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Alabama Town Pulls Together After Killing Rampage

cnn.com — As the crime scene tape starts to come down in this small Southern town, the residents are leaning on one another for comfort and the strength to move on. "It's what community is about, isn't it? Crying together. Holding each other," a pastor said. It's hard for many to believe the shooting rampage could happen in this town of about 2,100 people.

Who dugg this? Made popular Mar 13, 2009

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  • benroy, on 03/12/2009, -3/+19I honestly and sincerely can not imagine what it must be like to have lived through that and survived.
    But as a resident of the west coast (San Diego), we are under the impression that most people in the southern states, (AL.) carry firearms. I guess that as a nation, we're not as different as CNN, FOX & MSNBC would have us believe that we are.
    Because if I had a gun, I would have shot back at that *****; regardless of what state we was in.
  • wolferz, on 03/13/2009, -2/+15I was wondering how long it would take for some one to start using this event to start pushing an agenda. It only took 24 hours with 9/11... and surprise surprise the very first thing i see when i start to look online about it is your comment. ***** Bravo.

    ok... let me educate you just a little bit. And yes this Alabama hick is about to educate some one who probably went to a school that could afford toilet paper for their bathrooms... just goes to show up-scale schools can't fix ignorance and stupidity.

    First off, no, "most people" do not carry fire arms. In fact... most people in the south do not own fire arms. It could be said that just about every one knows a person or two that does own fire arms (I personally know 3... though two of those are indirectly), but even then carrying one around is still a rare case. You are more likely to know Kevin bacon within 6 degrees than to know some one who caries around a fire arm within the same.

    We are not a bunch of ignorant hillbilly redneck idiots who all go hunting every weekend and shoot each other over bar fights on Fridays. If there is ignorance to be seen here... it's yours.

    Now a bit of an education about the right to bear arms. It may be true that many people aren't actively using this right... but any law that tries to take that right away is, itself, illegal. And that is exactly the way it should be. We have the right to own a fire arm if we CHOOSE. That doesn't mean we have to... but that we can.

    Why don't people more people own firearms? Part of it is because it's yet more governmental bs to go through to get one... and the dmv is enough governmental annoyance in my life. Secondly fire arms have to be cared for and maintained if you plan on using them. You can't just stick it in a closet for 6 years and pull it out one night in the middle of a burglary and expect, with your life on the line, for it to work. And finally there is the simple idea in most poeples minds that things like this "don't happen here" we aren't used the violence that is ascribed to big cities. We don't live in fear of walking down the wrong alley. We don't generally want a gun unless we want to kill something with four legs.

    But if i was afraid for my family or myself... there better not be any government getting between me and the means to protect myself. The moment there is then I will begin campaigning for a new government... and so should every one else with half a brain in their heads.
  • Smaulz, on 03/13/2009, -3/+14Still way too many restrictions and limitations on the CCW laws.
  • treytravis, on 03/13/2009, -0/+11dude, i never see anyone with guns except cops. And i live in bham alabama
  • offrdbandit, on 03/13/2009, -1/+10There is a big difference between owning a gun and carrying a concealed weapon. Less than half the people I know own weapons. I don't know anyone who carries a pistol with them. I know very few people who carry a pistol in their vehicle. I don't own a gun, but I am looking to purchase one.

    Southern "pro-gun" states aren't military zones. The people aren't ignorant or militant (such stereotypes are perpetuated to reinforce cultural and political divisions). Of course there are differences, but people from Colorado are a different than people from Pennsylvania.
  • revmhatt, on 03/13/2009, -0/+9This is my hometown. So crazy how everyone stops fighting about little ***** when a tragedy like this happens. I can't believe he got so far, everyone down here owns a gun.
  • jjohnstn, on 03/13/2009, -1/+9So sorry for what happened to your town.

    It is not enough to own a gun. You must have it with you, always.
  • AZRoboto, on 03/13/2009, -1/+9Among the victims: Corrine Gracy Myers, 18 months

    What a sick ***** that guy is.

