BREAKING: Fatal Mass Shooting At Batman Premiere in Colorado

As the credits rolled on The Dark Knight Rises in the movie theater I was in in San Francisco, I went to Twitter to post my initial reaction to the movie when I saw this headline from a BBC News ReportBatman US cinema shooting: Fourteen dead in Denver

I clicked through to find out what was being reported: 38 people injured, 12 dead as a man in a gas mask entered a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, ignited a smoke bomb and began shooting at movie-goers. You can read the full report at the BBC and now CNN and The New York Times. The news outlets are reporting that police have a suspect, but with this just occurring, who knows what’s accurate at this point. We’ll do our best to keep you posted.

Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims of this heinous crime and their loved ones.

This is not how we would have liked to be talking about The Dark Knight Rises on opening day.

Comments

  1. There are no words. Just not something that anyone should have to process. Thoughts and prayers to the families and friends of those involved.

  2. “…………”

  3. I’ve been listening to the Colorado local news feed and it’s just horrific. Kids covered in blood, baby shot at close range. The newsreader was choking back tears and so was I to be honest. So so sad 🙁

    Thoughts with you guys over there

  4. I saw a 5am screening in the UK, to come out of the cinema and hear this news is saddening.

  5. This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. So sad. I can’t believe that a family actually went to see this (which I think is quite rare and beautiful thing) and had their family torn apart by someone so inconsiderate and selfish. Disgraceful. I was around when the London riots happened and I thought that was senseless violence but this is just horrific

  6. What horrible news to wake up to. Mass shootings are a sickening trend that make no sense. My prayers go out to the victims. Shame on that guy’s (the killer’s) soul.

  7. Denver is like a home away from home for me. Horrible barely covers it. Any ifanboy community people in Denver, hope you are ok.

  8. Thought this was a sick joke to begin with. Can’t believe it’s real. Just aweful

  9. Just awful news,

  10. As a Denver Native, i’m horrified. So tired of hearing mass shooting and my beautiful state in the same sentence. Prays to everyone back home. I need to contact my brother and make sure no one we know what at that theater.

  11. Geez, what away to ruin a movie. I hope all those injured recover and my thoughts go out to those families who lost someone at this thing.

  12. …………………………….
    Thoughts go out to the victims and their families. What a senseless tragedy….

  13. Extremely terrible and sad news.

  14. *sigh* This is a serious bummer.

    We don’t know what the gunman’s motives were, and we may never know.

    But when tragedies like this happen, I’m reminded that we all should try to be nicer to people. You may never know the positive impact a smile or a kind word can have on another individual. Even simply refraining from a negative or hurtful comment can have a huge effect.

  15. Like Pearlman said, “It just makes you wanna do somethin, don’t it?”

    • When I got up to go to work today I walked out to my car and saw that something was amiss with the car next to it. I live in an apartment complex in Texas and there are many families from Mexico that do not speak English right by me. One of them drives that particular car. The back window was broken from before and so they went to the trouble of duct taping it up with multiple layers of cardboard because they could not afford a new window. When I saw the car this morning, I noticed that the “window” had been vandalized and that many of his personal belongings had been scattered on the ground. Having been through a car burglary before and feeling compassionate towards my fellow man due to this sad news, I instantly felt for this family. Then I noticed that some of their belongings were a Star Wars collectible tin and a collectible metal Batman sign. I realized that although we come from different places and we don’t speak the same language, this guy was a nerd just like me. Sure, he didn’t have the resources to properly repair his window, but in the same situation, I would be out of luck too. I felt like I needed to “do somethin” and called the police. When they took my report, I told them that I just wanted my neighbors to not feel like voiceless victims. I hope that people are more compassionate to others in the wake of this news.

    • That was incredibly big of you. Respect.

  16. i just woke up to this on the news channels. I can’t even believe it, what a horrendous and cowardly act. I can never understand what would dive a person to do this. I feel just awful for the victims and their families.

    • I heard in the Today Show that one of the victims was a 6 year old boy. A boy goes to see Batman and loses his life. I hope the police and F.B.I. bring this phyco to justice.

