[INSENSITIVE GUY]

I wish this sniper could be found by a pack AMERICAN VIGILANTEES and given on the spot justice.

[Whilom]

My opinion: stick with your normal routine, don't walk in zig-zag patterns, keep your eyes and ears open for strange things, love your family and friends.

Sure, Rob, but don't stick with that line too long. He's headed south.

[AmericaUnited]

Changing anything because of this sniper is share, unadulterated irrationalness! The odds of YOU getting hit are much smaller than slipping in the bathtub and getting killed. How many people have stopped taking showers? The odds are probably 1000X greater of dying in an auto accident. How many have stopped driving?

[RobFromGa]

I've flown on airplanes many times since 9-11, including 9-11 this year. I even let my kids eat McDonalds food once in a while-- talk about taking a risk. We are not going to be changing a thing if he shows up in GA. Now, bio- or chem- warfare, that's a different thing completely. But a sniper? Not a calculable risk.

[babaloo999]

True. I wonder how many automobile related deaths there have been in DC metro since the sniper began work. Or shootings in PG county on any given weekend, for that matter. But, I don't have children in school in the affected(infected) areas, either.

[vollmond]

I had been sticking to my normal routine. Then last week, the shooting at the Home Depot occured directly across the street from the Exxon gas station I had picked out as safe. That shook me and my girlfriend up quite a bit, because we had discussed where to gas up based on the sniper's previous pattern, and had picked the Seven Corners area as safer because of the traffic patterns and the distance from 495 and 66.

If the sniper hadn't hit the place we calculated was safe two days after we gassed up, we probably wouldn't have varied our routine at all. But now, we're spending a lot more time at home, and I'm riding the Metro to work to avoid getting caught in beltway lockdowns.

In order to catch this guy, they need to draw him out so he leaves more clues. I'm not going to be the cheese in that mouse trap.

[cajun-jack]

yes yes yes....walk in zig azg patterns...the sniper will be laughing so hard that he couldn't hit a bull in the ass with a bass fiddle!!!!!! lol

[cajun-jack]

the media or the goobermint isn't saying it, but everyone knows that it is a "raghead" doing the sniping....bush needs to get on t.v. and make an announcemnet...."we are not going to put up with it!!!! everytime a sniper hits 1 american citizen, i am going to send a cobra to hit a mosque...everyone of us you kill, i will kill a hundred ragheads!!!!! ya'll want to meet allah...or that crazy old child molester mohammed??/ just mess up even a little bit and i'll kill you and feed you to the hogs!!!!! bet things would quieten down then except for aclu wetting their pants....this was a parody post....but it would work if it could "happen"