    And Drogoganor, using a story like this to make a political point is in really, really poor taste.
  • cxk705, on 03/13/2009, -0/+7Its actually a nice place to live. Low cost of living, traffic is never that bad, people are friendly, relatively low crime rates, relatively low taxes, cheap land, and job development is more progressive here than most other parts of the country because of those factors.
  • DillingerSmooth, on 03/12/2009, -0/+6senseless......angry and sad at the same time
  • dvsbastard, on 03/13/2009, -4/+10Can Digg for once just leave religion / gun politics out of it and just look to it for the tragedy that it is...

    My thoughts go to those who were affected by this! :(
  • Arramol, on 03/13/2009, -0/+5So true. I live in Texas and don't know anyone who carries a gun with them. All of the people I can think of who own them use them for hunting. When they aren't hunting, the gun is in storage. Apparently people have this bizarre idea that Southerners are gun-slinging cowboys with a revolver on each hip.
  • Jackson0909, on 03/13/2009, -0/+5While I agree that Alabama is a much better place to live than most people on the west coast or in the northeast want to believe, low crime rate we do not have. I live in Birmingham and it is one of the most dangerous cities in the US.
  • inactive, on 03/13/2009, -1/+6Why are you pointing it out then, if not for politics?
  • tehjai, on 03/13/2009, -0/+4I, being from Baldwin County, have never fired a gun before. It's sad when people turn these things into a regional thing. I don't remember Columbine being in Alabama nor the interstate sniper attacks being in Alabama. I also don't remember hearing a guy running into an Amish community and killing children in Alabama. ***** happens and tragedies come about from it.

    You don't hear about shooting tragedies in Canada even though they own more guns than US Citizens. People need to get over the mentality that it's a redneck thing and that guns are just a redneck hobby. It boils down to the individual and their erratic behavior.
  • sturmgiest, on 03/13/2009, -0/+4a shooting happened in Germany a few hours after this one, all of Germany's gun ban failed to stop it and the guy killed more people too.
  • wolferz, on 03/13/2009, -0/+4@flyingcatcircus

    so you are saying that because your entire family... minus you apparently... are rednecks... then the sterio type regarding southerners (that every one in the south is rednecks) is true...

    Can you say "straw man argument?"

    You know what? People like you make me wonder at the ignorance and outright stupidity of northerners... but then I remember that I'm not ignorant and realize that not every one is like you.
  • macmcraeart, on 03/13/2009, -1/+5i don't know what it is about starbucks but it seems to attract crazy people like flies. i was in one this morning in a small southern town in middle georgia and this cazy ***** starts screaming and threatening people. i have seen this kind of ***** before and don't think much about it - but after the thing in alabama i got the hell out of there. people with mental disorders should be identified, isolated from society and drugged the ***** up.
  • DirtPile, on 03/13/2009, -0/+3GTFO, tard-knob.
  • tk0680, on 03/13/2009, -0/+3I will get buried to all holy balls for this, but ..

    I'm glad having armed citizens stopped another terrible shooting by an armed citizen. Except it didn't. Again.
  • kilofox, on 03/13/2009, -0/+3Queuing up someone bringing up video games every time there is a senseless killing posted on Digg..... oh wait.

    Seriously... the only one bringing up video games in this story..... is you. Happy now?

    This is the first thing you think of .... someone blaming video games?
  • Shirt, on 03/13/2009, -0/+2I am fairly politically moderate, but I tend to lean left in elections, although I hold some agreement with a few conservative principles. My family on the other hand is mostly very conservative, and what they believe has NEVER led any of them to come to the conclusion that it might be ok to kill another human being for no reason. The person who did this was mentally diseased. His political affiliation was probably what he was taught from birth by his family. The EXACT same outcome could have arisen from someone who is mentally diseased raised in a liberal family.

