Sad day in Iowa

[Huskerblue]

Update: Arrest made in shooting death of Parkersburg coach Ed Thomas | DesMoinesRegister.com | The Des Moines Register

Very sad day indeed. I know several people who knew Coach Thomas. He was a true community leader who just happened to be a highly successful football coach.

[Forksref]

Here is a guy who dedicated his life to helping kids and some idiot murders him. I have to wonder what is causing this craziness in our society.

Prayers go out to the coach's family and the community. I am sure that he was a father figure to a lot of kids who had a tough home life. That's what a lot of coaches do these days.

May he rest in peace. I am sure the Lord is saying, "Welcome Home. Job well done."

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by Forksref

Here is a guy who dedicated his life to helping kids and some idiot murders him. I have to wonder what is causing this craziness in our society.

There has always been such "craziness" and the misfortunes it causes. The news travels more widely now due to media and the internet, and the apparent appetite of media consumers for such stories.

[SanDiegoSteve]

A very sad story indeed. My prayers are with Coach Thomas' family.

[Forksref]

Originally Posted by mbyron

There has always been such "craziness" and the misfortunes it causes. The news travels more widely now due to media and the internet, and the apparent appetite of media consumers for such stories.

There was never any Columbine or Va Tech or shooting coaches and principals and teachers and drive by shootings when I grew up.

[LDUB]

Originally Posted by Forksref

There was never any Columbine or Va Tech or shooting coaches and principals and teachers and drive by shootings when I grew up.

YouTube - Billy Joel - We Didn't Start The Fire

[jaybird]

Truly a very sad day. My sympathies go out to the Thomas family.

All it takes is one evil and deranged individual to sadden and anger an entire community.

[MJT]

These things are so hard to understand. We need to pray for all involved.

[waltjp]

Originally Posted by Forksref

There was never any Columbine or Va Tech or shooting coaches and principals and teachers and drive by shootings when I grew up.

You mean:

University of Texas at Austin; August 1, 1966

Olean High School in Olean, NY; December 30, 1974

California State University, Fullerton; July 12, 1976

Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego, California; January 29, 1979

Parkway South Junior High School in Manchester, MO; January 20, 1983

[TXMike]

