UPDATE: 2:30 PM 10/2/17: The death toll has risen to 58, with more than 500 injured. Though it was first reported that Paddock was killed by police it now appears he shot himself before the police entered his room. There are still no details as to Paddock’s possible motives. The original post follows.
As I write this, the media is reporting that 50 have been killed and more than 400 others have been injured in a mass shooting at an open-air concert in Las Vegas. Police have identified the shooter as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, who opened fire on concertgoers from a hotel room in the Mandalay Bay complex overlooking the venue, killing dozens before himself being shot dead by police.
The staggering death toll, which seems sure to rise, makes this the worst mass shooting in American history. At this point we know very little about the shooter or what his motives may have been, but that hasn’t stopped 4Channers and far-right “media” sources from spreading disinformation and conspiracy theories.
We’ll know more soon enough, I assume. In the meantime, here are a few useful tweets I’ve gathered up so far.
A couple of thread on on the disinformation being spread about the shooting by many of the usual suspects.
For easier retrieval, I'm threading together the disinformation I've seen about the #MandalayBay Casino shooting in Las Vegas.
/1/
— Caroline Orr Bueno, Ph.D (@RVAwonk) October 2, 2017
Here Are All The Hoaxes Being Spread About The Las Vegas Shooting #MandalayBay https://t.co/L79J6iLuqU via @BuzzFeedNews pic.twitter.com/l2p9KOt8M7
— Ryan Broderick (@broderick) October 2, 2017
The execrable right-wing Gateway Pundit remains dedicated to getting everything wrong the fastest.
The @gatewaypundit wrote up Geary Danley as the #mandalaybay shooter and then deleted their post. pic.twitter.com/ocXtTOX6rL
— Ryan Broderick (@broderick) October 2, 2017
Other relevant tweets:
https://twitter.com/NivenJ1/status/914795331241484288
This week Congress is deciding to end background checks for silencers. No joke. #opposeSHAREact
— Jillzie 🟧 (@jcindc2002) October 2, 2017
Here is a rundown of Nevada gun laws. It’s lawful to possess a machine gun that is legally registered https://t.co/BjdQm68crz
— Sam Stein (@samstein) October 2, 2017
Just a reminder that it's only been 16 months since the last worst mass shooting in US history. https://t.co/jHQnDy30Lv
— Abigail Nussbaum (@NussbaumAbigail) October 2, 2017
My heart goes out to all those affected by this senseless tragedy. If you’re a WHTM reader who lives in or around Las Vegas, or if you’re visiting there, please let us know how you are doing.
Legislation isn’t going to happen while our legislators are being paid very handsomely by the NRA, unfortunately.
PeeVee: the UCLA thing may have been a hoax– a truly mixed blessing to say the least (police could find no evidence of a shooter).
Damned shame about Tom Petty.
Weird Eddie, wasn’t “Leather and Lace” with Don Henley? “Stop Dragging My Heart Around” was TP and SN.
But, yeah. Fuck this. ?
A poem for the victims
(my prose isn’t the best but I’m hoping it conveys my feelings and the message well enough)
As nighttime finished and sun peaked for Dawn,
We stare out our windows and try to please what goes wrong,
The news shows the hoaxes theories on lies,
No rest for the public when the internet cries,
Through every conspiracy every “loose end”
It’s the victims who suffer their stories, their friends,
They were our lovers, our family, our friends,
Their losses affect all, broken hearts to mend
So through the medias grasping at facts that may not be,
Remember the victims in the land of free
@kupo – what’s really pathetic is how little $$ it really takes.
One of my senators and my only congressman both took less than $10k from the NRA, yet still defend them to the bitter end. (One took about $2k, the other about $8k).
It’s astounding how cheaply bought those we elect to represent us really are.
This is where I got my information, and I used Resistbot to write my reps and demand that they take action on gun control, and give back any funds they’ve accepted from the NRA. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/toprecips.php?id=D000000082&cycle=2016
Nequam, yeah, I just saw the all-clear on that.
Thank God, becausd I really don’t know how much more I can take today.
http://image.slidesharecdn.com/13-semanticssynonymantonymhomonymhyponympolysemeidioms-130409205647-phpapp01/95/13-semantics-synonym-antonym-homonym-hyponym-polyseme-idioms-20-638.jpg
Everybody on board? Okay, now let’s ban the troll and get back to productive discussion.
@Zenobia I’m glad your cousin is safe.
@Moogie, that Vox article has good visuals. There’s a short one on historical battles compairing fatalities, up to the battle of Fallujah (2004). http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/historical-comparisons
I heard about the shooting first thing when I woke up this morning. At first I just felt so empty and helpless. Then I was angry, because we keep going through this cycle and there are things we can do, there are! Maybe we can’t prevent all the shootings, but we can stop a lot of them. So finally I called my congressman and faxed my senators and my congressman. And I’m going to do it again tomorrow, and next week, and the week after, because that’s what I can do.
