Man with real looking explosive device walking up to you. Happened last night in SLC

[Rotorblade]

Are we conspiracy kooks if we believe that the reporter meant to leave that impression on the reader?


Michael

This was a local story, everybody in Utah knows where West Jordan is, in fact, a high percentage probably don't even realize there is another West Jordan someplace else.
Used to live in West Jordan.......

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[tacman605]

You know, if these people are willing to use State employees to help them commit suicide, I'd rather it be a doctor who can do it easily and painlessly.

LOL Doctor Jack did do that for awhile and he ended up going to prison.

[dukalmighty]

I used to use a "TENS" unit that sent electrical stimulus to my lower back,had 2 wires running to a control unit,might get real exciting id somebody saw wires and thought aw crap a suicidal crip

[NC Bullseye]

Just another case of the cops going off on a citizen. We all know they could have just shot the red wire and helped the poor soul turn his life around.

[romansten9]

Is there any question about what this guy was expecting?!? If a guy's got a chainsaw, I suspect he's cutting firewood. If a guy's got a guitar, I suspect he might be a musician. If he's got a hand detonator wired to a backpack, it's not unreasonable to believe that he's decided to make a greasy spot of himself & any/everyone with whom he can snuggle. He already planned to die, the police just help him go it alone.

I agree with what you're saying. Its clear to most people what a chainsaw is for, a guitar, or a bomb.

BUT.....The sad thing is that this same logic is used by the anti-gun crowd when they look at a firearm on a person's hip. They think a person with a gun is likely to kill someone. So, to a certain extent, we don't really know what someone will do with an object until they do it. A person driving a Corvette can't be assumed to be a reckless driver, just because the car is capable of going very fast. A person carrying a box of dynamite might work for a mining company. (but if that person has it strapped to his body with wires protruding, we can assume it is for ill intent, since there is no good reason to do so!) It just takes a certain amount of discernment to know when to judge people by appearances. Since guns have both good and bad purposes, depending on the person, we aren't alarmed when we see a gun, but obviously a bomb is another thing altogether.

[mlr1m]

I used to use a "TENS" unit that sent electrical stimulus to my lower back,had 2 wires running to a control unit,might get real exciting id somebody saw wires and thought aw crap a suicidal crip

I still use one now and then. Until your post I'd never considered it being mistaken for a bomb. Now I finally have a legitimate reason to be paranoid.

Michael

[CanuckQue]

Wait, you guys don't walk around with bomb vests normally, to deter muggers?

[ghost tracker]

The sad thing is that this same logic is used by the anti-gun crowd when they look at a firearm on a person's hip. They think a person with a gun is likely to kill someone. So, to a certain extent, we don't really know what someone will do with an object until they do it. A person driving a Corvette can't be assumed to be a reckless driver, just because the car is capable of going very fast. A person carrying a box of dynamite might work for a mining company. (but if that person has it strapped to his body with wires protruding, we can assume it is for ill intent, since there is no good reason to do so!) It just takes a certain amount of discernment to know when to judge people by appearances. Since guns have both good and bad purposes, depending on the person, we aren't alarmed when we see a gun, but obviously a bomb is another thing altogether.

Don't know where you live, but around here a gun on someone's hip doesn't mean they're "likely to kill someone". I trust most prudent folks exercise a "certain amount of discernment" any & every time they're approached by an individual wrapped in explosives & carrying a hand-detonator. But I would respectfully suggest you exercise that judgement in all possible haste. Ask an Israeli.

[accessbob]

Oppressing his right to bare arms!

What's his sleeve length have to do with it?

[ghost tracker]

What's his sleeve length have to do with it?

I thought it was The Right to Arm Bears!, which makes for a whole, new & exciting hunting season!

[FreeFalling]

It's a shame the railway station wasn't a "Bomb Free Zone." If only they had put a sign on the door saying bombs aren't allowed inside, this tragedy could have been averted.

/sarcasm

[mlr1m]

What's his sleeve length have to do with it?

Everything.

Michael

[accessbob]

I thought it was The Right to Arm Bears!, which makes for a whole, new & exciting hunting season!

Gives them a fighting chance.

But it is good that the 2nd Amendment doesn't protect our right to bare arms (although the guys who wear muscle shirts might appreciate that)
and, instead, protects our right to bear arms which is a significant difference.

[CanuckQue]

What's his sleeve length have to do with it?

(actually, mea culpa; misspelled and too lazy to double-check)

[Rawah]

I used to use a "TENS" unit that sent electrical stimulus to my lower back,had 2 wires running to a control unit,might get real exciting id somebody saw wires and thought aw crap a suicidal crip

I have used a tens unit for the last several years and still do. It was the first thing I thought of when I saw this thread also... Seriously.... How many people expect to see a 30 year old with a remote clipped on his side and wires going up his shirt? That's the first things all my buddies said it looked like lol.....