Is Life Really Just A Crap Shoot?

To some extent, I think.

It's also easy to lose sight of the fact that tragedies of this kind (in contrast to "tragedies" in general, of course, which are very common) are very rare, and that we tend to hear about them because the fact that they're so rare predicates that they're widely reported, when they do arise.

Or something like that, anyway (I may be overstating it slightly ).

Nobody's going to argue with that.

Well, they're astronomical, aren't they? But this is, in one sense, part of "the point", with things like this?

For that kid, anyway, life was a sho(o)t ... and a particularly "crap" one. There are huge numbers of 13-year-olds dying all over the place, through various misfortunes entirely outside their own control. This one just came to our attention because of that "what are the odds?" factor.

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Yep that's why I hate America. Too many loons with guns.

Unfortunately its a case of wrong place wrong time - America circa 2014.

We have our freedom to own guns along with a large population that has lots of immature and unbalanced people.

These things are bound to happen but the number of these tragic occurrences could probably be minimized or cut in half with a very public education series.

In other words, "When it's your time, it's your time?"

That's nonsense. What we do in life dramatically changes what happens to us. Accidents happen, people get shot by random bullets, lightning strikes. But it's very very very rare. And that's not the way to live, in fear of extremely unlikely events.

You may not be able to control every random event around you. But you have near total control over what you do in life......and that controls what happens to you.

Suck it up.

Well, there are MORONS everywhere! Every company, every profession. Cop cars, LOADED with weapons have been just STOLEN! Many cops are CARELESS, or anxious. AND, at the end of the spectrum, is that cop a few years ago that issued a threat against EVERY uniformed or recognizable cop around LA California, or that he happened to see! REMEMBER HIM?

Christopher Dorner shootings and manhunt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And then I could say the same about the US military! Remember the US military officer that threatened a military base?

2009 Fort Hood shooting - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And do I REALLY have to talk about postal workers that have gone on the rampage? This has been SOOOOOOOOO INCREDIBLY common that if someone starts killing people in the line of civilian duty at a workplace, it is called (to foreigners, I am NOT KIDDING) GOING POSTAL!

Going postal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

OK, I made some WILD claims, and backed them up with links, and I COULD include many more about different events, etc... But know that this is FAR from rare!

The 2nd amendment is to try to make things more equal so such things are more limited. And it often works, even on a relatively large scale, where dozens or hundreds are saved by ONE person, but it works on a smaller scale perhaps every day, and maybe even every HOUR!

I have spoken about how nurses are careless, and some people can be IDIOTS! They really shouldn't even allow such people in the US. I mean schools should be better, and if someone can't understand common sense, something should be done. But the whole WORLD seems to be going the other way.

So someone shoots a gun without any care as to who it might hit. They will use fire, and even microwaves, and poison the air, or blow up someone elses home. YEAH, I said BLOW UP! It has happened with fireworks, flammable items, like gas, high pressure tanks, making drugs, etc.. and I didn't even mention explosive manufacture. HECK, someone HERE might have a volatile component dangerously close to a water heater. IF SO, it COULD start a huge fire, or even blow the place up.

SO, is life a crap shoot? ******OF COURSE******! HECK, we are STILL having debates about the "ACA". And what is THAT? SUPPOSEDLY it is a bet AGAINST extreme damage to peoples lives! If few had such a problem, would ACA exist? NOPE! If people had minor problems, like a cut shaving, would it exist? NOPE!

Steve.

There have been a LOT of "public safety campaign"s they often don't work well.

Steve

Ah jeez - we go from a life is uncertain premise to gun control? Come on, people.

We have social unrest because we are in a socialist transition. Right now it's both dangerous to have guns and not to have them. At least nobody can just walk in and slaughter us by the millions without a fight, as happens and has historically happened in countries where populations are defenseless against armies.

To get back to Steve's original thesis here..........

Life has always been a crap shoot, Steve. Go out in the wilderness some time. There's animals, storms, things falling, falling off of things. This is a dangerous planet. It used to get us back in CO when every now and again a rock would fall off a cliff ledge and go through someone's windshield and kill them. There's another woman that was driving in WA and a wind came up and blew her over a ledge.

There's people that have fallen through ice, had trees fall on them, struck by lightning, electrocuted in homes, caught their homes on fire, killed by animals, eaten a poisonous plant, caught a rare illness, choked to death on their food.

Life IS a crap shoot. Whoever thinks this planet can be made safe is kinda out of touch. That's part of the game, Steve. We see how long we can survive on this berg and see how much happiness we can have and how much difference we can make to others playing the same game.

Then we, at the end, cross the divide and find out our score and exactly what the punchline to this whole thing is (damned well better have a punchline anyhow, 'cause it ain't funny right now).

SORRY, it started out with a person shooting a gun, morphed into gun control, and I killed two birds with one stone. But YEAH, it has ALWAYS been a "crap shoot", and I alluded to that with the ACA!

Steve

DO NOT FORGET ABOUT THE LAW OF ATTRACTION!

Well, actually Steve ... no, it's not just a crap shoot. One thing is certain. We are all going to die sooner or later. This incident with the 13 year old .. how often do you hear about that happening? Not much, and the chances of a bullet coming through the next hotel room that you are in are slim. But something will get you in the long or short run.

That's not even close to the truth. There are many people who have guns for hunting and sport and self protection that are not idiots. Guns put meat in our freezer my whole childhood and still do to this day.

There is a randomness to life, sometimes for worse, sometimes for better. I guess that's why we have to try to enjoy each day as much as possible.

Yes, life is a crap shoot, and we're all winners. Between multiple potential mates, each with potential combinations of "billions and billions" of eggs and sperm, and only one resulting in you, we've all beaten the odds just by being alive.