Saturday, June 1, 2013

Starter's Active Shooter Clothesline Travesty

So Ladies and Gentlemen,
We all know the Starter logo, and are probably familiar with some of their products. Well yesterday, I bought a tank-top of Starters and when I got home, I noticed that the type of Starter tank-top was called Active Shooter. Well okay, that's a problem. Do any of you know what Active Shooter means?

An active shooter is defined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as "an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area; in most cases, active shooters use firearm[s] and there is no pattern or method to their selection of victims." The definition of active shooter includes so-called "school shootings" and "snipers", but not usually suicide bombers. Active shooters have caused a paradigm shift in law enforcement training and tactics, as victims are not necessarily expected to escape or even survive these situations. Described as “social isolates” who “harbored feelings of hate and anger” active shooters often had some previous contact with mental health professionals. While a common factor, the functional role that mental illness plays in causing the massacre is indeterminate according to FBI analysis. In cases analyzed by the FBI very few of the shooters had "previous arrests for violent crimes, though many had encountered a significant emotional hardship prior to the attack such as loss of significant relationships, changes in financial status, loss of a job, changes in living arrangements, major adverse changes to life circumstances, and/or feelings of humiliation or rejection on the part of the shooter.” Active shooters initiate their "killing spree" most often in populated areas using firearm(s), and display no pattern or method for selection of their victims.

Do we all see the problem now? Are we all on the same page? Good. The fact that Starter created a tank-top line called Active Shooter, is not only pathetic, and seems like a poor idea for sales in general. It also seems to me to be a sort of nod as to where America as a society is ending up. A society where we end up making mass murderers and killers into martyrs and the presidents the devil. Seems a little messed up doesn't it? But then America's whole perception of culture and society is wildly skewed but that is a rant for another day.

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