American Law Enforcement and Guns

[Xiahou]

They always seem to try ...

Reeves told the detective that Oulson struck him in the face with an unknown object, and that's when he removed a .380 caliber gun from his pants pocket. The report said Reeves fired the gun and struck Oulson once in the chest and that he "was in fear of being attacked." [...]

"The alleged victim attacked him," Escobar said, adding that Oulson threw something, possibly popcorn, at Reeves. "At that point in time he has every right to defend himself."

And then he was denied bail by the judge because "The evidence of guilt is significant"

There is something to be said for just being nice to people here though- golden rule and all that. The old lunatic was clearly very upset and the victim had several option available to him such as: ignore him; apologize for texting in the theater and go to the lobby to finish texting; put your phone away; or, apparently, throw food at the irate person.....

I'm not sure why he thought that the last option was the best one available to him. I'm sure if he knew it'd result in his getting shot, he most likely would have opted for one of the more neighborly options instead of the one that escalates the conflict.

This in no way is justification for the shooting. But people should think twice before they escalate a confrontation. Sometimes it's better to let your ego take one for the team, back down and de-escalate the situation. I'm sure that probably makes you less of a man, but come on.

[Major Robert Dump]

You guys are so judgemental! Have you ever worked the mean streets? This man put his life on the line so you could sleep well at night! Criminals have been known to use Popcorn Bucket Guns before. In some of the slums, gang bangers often use the ancient ninja technique of throwing popcorn in the eyes of their opponent just before attacking. This man is a hero. The "victim" as you call him had tattoos.

[Husar]

Sometimes it's better to let your ego take one for the team, back down and de-escalate the situation. I'm sure that probably makes you less of a man, but come on.

Half the wars in this world are fought because everyone knows that letting your ego take one for the team shows weakness and the predators on the other side are going to exploit that and murder you relentlessly. The last thing a real man wants to do is take one for the team. The guy should have preemptively shot the cop instead or glued him to his chair and only let him go after a full body cavity search.

[Fisherking]

Those wars and diplomacy screw-ups are because governments tend to act like 5 year old boys.

Funny how we send supposedly smart people to government to act so dumb.

[Husar]

Those wars and diplomacy screw-ups are because governments tend to act like 5 year old boys.

Funny how we send supposedly smart people to government to act so dumb.

There is usually a sizeable part of the populace that supports this exact behavior.
I also thought about linking to the thread where I got robbed and half the people told me to be a real man I should get my buddies and beat the guy up or should've done so right away even though I had no idea how dangerous he really was...

Israel and Palestine largely fight because they both think that taking one for peace makes you look weak.

Why did the USA not take one for the team after 9/11? No, the US did not want to look weak and showed the world that it can invade and crush two countries and topple their governments for supporting an attack on US soil. There was no backing down or taking one for the team, blood had to flow and revenge had to be served.

What Russia thinks of deescalation should be known although thankfully they often decided otherwise when the world was at stake (e.g. Cuban missile crisis).

The media and the people usually think that any attack on the "honor of the nation" requires an act of revenge and a show of strength, men have to show strength to impress women in many cases. To demand that he "take one for the team" is against the values 80-90% of the world's male population grows up with. Even in sports it's often just an ideal and quite a lot of team players would rather get a better contract themselves than take one for the team.

And here we have a guy texting during what are basically commercials in a cinema when some grumpy old guy starts to complain and he is supposed to take one for the team and somehow has to expect to get shot otherwise?

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

And then he was denied bail by the judge because "The evidence of guilt is significant"

There is something to be said for just being nice to people here though- golden rule and all that. The old lunatic was clearly very upset and the victim had several option available to him such as: ignore him; apologize for texting in the theater and go to the lobby to finish texting; put your phone away; or, apparently, throw food at the irate person.....

I'm not sure why he thought that the last option was the best one available to him. I'm sure if he knew it'd result in his getting shot, he most likely would have opted for one of the more neighborly options instead of the one that escalates the conflict.

This in no way is justification for the shooting. But people should think twice before they escalate a confrontation. Sometimes it's better to let your ego take one for the team, back down and de-escalate the situation. I'm sure that probably makes you less of a man, but come on.

We don't know what happened exactly, but the fact that the local cops charged him imidiately means one of three this.

1. He's guilty as sin

2. He's a jerk and a thug and they all hate him.

3. All of the above.

This happened because of the ubiquity of guns in the US and the fact that walking around with lethal force in your trousers in considered acceptable. The fact that this was an ex cop from the jurisdiction makes it a comment on law enforcement. He obviously knew the relevant law - and decided he would get away with shooting the guy.