    If you honestly believe that people on the right are the only ones who have ever committed murder, or a hate crime, or spread fear, or lies, you are delusional.
  • thatguy331, on 03/13/2009, -1/+3The anti-gun nuts foam at the mouth when tragedies like this happen. Just think if there was a group like the Brady bunch who's sole agenda was to restrict your 1st amendment rights whenever someone famous made a racist remark and it gets the news people in a frenzy... "If we outlawed these racist *assault words* then there wouldn't be any racial violence and we'd save lives! The 1st amendment wasn't intended to cover people saying bad things!!!"
  • Retnuh730, on 03/13/2009, -2/+4Dude, ***** you. Their personal beliefs do not give you a right to be a dick, especially after a tragedy like this. There are 2 billion christians in the world and the best motive for this guy going psycho is his religion?
  • AZRoboto, on 03/13/2009, -1/+3Yeah, there is. It doesn't need to be said at all. Your points are selfish and unnecessary. These people just had a huge traumatic event and all you seem to care about is making it political.
  • treytravis, on 03/13/2009, -2/+4@dildo

    stfu, you need to chill the ***** out. Their religion is their choice, and you have no ***** right to harass them about it.
  • personalj, on 03/13/2009, -0/+2They're not assault rifles. Semi-automatic rifles are not assault rifles, selective fire rifles are.
  • offrdbandit, on 03/13/2009, -1/+3"Such big words, but can you prove that McVeigh or the Tennessee church shooter were not motivated by right wing politics?"

    It's not my responsibility to disprove your prejudice. I don't care what you believe, but I do reserve the right to call you a bigot for what you believe. I don't bear the burden of proof for your ignorance.

    "But let me ask you this - would you absolve the Nazi ideology of all the tragedies carried out in its name? Did millions of Germans just wake up and decide to invade other countries?"

    Nazi ideology was explicit about hatred, oppression of, and violence against Jews. Unless you can point to some overt "right-wing ideology" advocating violence your comparison is ridiculous. Certainly there are right-wing extremists who would see violence as a valid means of political expression.There are left-wing extremists out there as well. There are always extremists.

    You are trying to turn psychosis into a political weapon against people with whom you simply disagree, and it makes you look weak minded for doing so.

    "You don't like what I'm saying? I don't care."

    No I don't like what you are saying, and no I don't particularly care what you think. You have demonstrated exactly how worthless your opinion is. I'm just hoping someday you will see how worthless it is.
  • offrdbandit, on 03/13/2009, -1/+3Your belligerent hatemongering is no more appropriate than assuming every black person who gets arrested for violent crime is a "leftist" because Obama got 90+% of black votes.

    Feel free to "make whatever political point [you] want", but only haters respect hate.
  • offrdbandit, on 03/13/2009, -2/+4Because people with mental illnesses never seek religion, right? If you believe religion played some factor in his psychosis, I would be curious what you base this opinion on. Certainly you have an objective, scientific, or substantiated position, right? Of course you don't.

    Saying religion had anything to do with this is ridiculous and you know it. Maybe it did, maybe it didn't. I don't know, but neither do you. You have some personal problem with either religion in general or specifically Christianity that you can't justify logically, so you must grasp for any rationalization you can find. You are a bigot, and your opinion on this matter is of no value to any reasonably minded individual.
  • offrdbandit, on 03/13/2009, -1/+3"You can bury my comment if you like but you can't bury the facts of the matter."

    There are no "facts of the matter". What you "consider" to be a "natural consequence" is not a "fact of the matter". It's ignorant speculation. It's a demonstration of hate and prejudice. You can't accept the idea that anyone with an opinion or philosophy with which you disagree could possibly have a reasonable foundation for their beliefs.

