Binghampton is so laid-back and quiet! What the hell?! Why would someone do this??

I'd guess this is almost certainly a terrorist incident, a symptom of right-wing eliminationism. And just as certainly the mainstream media will be reluctant to treat it as such and the far right will utterly refuse to acknowledge it as such. Rabid promotion of irrational hate has consequences, and the responsibilities for incidents like this should be allocated accordingly.

This is scary, I'm following this story as well. I have a few friends at SUNY Binghamton.

seriously what the fuck is going on lately? is it just me or does it seem like these violent rampages have been happening ALOT in the last few months? why does this country still permit people carrying around automatic weapons?! it's absolutely ridiculous to me!

i wonder how different these stories would be if guns were banned completely. if the members of the NRA with their bullshit "guns don't kill people" agenda lost a family member in one of these shootings, what would they say then? yes, people kill people. but how in the fuck is that supposed to help in situations like this? most of the killers in these incidents were relatively "normal" people who no one would have predicted would be capable of doing what they did. should we just lock up everyone and then once it is determined they are not likely to go on a shooting spree, let them out?

this shit makes me so angry and scared that some psycho is going to burst in my office and kill everybody. GUNS give people the power to do that. without guns, these folks could at least have had a chance at defending themselves against people like this. i understand we need to start at the source, keep our children from growing up and thinking violence is okay. but getting guns off the streets i think would be a great way to start.

if you go back and look at the comments on the immigration post that ran here recently, you'll see that even within progressive communities, there is a lot of conflict about how to treat immigrants. xenophobia is a serious problem and you will see even more disgusting hate-mongering after this tragic incident. check out the Binghamton webpage now and read the comments. you'll see that already there are people dancing on the graves of those who are killed.

Ok, Let's get his name, his religion and publicize that. As a Muslim i would like to help as i have a lot of experience with i am going to suggest. He is WHITE! Christian!!! Now we should act as a country the same way we acted the last time we had an act of terror like this. Let's round up all the christens in this country and profile them, stop them at their airports for figure printing, and questions such as who did they lost their virginity to. Let is look in the bible for Crusade "Jihad" terms and bold them out and air them. I really want to see that happening because clearly this guy is WHITE!, CHRISTIAN! and religious..Lets also since we are at it stop every girl who is wearing the cross, lets start with churches but lets not stop there as Starbuck cafes, bars and night clubs are known to hold WHITE!, CHRISTIAN individuals.

People had been commiting murder long before guns had been invented. Just because it is the most common method of murder does not mean it is the cause of the murder. If guns were banned there would still be murders, and manny people would have a harder time living if they were not able to produce there own food from hunting.
Now, I do believe that guns should be banned in areas over a certain population. Since most shootings take place in highly populated areas, and there is no reason to own a firearm if you are not using it to produce food for yourself through hunting, or if you are part of some form of security.

P.S. You can make a point without using profanity. It makes you sound ignorant and out of control. Don't get me wrong I swear. I am a 19 year old college student in the real "Upstate NY" (anything further north than albany) after all.

first of all, I'd like to point out that you didn't reply to meganaut's comment, you replied to the original post.

Secondly, I think it is pretty inappropriate to tell someone they sound ignorant and out of control for swearing. Considering feministing even has a segment entitled "Friday Feminist Fuck You", I don't think people should be judged here based on their language unless they are using hate speech.

I think it's pretty condescending for anyone to tell anyone else that they can make a point without using profanity. I think that commenter knew that to begin with and was just pissed off. It happens.

Sorry, but your comment really rubbed me the wrong way. It's fine to disagree with someone's argument but you don't have to be holier than thou about it.

@pinkrobe "you'll see that even within progressive communities, there is a lot of conflict about how to treat immigrants. xenophobia is a serious problem..."

I hope you are not subtly suggesting with your sentence order that progressives who do not agree with you on immigration are xenophobes. There are legitimate economic issues in particular surrounding immigration and people can have informed, sincere differences of opinion. Overuse of terms like racism and xenophobia tends to preclude meaningful discussions.

@Mabruk
Your post is disturbing in your willingness to use a terrible tragedy for your own political & religious agenda. I fully agree that a criminal simply being Muslim should never ever be used as a basis for analyzing Muslims as a community or faith. However, the major flaw in your position is that self-identified Muslim militants often explicitly cite Islam in detail as a motivation for their actions. That does not mean they represent other Muslims, but their claims deserve scrutiny even if it makes you uncomfortable. By the way the terrorist here appears to be of Vietnamese origin based upon media reports.

BARRACK OBAMA DOESN'T LIKE WHITE SOUTHERN AMERICANS....
Where is the outrage and sadness for the victims in Carthage, North Carolina as was shown for the ones in Binghamton, New York. I can only think that the Whitehouse forgot to send word to the white southern democratic govenor of North Carolina but made sure their concerns were expressed by their black northern democratic govenor of New York.....Where is the HOPE ?

This is my hometown. My parents are still there and my dad was locked down in his office all day as he was just blocks from the ACA. I would appreciate everyone refraining from speculation on the who, what, where, and why as those of us actually effected by this tragedy try to cope. More details are coming out every hour, and since the alleged perpetrator is dead, we may never really know what was behind this awful attack. I think too many people wait for something like this as and use it as opportunity to spew whatever viewpoint they have on race, religion, etc regardless of whether it has any bearing on the situation at hand. These victims were all hardworking members of the community, gaining their rights the way the law requires. They were learning English, preparing for citizenship exams. This weren't the "dirty illegals" so many of you seem to picture in your minds. 14 people, the shooter included, are dead. Please take your hate somewhere else.

The latest I've read:
"A LONE killer armed with at least two handguns has massacred 13 people at a citizenship centre in New York state before apparently shooting himself, police say.

The gunman, reported by media to be of Vietnamese origin, barricaded a car against the back door of the centre to prevent escape.

He then entered the front of the building and opened fire, apparently committing suicide soon after."

much love to the victims of this senseless tragedy and their families. you were all innocent. you deserved better. as americans, we are FAILING YOU. why?

groups that are trying to end gun violence and promote gun control are seriously outfunded by the NRA and other pro-gun groups. SERIOUSLY OUTFUNDED.

So let's level out the playing field.

i just donated to www.paxusa.org and www.bradycampaign.org

Donate to an organization dedicated to ending gun violence. If you can't spare any change, then offer your time. Post here and tell us what you did, and where your money or time is going.

Time to take action.

I was born and raised in Binghamton and I still live there now. Our proximity to New York City and other metro areas has made sure that our area is diverse. Many non-immigrant people in the area go to the Civic Center to attend cultural events. It's not just a place for new citizens to learn about America, but where Americans can learn about other cultures. This is a very close-knit community where we really care about each other. That's not to say there isn't violence or racism here, but I guess everyone always thinks it can't happen in their town. I've been meaning to make a full length post about this, but it's still too fresh. I haven't even been able to read much in the media about it. My general feeling is that whatever anyone has to say about it they still don't know us. They don't know Binghamton. Unfortunately, this is going to change us forever. I just hope eventually it will be for the better. For now, we're just trying to hold ourselves together. Thanks for all the well wishes. Use this as an opportunity to create closer bonds with your community - immigrant or not.