One I specifically recall was in Canton, Texas on April 7, 2005

Others not mentioned above:
SC State Orangeburg, South Carolina February 8 1968
Jackson State, Jackson, Mississippi, May 14-15 1970
Goddard Middle School shooting Goddard, Kansas, January 21 1985
Portland Junior High School shooting Portland, Connecticut, December 10 1985
Hubbard Woods School shooting Winnetka, Illinois, United States May 20 1988
University of Iowa massacre Iowa City, Iowa, November 1 1991
Lindhurst High School shooting Olivehurst, California, May 1 1992
Palo Duro High School shooting Amarillo, Texas, September 11 1992
Edward Tilden High School shooting Chicago, Illinois, November 20 1992 1
Simon's Rock College of Bard shooting Great Barrington, Massachusetts, December 14 1992
East Carter High School shooting Grayson, Kentucky, January 18 1993
Amityville High School shooting Amityville, New York, February 1 1993
Reseda High School shooting Reseda, California, February 22 1993
Wauwatosa West High School shooting Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, December 1 1993
Grimsley High School shooting Greensboro, North Carolina, October 12 1994
Wickliffe Middle School shooting Wickliffe, Ohio, November 7 1994 1
Blackville-Hilda High School shooting Blackville, South Carolina, October 12 1995
Richland High School shooting Lynnville, Tennessee, November 15 1995
Frontier Junior High School shooting Moses Lake, Washington, February 2 1996
Hamilton High School shooting Scottdale, Georgia, February 2 1996
Mid-Penninsula High School shooting Menlo Park, California, February 8 1996
San Diego State University shooting San Diego, California, August 15 1996
Hetzel Union Building shooting State College, Pennsylvania,September 17 1996
Bethel Regional High School shooting Bethel, Alaska, February 19 1997
Pearl High School shooting Pearl, Mississippi, October 1 1997
Heath High School shooting West Paducah, Kentucky,December 1 1997
Westside Middle School shooting Jonesboro, Arkansas, March 24 1998
Parker Middle School dance shooting1 Edinboro, Pennsylvania,April 24 1998
Thurston High School shooting Springfield, Oregon, May 20 1998
Heritage High School shooting Conyers, Georgia, May 21 1999
Fort Gibson Middle School shooting Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, December 6 1999
Buell Elementary School shooting Mount Morris Township, Michigan,February 29 2000
Lake Worth Middle School shooting Lake Worth, Florida, May 26 2000
University of Arkansas shooting Fayetteville, Arkansas, August 28 2000
Santana High School shooting Santee, California,March 5 2001
Granite Hills High School shooting El Cajon, California, March 22 2001
Martin Luther King, Jr. High School shooting Manhattan, New York,January 15 2002
Appalachian School of Law shooting Grundy, Virginia, January 16 2002
John McDonogh High School shooting New Orleans, Louisiana, April 14 2003
Red Lion Area Junior High School shootings Red Lion, Pennsylvania, April 24 2003
Case Western Reserve University shooting Cleveland, Ohio, May 9 2003
Rocori High School shooting Cold Spring, Minnesota, September 24 2003
Columbia High School shooting East Greenbush, New York, February 9 2004
Fairleigh Dickinson University shooting Florham Park, New Jersey,April 4 2004
Red Lake Senior High School massacre Red Lake, Minnesota, March 21 2005
Campbell County High School shooting Jacksboro, Tennessee, November 8 2005
Pine Middle School shooting Reno, Nevada, March 14 2006
Essex Elementary School shooting, Essex, Vermont, August 24 2006
Platte Canyon High School shooting Bailey, Colorado, September 27 2006
Weston High School shooting Cazenovia, Wisconsin, September 29 2006
Amish school shooting Nickel Mines, Lancaster County, PA, October 2 2006
Henry Foss High School shooting Tacoma, Washington, January 3 2007
University of Washington shooting Seattle, Washington, April 2 2007
Virginia Tech massacre Blacksburg, Virginia, April 16 2007
Delaware State University shooting Dover, Delaware, September 21 2007
SuccessTech Academy shooting Cleveland, Ohio, October 10 2007
Louisiana Technical College shooting Baton Rouge, Louisiana, February 8 2008
Mitchell High School shooting Memphis, Tennessee, February 11 2008
E.O. Green School shooting Oxnard, California,February 12 2008
Northern Illinois University massacre DeKalb, Illinois, February 14 2008
Davidson High School Shooting Mobile, Alabama, March 9 2008
Central High School shooting Knoxville, Tennessee, August 21 2008
Henry Ford High School shooting Detroit, Michigan, October 16 2008
University of Central Arkansas shooting Conway, Arkansas, October 27 2008
Dillard High School shooting Fort Lauderdale, Florida, November 12 2008
Henry Ford Community College shooting Dearborn, Michigan, April 10 2009
Hampton University shooting Hampton, Virginia, April 26 2009

[Forksref]

I have to admit, all of those were after my high school days. That pretty much proves my point. And the prolific list of the above poster proves that it is much much more prevalent in today's society.

I think the first shocker for me was Richard Speck in July, 1966. I can't recall anything that horrific prior to that incident.

My question still remains, why is this so common today? What is causing people to be so crazy? Drugs, mental illness, unemployment, lack of parenting, violence in the media, frustration, stress, people falling through the cracks?

[LDUB]

Originally Posted by Forksref

My question still remains, why is this so common today? What is causing people to be so crazy? Drugs, mental illness, unemployment, lack of parenting, violence in the media, frustration, stress, people falling through the cracks?

Didn't you listen to the song? People always seem to forget the problems of the past and complain that the current problems are way worse than anything which has ever happened before. In the United States in 1960 there were 5.1 murders per 100,000 people. In 2007 there were 5.6 per 100,000 people. People killing others is nothing new.

What this is turning into to.... YouTube - We Didn't Start the Flame War

[jaybird]

What is causing people to be so crazy? Drugs, mental illness, unemployment, lack of parenting, violence in the media, frustration, stress, people falling through the cracks?

Yep. All of the above.

In the case of the Iowa shooting, drugs may have been a factor. The shooter did have an arrest for drug violations. Mental health may also have been a factor, as he was supposed to be in a mental ward or a jail cell, but the mental hospital released him without notifying the sheriff's department like they were supposed to. Lots of fingerpointing going on. I just look away and say my prayers for the families of both the coach and his shooter, and for the folks in Parkersburg, as they've been through way too much the past 13 months.