Some things aren’t worth killing for
Is texting reason to gun down
someone?
I know how aggravating it is when you’re in a restaurant, a waiting room, a store, or other public place where a person next to you constantly is texting or talking on the cell phone. You might even do a Walter Mitty and fantasize about grabbing the phone away and hurling it out a window or stomping it to bits. But, most of us only fantasize, we don’t follow through.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case at a movie house in a Tampa suburb on Sunday. According to reports, Chad Oulson was texting his daughter during the previews, which apparently bothered Curtis Reeves who was sitting behind him. Reeves reportedly asked Oulson to stop, finally getting up to go get a manager. Or so others in the theater thought.
When Reeves returned, he and Oulson argued more, with Oulson reportedly asking if he’d told on him. The argument escalated. Reeves contended Oulson hit him with an object and feared he was being attacked. Witnesses told investigators Oulson threw a bag of popcorn, but never struck or traded punches with Reeves. Nevertheless, Reeves pulled a .380 automatic and shot Oulson. Oulson’s wife had raised her hand to try and protect her husband, and the bullet passed through it.
Now, a 43-year-old father is dead, his wife is wounded, and a 71-year-old former police officer is charged with second-degree murder. All because of texting.
Or is it?
Could it be because a man carrying a gun, apparently because he could, let his anger get away from him over such a trivial matter and he lashed out? Is getting popcorn tossed at you justification for using deadly force? If it is, society is in a sorrier state than I imagined. Rude behavior, verbal comments, even having popcorn thrown in your face does not justify shooting someone.
If the gentleman felt his life was in danger, then possibly he has more problems than revealed so far — especially since reports indicate no one else corroborated what he said happened — and didn’t need to be carrying a gun.
I know when it comes to guns, the only publicly accepted positions are the extremes. Once more, I look for a middle ground. Guns themselves aren’t a problem, it’s the people who misuse them that’s the problem. Shooting someone during an argument over texting falls into that category. I have no problem with people being able to legally carry guns. I do think, however, just because someone is legally qualified to carry a gun doesn’t mean they ought to be carrying one. This may have been just a random incident, but I believe it reinforces my thinking.
We need to find some common ground in this country about guns where people continue exercising their Second Amendment rights but without incidents such as these happening. We need to stop letting the extreme sides dictate the issue.
It’s sad that instead of getting a manager to ask Oulson to put away his cell phone, or just changing seats if he found it that annoying, Reeves chose to stand his ground and let the situation escalate into a tragedy for everyone.
The irony is the theater prohibited cell phone use and texting in its movie auditoriums, and weapons, too.
I know how aggravating it is when you’re in a restaurant, a waiting room, a store, or other public place where a person next to you constantly is texting or talking on the cell phone. You might even do a Walter Mitty and fantasize about grabbing the phone away and hurling it out a window or stomping it to bits. But, most of us only fantasize, we don’t follow through.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case at a movie house in a Tampa suburb on Sunday. According to reports, Chad Oulson was texting his daughter during the previews, which apparently bothered Curtis Reeves who was sitting behind him. Reeves reportedly asked Oulson to stop, finally getting up to go get a manager. Or so others in the theater thought.
When Reeves returned, he and Oulson argued more, with Oulson reportedly asking if he’d told on him. The argument escalated. Reeves contended Oulson hit him with an object and feared he was being attacked. Witnesses told investigators Oulson threw a bag of popcorn, but never struck or traded punches with Reeves. Nevertheless, Reeves pulled a .380 automatic and shot Oulson. Oulson’s wife had raised her hand to try and protect her husband, and the bullet passed through it.
Now, a 43-year-old father is dead, his wife is wounded, and a 71-year-old former police officer is charged with second-degree murder. All because of texting.
Or is it?
Could it be because a man carrying a gun, apparently because he could, let his anger get away from him over such a trivial matter and he lashed out? Is getting popcorn tossed at you justification for using deadly force? If it is, society is in a sorrier state than I imagined. Rude behavior, verbal comments, even having popcorn thrown in your face does not justify shooting someone.
If the gentleman felt his life was in danger, then possibly he has more problems than revealed so far — especially since reports indicate no one else corroborated what he said happened — and didn’t need to be carrying a gun.
I know when it comes to guns, the only publicly accepted positions are the extremes. Once more, I look for a middle ground. Guns themselves aren’t a problem, it’s the people who misuse them that’s the problem. Shooting someone during an argument over texting falls into that category. I have no problem with people being able to legally carry guns. I do think, however, just because someone is legally qualified to carry a gun doesn’t mean they ought to be carrying one. This may have been just a random incident, but I believe it reinforces my thinking.
We need to find some common ground in this country about guns where people continue exercising their Second Amendment rights but without incidents such as these happening. We need to stop letting the extreme sides dictate the issue.
It’s sad that instead of getting a manager to ask Oulson to put away his cell phone, or just changing seats if he found it that annoying, Reeves chose to stand his ground and let the situation escalate into a tragedy for everyone.
The irony is the theater prohibited cell phone use and texting in its movie auditoriums, and weapons, too.
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