Sutherland Springs

We live in the times of the myth of Alex Jones’ and Fox TV’s Antifa Apocalypse on November 4, 2017, while real outbreaks of violence continue to catch our attention.

sMiles writes:

"So with the internet rumors that yesterday was supposed to be the start of conflagrations between AntiFa / Alt-Right actors ... having seen some sort of political parade downtown yesterday, then a couple streets over I saw a handful of Open Carry activists with their Assault Rifles (snapped a picture of them) ... I was surprised to read this morning about this crazy incident in North Austin" See, Four injured after multiple highway shootings, suspect in custody.

I did note the bizarre incident with Senator Rand Paul on the 4th too. See here.

Now comes Sunday, November 5th. 

In 1605. Guy Fawkes is arrested and the Gunpowder Plot is revealed.

Remember, remember,

The Fifth of November,

Gunpowder treason and plot;

For I see no reason

Why Gunpowder Treason

Should ever be forgot.

Nursery rhyme

In 1990, Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the far-right Kach movement, is shot dead after a speech at a New York City hotel.

In 2009, U.S. Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan murders 13 and wounds 32 at Fort Hood, Texas in the deadliest mass shooting at a U.S. military installation.

And in 2017:

According to multiple witnesses, several people have been shot at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs (population 680). One account says a 2-year-old was shot.

People are reporting 20 shots were heard.

Police and emergency crews responded to shots fired in the 200 block of 4th Street in Sutherland Springs, Texas. This is about 30 miles from San Antonio, down the road from the Alamo.

Reports indicate the shooter is dead.

Apparently, at least, 27 people have been killed.

There appears to be some awareness of a "haunted house" for Sutherland Springs, Texas.

From Wikipedia, at Sutherland Springs, Texas, "Haunted House 1936."

Austin Shootings: Ponder and Pause in the Midst of a Media Frenzy

Saturday, July 30, 2016's wreck of a hot-air balloon was only miles from Austin, Texas. Lockhart is about 30 miles south of Austin.

Overnight, in the early morning hours of Sunday, July 31, 2016, reports out of Austin, Texas, tell of an "active shooter," and accounts of "separate shootings within the same area."

A moment to pause....

As I had to note a few years ago, gang shootings, domestic violence shootings, and friend-on-friend or gender-related-passion shootings take place all the time in America. But during news cycles of increased media attention to mass shootings, shooting sprees, terrorism attacks, and "rampages," every dispute that ends in gunfire will initially be reported as if it is an extraordinary and similar situation.

I'm not sure what's up with this Austin shooting, but I'm wondering if it is just another one of these types of shootings that is being overblown by the media. This is not to diminish the deaths of anyone involved in any such incident, but we have to start being able to discriminate between shootings, even if the media does not.

Calling something a "mass shooter situation" does not make it like all the rest.

The Austin, Texas police have said that one person (a female) was killed and four were injured following an "active shooter incident" in Austin.

The Austin-Travis County EMS tweeted there were "multiple" individuals with gunshot wounds.

Units were responding to the area of 208 East 6th Street.  This is the address of the Friends bar.

This section of town is a busy area, very youth-oriented and tourist-oriented. To get some idea of where this spot is, two blocks away, the Museum of the Weird is located at 412 East 6th Street, which is next to the Jackalope and the Chupacabra Cantina. A block in between is the Alamo Drafthouse. The Friends bar is in back behind Voodoo Doughnuts.

Residents are being told to stay away from the downtown area.

The location of the shooter or shooters is unknown.

Be careful. Be safe.

Thanks to Mike Playfair for the alert.