I think it has a lot to do with how unexpected it is. Without any warning whatsoever, suddenly 12 people are dead. In Africa, it's genocide, so it doesn't come as any surprise when someone dies (as sad as that sounds). And I mean, I was crushed by the death of someone close to me and since then I've thought a lot more about all the people that die every day and all the people e(a?)ffected by those deaths, but it's not like I'm going to bring that up in conversation.

Oh, and the media plays a big role. It's much more in your face when it's breaking news and you hear all about the people than the death of someone that is never brought to your attention.

I guess that's what gets me. It's just accepted that it happens. I don't understand that.

I found out yesterday that a friend and ex-military colleague died in a motorcycle accident. Wasn't surprising though, as he was a motorcycle stunt enthusiast...

If Maj. Malik had actually been Private (insert typical white male name here), this shooting incident wouldn't have been surprising either, given the stresses of being in the military and being deployed or about to be deployed. Since I've been in both situations, I can testify to that.

The only thing that surprises me is that it was a Major. That's pretty much as far as the surprise goes, really. I'm used to seeing Majors as being intelligent, grounded, responsible men and they're in leadership positions usually as a result of those qualities if not for time in service and qualification alone.
But I guess everyone has their breaking points.
When I was in the army there were 3 suicides and several more attempts, in my battalion alone. And far far more stress-related violent outbursts, but thankfully nothing of the magnitude that went down at Hood.

I'm just saying that I've seen what the military can do to people who can't handle it, and in that respect, I'm not surprised.

I think the military really needs to look at this incident as a flag for the need of significant change in the way they do business. You can't protect your country if your own soldiers are turning on each other due to the stress put on them by organization to which they're bound. And don't say "You knew it would suck when you signed up"...

Knowing something will be tough is one thing... Knowing you can handle it is only possible when you go through it... and unfortunately, by the time you find out that you can't, it's too late.

The commander of the base, Lt Gen Robert Cone, told NBC News that, according to eyewitnesses, Mr Hasan had shouted the Arabic phrase "Allahu Akbar!" [God is great] before opening fire.
Mr Obama cautioned against "jumping to conclusions" and said the motives for the shooting were being investigated.

:confused:

Did they ever say whether he converted to Islam, or what?
'Cause homeboy looks whiter than ghost shit. Fat too, so definitely American.

...Major Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, a US-born Muslim, army psychiatrist...and all American fat bastard. ;)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8347501.stm

the first reports were that he was a recent convert, however through an interview with a first cus we learned that he grew up muslim

i'm tryin to be very diplomatic in my response to you, specially since i am thankful for your military service and have none myself

however i think this is separate from how the military treats those in it
i truly believe this was some form of jihad
unluckly for him, he lived through it

not because he is a muslim BUT
because he is a traitor and a coward and a murderer

he should be hung three times


as for this hittin home harder than dieing africans
i assure you that i have the same amount of empathy in all situations, however there is some death that is more preventable than others,....i see this as one of those that was more preventable

I hear ya.
I didn't mean to downplay the situation by saying I wasn't surprised. Me not being surprised has nothing to do with the fucked-up-ness that transpired.
And yes, the guy, regardless of his reasons for killing all those people, should be brought to justice. We should definitely try to learn as much as possible about his motives so we can CORRECTLY adjust our tactics. But I think it's a little early in the game to rule just anything out until it's properly analyzed.
I think that's what the O man meant by not jumping to conclusions.

I've got a hunch that the reasons will be put down to him having psychological problems.
A one off.
Probably true, too.

Indeed.
But hopefully something comes out of the investigation that we can actually use to educate ourselves and at least make it less likely for the event to happen again.
We can't do a major lot for the likelihood of people flipping out, nor can we do much for an ideology, but if there's any connection to something we can control about our own actions, I'd hope this incident serves as a catalyst to that.