Dallas sniper attack

[Ken Palmer]

Hello everyone. I know this is a morbid and sad topic to discuss here on this forum and has absolutely nothing to do with the subject of nudism and/or naturism. But my heart has been troubled by the recent sniper rampage which took place in downtown Dallas.Texas two nights ago even though I live in California. This attack took the lives of five police officers and wounded 7 others and two civilians. Those officers were protecting protesters during a peaceful demonstration. What really has me more than a bit disturbed is the way this individual deliberately targeted police officers in a relentless manner as they had no cover or protection. Plus he took advantage of their confusion since they had no idea where he was firing from. So, they were unable to even return fire for that reason. The sniper,on the other hand, had ample cover and protection because he was firing from an elevated position which was a parking garage structure. It consisted of concrete pillars and he would fire and then move to different positions. This of course added to the confusion and their inability to spot him until much later. Until then, they were pretty much picked off like sitting ducks in a shooting gallery! It tuns out this guy was an expert trained military combat engineer and a deadly marksman to make matters worse for the officers. As you probably know, he was killed later by an explosive device sent in by a remote-controlled robot to where he was hiding after they spotted and chased him into a different area after attempted negotiations with him failed. Like I said earlier, it is very disturbing that one person could inflict this many casualties on that many police officers in one incident. To me, that seems a lot more brutal than if he had targeted unarmed citizens although obviously that would have been horrible too. It just troubled me watching those officers attempting to locate the sniper and also trying to help their wounded fellow officers but couldn't due to the intensity and frightening accuracy of the sniper fire. They just looked so helpless during the entire ordeal until they were finally able to locate and then pursue him. Now please don't get me wrong on this issue. The reason the demonstration in Dallas occurred in the first place is because the anger towards police in the wake of the recent officer-involved shooting incidents in Baton Rouge,Louisiana and in St. Paul,Minnesota. But the actions of this individual is certainly no answer to alleged injustices by police officers as we all know. As I said, it's just frightening that there are people capable of committing this kind of acts of violence in society due to their training and expertise and specifically towards law enforcement. Does anyone else here feel the same way I do? If this is an inappropriate subject to talk about on here, just let me know. I just wanted to get it off of my chest because it really has been bothering me since it happened. It has also put sort of a damper on my normal jovial summer mood since summer is my favorite season of the entire year.

Ken Palmer

[Guest]

Ken, Agree with your basic sentiment about how troubling how all of this is. But discussing it, regardless of forum, tends to bring out way too many political opinions that seem to get skewed so far from the basic problems involved. And that leads to more division as opposed to unity. Not sure what it is going to take to bring people closer together, but I hope that people have had enough and see it's time for that.

[naturalmanwa]

I agree, this was a terrible tragedy. It seems like the last 7 years have been worse for Race relations than ever before. I have'nt the qualifications to suggest a solution to these situations, but I hope this doesn't turn into a political discussion.

[Ken Palmer]

I agree, this was a terrible tragedy. It seems like the last 7 years have been worse for Race relations than ever before. I have'nt the qualifications to suggest a solution to these situations, but I hope this doesn't turn into a political discussion.

Hello again everyone. After reading all of your replies on this subject, I just wanted you all to know that it was not my intent to start a political discussion at all. As I said, I was merely voicing my feelings regarding the incident which occurred in Dallas this past Thursday night and was wondering if any one else felt the same as I did.

Ken Palmer

[Evernude]

It's not always "political", nor is it isolated to the USA. Look at what one guy did with a truck in France! It's everywhere. It's people feeling isolated, angry, unheard, unwanted even. This is nothing new to people, but it does seem like something has snapped in society. Sadly, I think the worst is yet to come.

It just seems to me that there is more hate in the air, so to speak. It seems like the haters, the people who just seem to hate everybody and everything that they don't "approve" of have been given some kind of green light to go nuts, or more like a push over the edge. It's scary.

The only thing that has really changed in the world that could be a trigger is social media. Fifty years, or even just 30 years ago, you had to actually show up at a meeting, buy a magazine or subscribe to a paper or something to be immersed in some kind of movement or following. Now, just turn on your phone and you are instantly connected to everyone else in the world who is thinking like you! That could be good, or bad. I think it's the complete lack of time and filters that "information" has to flow through now that is contributing to these events.

I don't know anymore. Just a thought. Good post Ken. Thanks.

[Evernude]

And now an ambush of police in Baton Rouge...