Jacob Tyler Roberts
No lessons or wisdom from the latest mass shooting, this one at the Clackamas Town Center shopping mall in the Happy Valley suburb of Portland, Oregon; only the dispiriting acknowledgement of how easy and commonplace this sort of mindless, domestic terrorism has become in our society.
So many of us talk about the sense of entitlement of the generation just coming into its own now. But here is an example of the ultimate sense of entitlement, in all of its hideous perversity. Twenty-two-year-old Jacob Tyler Roberts decided it was his right and privilege to take the lives of forty-five-year-old Steven Mathew Forsyth and fifty-four-year-old Cindy Ann Yuille, two good and upstanding individuals he had never met.
Why? On one level, it hardly matters. What mattered to Roberts was that he was in possession of a stolen AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, and that made him omnipotent and the mall with 10,000 shoppers his own private video game. The fact that he took his own life is hardly surprising. Unlike serial killers, mass killers know that this one act is the absolute high point of their lives, and few plan or expect to leave alive. And like other types of suicide-oriented terrorists, this makes them impervious to the law.
So what is the takeaway?
Only that we are all vulnerable, that the only real way to protect ourselves and our loved ones is to withdraw completely from life, and that the fight against this and other forms of terrorism, like that against crime in general, will never be completely won but must be pursued relentlessly.
There are a lot more Jacob Robertses out there, whose only satisfaction in life is to be able to make others suffer and die for the sake of their own egos.
Could this horror have occurred if Roberts didn’t have easy access to a gun? Doubtful. This type of personality isn’t going to run through a mall stabbing people with a knife or clubbing them with a baseball bat.
By its very nature, this type of mass murder is a gun crime. And that is just a fact of American life.
NOT THE GUNS:….The meds that are given to these children and most adults!
“One of the most common side effects of psychiatric drugs is violent
outbursts and thoughts of suicide.”
I don’t think gun ownership or CCP would stop this violence. Confronting a gunman with bullets is dangerous even when true professionals are doing the shooting. Think of the NY incident where it was the police that accidentally shot the bystanders: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19380492 Compare that to the police who brought in the Colorado Joker or Breivik.
The best weapon against violence is a charged cell phone, imho.
I understand and respect what you say, Connor. It is not the individuals with concealed carry permits who cause the horror and devastation. They tend to be the responsible law abiders. Where you and I may differ is that I don’t think you’re going to stop these mass murderers by having enough good shots with CCP’s out there that one is going to be at the right place and time. In the fog and confusion of the moment, I think there is more chance of hurting innocent people. The other place we might differ is whether there is any practical reason for a civilian to need a military-style semi-automatic rifle or assault weapon. Thanks for writing. It is the feedback from thoughtful and articulate people like you that makes this ongoing discussion so interesting and meaningful.
I wouldn’t call it “easy” access. You make it sound as if he picked it up off a table at the mall entrance and opened fire. He stole it from someone. The security to which that individual stored the firearm is unknown, but there was obviously more that could have been done.
I know you and I may bash heads on this, but there are ways to defend your life and the life of others in the event that another individual decides to end his life in a wave of violence. I’m a strong advocate of concealed carry. I’m of the belief that were there a concealed carry permit holder in the mall that day that the belligerent could have been stopped sooner, and potentially before any innocent lives were lost. These mass shootings will not stop any time soon, but perhaps one day, a concealed carry permit holder will be on the scene, and can end the threat without any loss of innocent life. Maybe then, any potential future mass shooters will take notice and think twice before going on their own rampage, and instead seek necessary help.
Love everything you gentleman do. In fact I’m currently reading one of your books. Keep up the hard work.