    I don't agree with you, but I don't hate you. I don't think you can say the same thing. I think you are pathetically ignorant (which is rather ironic, in my opinion, given the sentiments you seem to have illustrated above). Was Bill Ayers a "natural consequence" of left-wing partisan philosophy? I don't think so. I wouldn't hang someone else's mental pathology around your neck in an attempt to smear your opinions. For you to do so, simply demonstrates your hateful and prejudicial nature. I pity you.
  • DirtPile, on 03/13/2009, -0/+2As I man from Alabama, please don't judge my state by this. Audemus jura nostra defendere.
  • offrdbandit, on 03/13/2009, -0/+1You can't "make sense" of mass murder.
  • Snap65, on 03/13/2009, -0/+1That's what I was wondering.
  • justinbaker, on 03/13/2009, -0/+1there are no such thing as assault rifles, only semi auto and full auto, and full auto is already banned
  • rheaume, on 03/13/2009, -0/+1I successful black man killed in Alabama? Nahhh
  • kawaiirobo, on 03/13/2009, -0/+1While I do agree that Birmingham Al isn't that bad of a place to live, Jackson is right the crime rate is astronomical, but as with almost any metropolitan area there is the good neighborhoods and the bad neighborhoods, so you just have to be careful. Also, cxk705, I don't know what part of Al you are from, but where I live, in the suburbs north east of Birmingham, the traffic is horrendous, not to mention that despite the many cities I have lived in, the drivers here are the worst. But despite those few complaints, it's not nearly as bad as I expected when I first moved here, and not at all like the image the rest of the country has of it.
  • kawaiirobo, on 03/13/2009, -1/+2The objection isn't at your political stance, it's at your impeccably poor taste in exploiting a tragedy for your own political agenda. If you can't see that then you are either blind, retarded or both.
  • Shirt, on 03/13/2009, -0/+1I am from Tennessee, but I live about 2 miles north of the AL state line, and the closest relevant city to me is Huntsville, AL, home of the Redstone Arsenal, the US Space and Rocket Center, the place that the Delta Rockets that send all your GPS and XM radio satellites into space are made (that's sort of in Decatur, I guess, but close enough), and where the job market is actually doing really well in spite of the economy. In fact, in these times of economic trouble, states like Tennessee and Alabama are some of those that are affected the least (still affected... just less), meaning that it's actually a really awesome place to live. One of the US portions of the International Space Station was built here. We have an Apple Store man, ***** it's like the same thing as California.

    /sarcasm
  • inactive, on 03/13/2009, -0/+1Assault rifle is a real term, referring to a fully automatic rifle
    "Assault Weapon" was a made up term that didn't exist before the AWB to make you think of an assault rifle, when in reality it refers to semi-automatic weapons, like a pistol, but assault weapon sounds scarier than semi-automatic
  • Shirt, on 03/13/2009, -0/+1So you think that if someone is going on a murderous rampage, it would be an ultimately bad thing for someone to shoot them before they kill more people? *****, dude, I'd pull the trigger.

    Nobody said anything about shooting everybody that acts crazy or is different or whatever it is you are thinking. You are the one who took it to the extreme.
  • kawaiirobo, on 03/13/2009, -1/+2Drogoganor, you can make any political point you want, but when you politicize a tragity like this is makes you look like a total ***** douche bag. I guess I have to agree with one thing I assume you believe in, a woman's right to choose, a right I really wish your mother had exercised.
  • sx66gns, on 03/13/2009, -1/+2The Devil is working overtime , We need to bond together and keep our heads straight.
  • offrdbandit, on 03/13/2009, -1/+2What the hell are you talking about?
  • computershack, on 03/13/2009, -0/+1We don't need to. BBC's Top Gear America trip told us all we need to know. Your citizens displayed all the redneckerry on camera that we Brits expected.
  • sturmgiest, on 03/13/2009, -0/+1One of the two "assault rifles" the murderer used was not banned under the 94 AWB and is functionally the same as a 1903 Winchester self loading rifle.

    Maybe you should learn a little more about guns before you form a political opinion on them.
  • tehjai, on 03/13/2009, -0/+1It's not happening... Jackson has torn ligaments in his jaw. The main even was changed to Evans vs Machida. Now, that's an even better mainevent to happen. I would love to see Rampage fight the winner of this.
  • revmhatt, on 03/13/2009, -0/+1http://lmgtfy.com/?q=assault+rifle
  • tk0680, on 03/13/2009, -0/+1I'm not even sure if that's a genuine (but retarded) post or a badly-written piece of spam.
  • Shirt, on 03/13/2009, -0/+1Douche.
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