Mass shootings are always a tragic thing. No innocent people deserve to die such horrific deaths, especially while watching a movie. This thing could have happened in any city at any time. Shit like this that happens is not just limited to movies and comic books, it happens in real life, yet people are never truly aware nor truly prepared. They just think that nothing's going to happen, ever.
And they'd be right, most of the time. See, if you go out, there's going to be a 99.9% chance that you're not going to be in any type of mortal danger. In other words, you have a higher chance of getting struck by lightning than by encountering some crazed lunatic straight out of Batman.
Then there's the .1% of the time. The scary thing about this occurrence is the stark reality that this is the kind of scene that could have easily been portrayed in a Batman movie or any other superhero movie. In fact, word on the street is that the perpetrator dressed up as the Joker (I might be wrong, but he was basically armed to the teeth and had been planning his attack for quite a while).
The difference between Gotham City and pretty much any major city in the US is that superheroes don't exist. There is no caped crusader, no team of vigilante mutants or even Avengers to rescue you when you really need it. In most cities, police are usually minutes away when seconds matter. And the sickos in the world know this.
As much as I am a geek, I'm also a gun person and an ardent supporter of the Second Amendment. I'm not going to turn this into NRA propaganda because that's not the purpose of this blog. Concealed carry doesn't exist to turn us all into Batman wannabes. However I will end by saying that several or even one well-trained person could have saved those 12 people from dying and those 59 from getting injured. What? There was smoke you say? Take it from me, chances are that people who carry get enough practice on the range to know not to fire blindly into the darkness. Also guns give off bright muzzle flashes (the reason why you need eye protection when shooting) so even if there was smoke, you'd still be able to identify the location of the shooter. Furthermore, many people have flashlights or laser attachments. Maybe someone could have been injured had there been someone carrying concealed at the location when the shooting started. I'd take a few injured (hell, I'd rather be injured) than get the entire theater massacred. Sometimes, with issues like these, it's a matter of wanting it bad or worst. Nothing is black and white anymore.
Batman may not be real, but men like the Joker, like Bane, like the rest of the Rogues Gallery and inmates at Arkham Asylum are. Superheroes aren't real. Monsters are. It falls on the average citizen to protect themselves. You don't like guns or the idea of hurting someone even if said someone is holding you at gunpoint (or threatening to literally cut your mouth open)? Regardless of political views, protecting yourself and others around you is a human priority, not a political one. Oftentimes, it's not a glamorous thing to do considering the multitude of possible outcomes. Of course, if it's your family or the deranged psychopathic lunatic threatening to kill them and the entire crowd of innocent people, I think the choice should be fairly clear.
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