  17. I really hope none of our peeps we’re there.

  18. they had some “expert” on the today show who was implying the violent nature of the film, the fanatical nature of super fans, and violent reaction to some negative reviews online may have caused this. The guy had absolutely no idea who Batman was or what he was talking about.

    i just hope this doesn’t turn into a crazy witch hunt blaming comic books for what one crazy person did. ugh. this is just horrible for all involved.

    • Dear “Expert,”
      Batman does not use guns…period.

      Love,
      Scott

    • After my initial shock, disgust and sadness at this news I also thought and feared that we might have the inevitable “experts” trying to make a connection between the “violence” of comic books and comic book movies and the “violence” of this person’s actions. It is a typical knee-jerk reaction to events like this which is incorrect and unhelpful to all parties involved.

      My heart goes out to the families of anyone affected by this. It is utterly horrible and sickening.

    • “i just hope this doesn’t turn into a crazy witch hunt blaming comic books for what one crazy person did. ugh. this is just horrible for all involved.”

      goes for me too…

    • So it begins. Next up the gun people, on both sides. This is not a political issue, but they will make it one. Blame ends with the shooter. But blame should not be the focus. Get ready, ladies and gentlemen, I think we’ll all be in a position to have to defend our hobby in the coming months.

    • there’s some good experimental evidence backing up the influence of viewing violent material on later behavior in a context where it’s socially reinforced (anyone who’s taken intro psych probably remembers the bobo doll experiment). as i see it, here’s the fundamental problem with laying the blame at the foot of a comic book/movie as causal in the case of this tragedy:

      if we’re going to argue that this movie “inspires” someone to act like a villian, then it should also influence someone to act like a superhero. both are, frankly, equally violent (and that’s the behavioral outcome everyone is defining as problematic). but that doesn’t happen. like ever. at all. so it doesn’t make sense argue a direct, causal relationship between a comic book and something extreme like this. more pointedly, if there were a causal relationship, then you would expect *everybody* who reads a comic book or sees a violent movie to go apeshit. again, it doesn’t happen.

      so, i tend to interpret knee-jerk reactions from experts and pundits as a very human need to try and make sense of something that makes no sense at all. this is damned sad. my heart goes out to everyone connected to the shooting. and it’s important not to lose our heads in an effort to identify a single specific cause.

  19. i’m in shock over this. i was having a hard time believing it was real until i saw it being reported everywhere. my prayers go out to the victims and their families.

  20. Sickening. I hope this person is found by the families of the victims so some real justice is put forth instead of this douchebag sitting in a cell wasting tax payers money.

  21. Oh my god. This is horrible.

  22. This is so terrible… I live in Montreal and “fortunately” events like this are pretty rare… My sympathies to the families and friends of the victims, stuff like that should NEVER happen.

  23. As a Coloradan, and a comic fanatic, I’m really sad for both communities.

  24. Its difficult to understand the madness that percolates inside the mind of an individual determined to disseminate that delirium upon the rest of us. What happened today was tragic.

    There are over 7 billion people on this planet…Its days like this where I don’t feel bad for only liking about 4.

  25. We as a society have to evolve.I wish gun laws were so that checks are more stringent into a persons mental state.I know simple solutions aren’t the best answers, but it HAS to start a dialog, a bill,security measure so that people don’t have easy access to weapons, ammunition, body armor etc.etc.
    A night out to enjoy dinner,a play,a movie should not end with multiple deaths and wanton destruction.
    To echo KenOchalek; let us all be the best person we can be to each other.

  26. Nothing more disgraceful than moving right past the loss of human life to whatever political statement you have to make. That stuff has its place, but lets take a little time to grieve and reflect.

    • Along with sadness and pain my first thought was “What can we do to not have this happen?”
      To family members and friends, my heart goes out to you.Really didn’t mean to sound political, I just needed to make a statement that, I wish we make ANY improvement today so tommorrow will be better for us all.

    • @Jesse1125, I actually hadn’t read your comment until after I posted. Wasn’t directed at you and, for what it’s worth, I agree. I was more talking about television pundits who are getting airtime and advertising dollars out of this whole thing. Sorry it sounded like I was calling you out.

