Two weeks ago at a Florida theater, a man was shot to death for texting during a movie.
There seems to be an ongoing trend of public displays of violence and rage throughout not only the world but our neighboring cities as well.
These acts of aggression can stem from sociopaths with mental disorders, such as the individuals who go on massive killing sprees in public places, or even a seemingly regular person who allows their rage to take over.
It’s easy to grow numb to these tragic events when there is a constant flow of violence streamed through our news pages. Sadly, most of these news stories no longer make it onto the front page.
Chad Oulson and his wife attended the Grove 16 Theater in Florida.
Oulson was texting during the showing of “Lone Survivor.” The man sitting in front of Oulson, Curtis Reeves, asked Oulson to stop texting. Oulson didn’t comply.
The verbal exchange between Oulson and Reeves quickly escalated to physical aggression … or what Reeve’s attorney claims as aggression.
Oulson had thrown popcorn at Reeves.
According to Reeve’s attorney, Oulson throwing popcorn at Reeves proved that Oulson was the aggressor. By this theory, that would mean Reeve’s had no choice but to shoot Oulson during the movie, killing Oulson and injuring his wife.
The person Oulson was texting was his daughter’s babysitter.
Reeve’s attorney justifies the killing by claiming self-defense. Throwing popcorn is apparently a reason to be shot.
If Reeve’s attorney can use throwing popcorn as reason for self-defense, is this going to become the societal norm?
There is a reoccurring trend of random acts of violence happening worldwide.
The first U.S. public shooting I can remember is the Columbine High School massacre. At the age of 10, I recall thinking that was a rare occurrence. Nothing like that could possibly happen again.
It was almost as if we didn’t have time to process that tragedy before the Santana High School shooting took place two years later.
Then came a slew of ongoing tragedies from Virginia Tech, Aurora shooting, Red lake massacre and the most heart wrenching of all, Sandy Hook Elementary School.
The events listed above were circulated throughout news medias for weeks but there are just as devastating events that don’t always catch wind.
The rise of random acts of violence doesn’t seem to be pausing anytime soon and I used to wonder, “Why does this keep happening?”
As I read about the gross number of deaths involved in random shootings, such as the Florida incident, I’m slowly growing numb to acts of violence published on the news.
News stories about war, shootings, stabbings and beatings are almost inescapable.
I can’t remember a day when I flipped through my LA Times app and didn’t read a story involving a random act of violence.
Will we become a product of our environment or will the environment become a product of us?