<p>To the contrary, I don’t think bad tempers have become normalized. There are loud mouthed jerks out there, and most people choose to avoid the confrontation rather than engage.</p>
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I’ve said all that I care to ok this matter…</p>
<p>SteelTrap, this could’ve happened ok any state. </p>
<p>Personally, these cases have no effect ok what I think of Florida or necessarily the people of Florida. I may think, “Wow, people are crazy”. And then I go on with my life. I’m more likely to move out of state because of better opportunities or a more preferable living environment than out-of-blue, random, extreme cases.</p>
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<p>I don’t think this is a “Florida thing” even if some laws their legislature passed and previous cases have given them a black eye. </p>
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<p>My first thoughts were more along the lines of “Great, another ostensible adult who’s damning lack of emotional self-control combined with his possession of a deadly weapon ended with tragic consequences.”</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, how many states have concealed carry permits that allow people to take guns into public places? Ahd to be honest, the “stand your ground” law scares the snot outta me.</p>
<p>^^
Most states. Actually, maybe all states have some concealed carry permits. Most states have rather easy-to-get permits.</p>
<p>From Wiki…</p>
<p>While there is no federal law specifically addressing the issuance of concealed carry permits, all 50 states have passed laws allowing citizens to carry certain concealed firearms in public, either without a permit or after obtaining a permit from local government and/or law enforcement.</p>
<p>Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco specifically addressed "stand your ground, in comments made to The Daily Mail:</p>
<p>"Stand Your Ground is a hot topic in Florida. Even if you have a clear Stand Your Ground case then you still have to work incredibly hard to prove that is valid. So from our perspective, if we think it is going to be used as a defense we have to prove why it’s not relevant. We immediately brought in our states attorney’s office to work with us after Monday’s shooting. I remember very clearly that we stood outside the movie theatre, got all the detectives over and said, “what do we think we’ve got here? Is this a Stand Your Ground case?” Everyone said, no way, this is not Stand Your Ground. </p>
<p>One of the key elements is that the theater was not packed so there was ample opportunity for anybody to move their seat if they wanted to. From our investigation it seems simply that the agitation of someone using their cell phone to text has caused this. All the evidence and witness statements we have point that way. The suspect was sitting there, they had an argument about texting, the victim turned around, threw something, a shot is fired and the next thing you know a man is dead."</p>
<p>Sheriff Nocco also said the shooter [Reeves] went out of the theatre to see a manager and then came back in to the same spot. Nocco says, “the fact the suspect had the ability to go and see the manager, shows he had the ability to move his seat.” He also said nothing other than popcorn was thrown.</p>
<p>The victim was worried about his sick 3 year old and was texting the babysitter. There were, it seems, only 25 people in the theatre.</p>
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<p>I doubt that particular information is any less relevant to this situation than your stories of guffawing on the subway with your buddies at individuals raging at authority figures in the 80’s.</p>
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<p>Well, if this person just has a bad temper vs. mental illness or dementia of recent onset, it seems it would have been part of his personality profile as mentioned by jym626 upstream. Additionally, it would seem that it would also have been an issue during his active duty years, which would certainly be brought up at trial. It’s kind of hard to hide that kind of personality trait forever, and he had a long career.</p>
<p>Lots of former cops carry guns. A retired Tampa Police Dept. sergeant living near us usually does…she has it holstered on her ankle under her pants.</p>
<p>The retired cop/shooter might have shot the guy in theater thinking the other guy had a gun in his hand. When the guy turned around throwing the popcorn, he might have had his cell phone in his hand with his arm extended pointed toward retired cop who let him have it in self defense thinking he was about to get shot. Kinda like when at a traffic stop…it’s not smart to make sudden moves with your hands getting your wallet or papers out of glove box…the cop might think you’re pulling a gun on him.</p>
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<p>Can you tell me where you read this? Because it’s contrary to everything I’ve read.</p>
<p>What I read is that dad’s normal days off were Sunday and Monday. Mom works for USAA Insurance. She normally works Mondays but took the day off to spend it with dad. Kid spent Monday at the daycare center as usual.</p>
<p>I still would like to know how many states allow people to take concealed weapons into a public place. “Many” doesnt really answer the question. Anyone know how many?</p>
<p>Florida, in another of its idiotic rulings, restricted doctors from asking about weapons in the home in 2011. So pediatricians couldn’t ask kids, mental health providers couldn’t ask depressed or suicidal or impulsive ore explosive patients. . [Poll:</a> Should Doctors Ask About Guns In Patients’ Homes? : Shots - Health News : NPR](<a href=“Poll: Should Doctors Ask About Guns In Patients' Homes? : Shots - Health News : NPR”>Poll: Should Doctors Ask About Guns In Patients' Homes? : Shots - Health News : NPR) Fortunately a federal judge placed an injunction on this absurd law, but Fla appealed. It was heard in federal appeals court last summer, but as of this last article, there had been no ruling. Don’t know the latest. [No</a> decision in round two of ‘Docs vs. Glocks’ in Miami federal appeals court - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com](<a href=“http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/18/3505391/its-round-two-of-docs-vs-glocks.html]No”>http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/18/3505391/its-round-two-of-docs-vs-glocks.html)</p>