  27. This is unbelievable. What makes the situation worse, is that the media is already politicizing it, not just using this against comic book fans in a Wertham style witchhunt, but against the entire country when we’re near an election. That’s very, very disgusting. People were killed, families torn apart, and ABC is playing politics.

  28. Avatar photo DDangelico (@DavidDangelico) says:

    I just sat here trying to think of something to type. And I just can’t. Such awful, awful news.

    • I’m with you. I sit here thinking of something to say that feels right, and I get nothing. It’s just awful, sad, and senseless.

  29. I’m not sure this tragedy would have happened if we didn’t live in a world of massive HYPE. Clearly the one thing we know was in the killer’s mind was “This is a BIG! BATMAN!! MOVIE!!! PREMIER!!! So it will get me ATTENTION!”

    It’s unfortunate that the event will be politicized, with extremists on one side arguing for a total ban on guns, the other side responding with “Oh, so only criminals can have them?” Etc.

    But if we just lived in a saner world, things like this wouldn’t happen. On every level, I see people drifting into fantasy land, especially when it comes to movies and overhyped entertainment. Obviously the killer was so desensitized that he didn’t interpret other people’s lives as having much value. And, honestly, peraphs the most disturbing thing about this story is how the audience originally thought the shooting was just part of the show.

    Out of the hundreds of people there, all chomping at the bit to see a hero on screen, there apparently wasn’t one real person brave enough to just rush the killer before close to 100 people were shot? All it would’ve taken was one or two (unarmed) citizens to just rush the guy when it started. It’s just one guy against 100+, but even with those kinds of odds there aren’t enough people to take a stand and protect their fellow human beings? I don’t know. Maybe that’s crass to say, but that’s what goes through my mind when I think about how this could have been prevented or nipped in the bud.

    It’s just awful that this has happened. But I sincerely hope that people’s concern runs deeper than “Oh fudge! Now my wallowing in a much-hyped pop culture product must be disrupted by reality!” Because caring more about fantasy than reality contributed to this situation in the first place.

    • Rushing the shooter? Dude, seriously, way off base there. Way off.

    • No one of the ways to defend against a gun attack is to get “inside” the weapon. That said, the other valid one is to run like hell. The key is that if someone felt capable of defending, they should have, if most of the people did not, it is more than okay that they did not.

    • its really easy to play armchair QB, but when stuff hits the fan, every bit of logic and rational bit of thought goes out the window. You can’t put that kinda blame and responsibility on victims in the middle of chaos with bullets flying.

      Just because they were watching a movie, doesn’t mean they were living in one.

    • Without military/police training to properly assess the situation, I’d be paralyzed by fear, then ducking for cover if I was in that situation. Hindsight is 20/20, but I’d be powerless if the situation ever occurred to me

    • Seriously, saying that someone in a theater of superhero fans should have rushed the gunner, is about as assbackward thinking as saying that the gunner was influenced by violence in movies or comic books.

    • wouldn’t rushing the shooter be giving into the same superhero fantasy you were just saying is a bad thing? i;m also kind of pissed at your blaming the victims for not being batman.

    • Calling the bravery of these poor people into question is WAY out of line. It’s easy to talk from behind your computer screen about how heroic you would have been. I don’t know a thing about you sir but I’d guess that you’d be cowering in fear just like the rest of us. You seem to be the only person living in a world of fantasy. The rest of us are dealing with the aftermath of a real life tragedy. I hope you can see why people reacted to your comment this way and learn a little compassion for your fellow humans.

    • You do realize he threw canisters of tear gas into the crowd right? Those people could probably barely see or breath, it’s being reported the police had to wait to get gas masks to even enter the theater. No one in that theater is to be blamed other than the gunman himself.

    • The news here in Colorado is reporting that the theater was filled mostly by kids and young people ages teen and lower. They went to see a movie and be entertained. Who are you sir to call out a kids bravery for not being prepared to ‘rush’ a gunman?

    • That was one dumb thing to say, Rush The shooter-a six and seven year old are dead because of a pussy ass mad man . Have some class, and keep you simple minded opinions to yourself.