This is what I wrote to my representatives:
” I’m sick of this. I grew up with mass shootings. The Columbine shooters would be my age if they had lived. The next school shooting happened the following fall my home state of MN.
I was in Charlottesville for a conference and watched first responders bring the bodies out of the Methodist Church where Dylan Roof massacred a bible study group. This last fall I called my representative Jack Bergman to tell him I was glad he was okay and give my condolences for the two Congressman shot on the baseball field.
I am sick of doing nothing but praying for victims. There are policy options we can pursue. We can let the CDC study gun violence as the public health issue it is.
By doing nothing we tell victims of gun violence that it is their fault. That it is these concert-goers fault for gathering into a large crowd that makes them an easy target. It’s their fault for going in public and not wearing a bulletproof vest. But that’s a lie. We can do something. I’m sick of Americans shooting Americans.”
dreemr:
Sounds like a job for crowdfunding. If 10k people gave $1 apiece, they could buy your senator and congressman.
Some brain bleach that does double duty as troll mockery
http://captionsearch.com/pix/3y99ealko.jpg
At U. of Kansas, spent shell casings found outside a dormitory… no shots fired, looks like someone dumped them there. Campus cops suspect someone trying to “make a statement” of unknown subject matter….
Lost in ‘Vegas shooting news was the downtown Lawrence Ks. shooting last night, 3 dead, 2 wounded….
“… what a week….”
“uhh, … it’s only Tuesday….”
@ Pee Vee…
oops… that memory cell musta got re-used sometime back….
It’s only Monday.
dreemr: ACK!
Weird Eddie: the sentiment remains the same.
NOW it’s being reported that Petty is still clinging to life.
I pray it is so.
@Diego Thank you for the very clear explanation.
@dreemr
Now that’s interesting. I could have sworn I saw some rumors about senator Murray taking MRS money but she’s not on the list. That’s good, at least!
@kupo well that’s good, I think? I can’t vouch for the accuracy of the site but it’s the only one that has all the numbers in one place.
While I’m waiting for cute animal pics, I shall post one of my cat burying me as usual.
For the past couple months he insists on draping over my chest from one shoulder to the other. Sheesh.
Humans are nature’s way of giving cats warm furniture.
@Moggie – that made me smile, thank you.
He isn’t ALL “take take take”. He grooms my ears and cheeks for me, so I guess that’s…a nice thing?
@dreemr
Aww. Adorable cat. They’re so wonderful at calming down jittery humans.
@IP
Your turnip pic clearly has the turnip greens still attached. I call shenanigans!
Turnip greens are delish
… nooooo….
Dreemr,
My Dracarys is similar, but fortunately she’s little so she doesn’t monopolize my entire torso. Just a significant portion of it.
Open threads here are always a trip.
Without singling out any one thing or any one body, some thoughts.
1. Humans haven’t been around for millions of years. HOMINIDS maybe, but not homo sapiens. I promise. Nobody was chomping down on Brontosauras ribs at the drive-in they arrived at with the courtesy of Fred’s two feet.
2. One of the ongoing problems with my fellow United Statesians is that we like to speak with authority on things we don’t know a lot about. Which is why…
3. I’ve found that MANY people quote the U.S. Constitution/Bill of Rights and/or King James Bible who haven’t actually READ either. I’ve heard “money is the root of all evil” twice since Sunday. I just. Anywenny.
4. I maintain that the salvation imperative ruined the whole “Christian compassion and charity” facet that might have otherwise been a part of my country’s national character. Alas, people knock that whole John 3:16 thing outta the park, and then give themselves license to be assholes forever after, cuz heaven’s locked in. Humans…
5. There’s no need to ever “play Devil’s advocate.” Just own that you harbor some fucked-up ideas and say so, instead of hiding behind what you say is unbiased objectivity. You can be an asshole, or you can change. That’s it. Plus, if there really is a hell, rest assured, the Devil has a whooooole buffet of talented legal minds to pick from. And speaking of evil!…
6. Puerto Rico is in dire need of clean drinking water. And a competent President.
7. “Runnin’ Down A Dream” is still one of the best driving songs of all time.
8. Also, please look up the Fighting Words Doctrine with regard to free speech.
9. The only way to get gun safety rolling is to get a bunch of Black people to start purchasing firearms and showing up in groups of 5-7 at shooting ranges with them. Black Panthers with guns was how we got guns regulated in America in the first place. I wish I was joking.
10. FINALLY. Trolls think they’re triggering us when they troll. When in doubt, ask yourself : is this exchange that is infuriatingly circular just making you angry? Yeah? Okay. You might be someone’s sick entertainment. Or kink! Online provocation is…yeah. It’s a kink! What a world, huh?