<p>Georgia is considering allowing students to carry concealed weapons on campuses. This would be terrible. This has been addressed on cc in the past (colorado I think??). BAD idea.</p>
<p>a few even in past workplaces who had short fuses and would start yelling or even damaging/**destroying institutional property **when they lost their tempers because they didn’t get their way at all or quickly enough.</p>
<p>That is just beyond the pale in my opinion. I don’t care how angry a person becomes at work (or anywhere) the idea of destroying corporate property just seems absurd…and outside the range of normal anger. </p>
<p>A few years ago, I worked for a high-end appliance store for a short time…just for fun ( I really LOVED it…lol…seriously. I went in to buy a dishwasher and the owner offered me a job!). Anyway, after I worked there for a bit, the (retiring) owner hired this new store manager…he had been the area rep for a high-end brand. </p>
<p>One day, at an “employee meeting,” he threw a computer across the room in anger because two of the guys (in his opinion) were spending too much time “surfing the net” ( a couple of the guys liked to buy/sell on ebay). He then took a small desk, put it in the parking lot and drove over it with his SUV. Scared the bejeezus out of me. I quit a few weeks later cuz I just thought this new guy was too unstable (he yelled at the accountant because she asked him if he liked golf - I witnessed that weird exchange.)</p>
<p>anyway…just my opinion, but this sort of behavior is outside the “normal range” for expressing annoyance - irritation - anger.</p>
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I find this very hard to believe. What kind of environment did you grow up in, Cobrat, where "plenty of folks “damaged/destroyed property”. If you are going to recount stories of boys in the hood, aggression and turf protection can be seen in that environment. Its hard to believe that in the 14-15 years since you have been out of college that you’ve seen several of these explosive outbursts in the workplace, as they just aren’t all that common, unless you are talking about drunk patrons having barroom brawls while you were playing a music gig or something.</p>
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But didn’t Chad Oulson have his phone clearly in one hand (which caused the rukus, unless he’d put it away by the time Reeves returned) and if he was holding the popcorn in his other hand, how could he then pull out a gun from somewhere. The article I linked earlier said the witnesses claimed he "threw a bag of popcorn at Reeves, and then Reeves pulled out a gun and shot him. Hard to believe he would confuse a bag of popped popcorn with a gun or potential bullet. I can maybe, maybe see if he was hit hard with one unpopped kernel ( not a whole bag of popcorn) that it might have triggered an automatic response in him (pun unintended) but still, thats a longshot (oops pun again unintended).</p>
<p>find this very hard to believe. What kind of environment did you grow up in, Cobrat, where "plenty of folks “damaged/destroyed property”.</p>
<p>I agree that it’s hard to believe that “plenty of folks” behave this way. Usually, it’s the fact that few people behave this way which is why such behavior seems so “fringe” when you see it. </p>
<p>My sister often says, you don’t have to have initials after your name to know that you’re observing something that just isn’t “normal”. You may not be able to say, “that’s X” or “that’s Y,” but you know that it’s “not normal.” When that boss threw the computer across the room in anger and ran over the desk with his truck, I knew: “not normal.” lol</p>
<p>jym, Don’t know…wasn’t there…didn’t see what happened. Chad could have swung around throwing popcorn with one hand and had his cell phone in other hand gesturing or pointing at Reeves and Reeves thought Chad had a bead on him with what he thought was a gun (the cell phone). It probably wasn’t lighted brightly in the theater. Reeves better come up with some kind of explanation…he’s in a bad spot.</p>
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<p>I’ve known several attorneys who were known for throwing equipment, books, pens, etc. at their secretaries and associates. For one in particular, anyone going into his office knew to stand near the door so a quick exit could be made if necessary. The back of his office door was covered with knicks and dents. </p>
<p>For me, the problem is easy access to guns. The “but for” is the gun.</p>
<p>Lizard…
I sure hope this is not the defense: “Mr. Reeves thought that Chad had a gun in his hand, but it turned out to be his cell phone. He had to protect himself, his wife, and the other moviegoers.”</p>
<p>*I’ve known several attorneys who were known for throwing equipment, books, pens, etc. at their secretaries and associates. For one in particular, anyone going into his office knew to stand near the door so a quick exit could be made if necessary. The back of his office door was covered with knicks and dents. *</p>
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Why isn’t that criminal behavior? At a minimum, it’s office bullying. But really, if anyone was hit, that’s assault.</p>
<p>Again…“not normal.” lol</p>
<p>Lizard,
Are you his lawyer? 
Sounds like an argument he might try to use, but , fortunately, there are about 24 other potential witnesses.</p>
<p>The 24 probably have 24 different versions of what “really” happened.</p>