    • The truly horrible thing about this is that someone, you, could look at this tragedy and the first thing that pops into your head is to blame the victims. It’s just despicable. How can you berate people for living in a fantasy world and then say they should have acted like superheroes from that very fantasy world? I don’t even really know how to react to a comment like this. Hearts and thoughts to everyone effected by this terrible incident.

  30. I hope it doesn’t turn into a comics lead to violence debate… but it will, we’ll see how it pans out. Really sad for the comic book community there, and everywhere. I guess my feeling is that troubled people need subcultures where they can be accepted — I like to think that that is what the comic book community is, which is why this thing sucks so bad.

  31. I hope no one is upset by some people’s response that guns, particularly the kind used in this tragedy, should be made harder to come by. If you are able to step back and examine the situation, it is a perfectly logical reaction. It’s a thought, an expression of grief, not necessarily just politicizing.

  32. Words like tragedy and senseless don’t even begin to cover it.

    Thoughts and prayers to any and all who were impacted by this madness.

  33. Horrible news to wake up to; especially after being at a midnight screening myself. Kinda makes your enjoyment/excitement over a film seem very petty. It’s sureal in a way.

  34. And now they’re saying his apartment is booby-trapped. This just gets worse and worse

  35. We need to use the Bat signal as a symbol of healing and anti gun violence. It’s an important Idea to the character and it’s even explicit in the movie.

  36. As we recover from the shock and sadness of today’s news I hope all of us can think and act with more kindness and consideration for those around us.

    A few hundred random acts of kindness can go a long way. Sure, it can’t undo what happened but it can help in the healing and possibly prevent more hurt.

    Give blood. Volunteer your time to a local charity. Send donations to an Aurora, CO-based charity.

    Let’s be better.

  37. I hope they fry the son of a bitch.

    • After posting my comment, I read Smasher’s comment right above mine, and it made me feel like a thug. I just wanna make it clear that I said that out of anger and not for attention or in an effort to spark some kind political debate. It was a gut reaction.

      This is a horrible tragedy. I’m still struggling to believe that it actually happened. For this to occur a night when fans worldwide were celebrating something they love makes it all the more shocking. This kind of thing affects the entire human race, and we should all take a pause and be thankful for what we have. My heart and honest wishes go out to the victims and their families.

    • Anger is only natural, Wheel. If you weren’t outraged about something like this, you wouldn’t be human.

    • i’m going to echo metamorphic and validate that anger is completely natural. wheel, i’d also like to give you props for appealing to your humanistic side. to me, that’s what shows that we’re better than the assholes who are responsible for this tragedy in the first place.

    • Extreme anger at the perpetrator is my gut first reaction when this crap happens, as well, followed by overwhelming sadness for the victims and their families, not to mention the survivors whose lives will be forever scarred by this tragedy. Still, I hope they DON’T give this guy the death sentence, and that he is forced to live the rest of his life in prison. My wife and I are currently watching S3 of The West Wing, and I can’t recall which episode it was or which character even said it (Josh/Bradley Whitford, perhaps), but there was a line about how they wish the gunman involved in a similar massacre would live out the rest of his life in a small cell watching a television that showed non-stop video of the victims with their loved ones while being punched in the face every day. THAT’S what I wish for this guy.

    • Right on, Wheel Hands. Outrage and compassion makes us complete.

  38. This reminds me of the Gabby Giffords shooting over a year ago. Both tragic events.

  39. This is just heartbreaking. It’s a shame we live in a world where you can’t even go to the movies and escape from reality for a few hours. I just think of the people who were so excited to see the movie, and looking forward to it, fantasizing about this great event they would remember fondly and then this horrible, horrible thing happens. Just think about the people who made it out alive. I’m assuming the people there opening night are big Batman fans. Now something that they love and had fond memories of will forever be linked to such a terrible event. Whenever they see something they once had such positive feelings for, will forever now remind them of this tragedy.

    Even though I live in CT, I will be traveling to NYC to see this Saturday night. The reason I am driving for two hours to see the same movie I could see in a theater ten minutes from my house is that I am meeting up with one of my best friends. He lives in PA and we see each other in person once a year, meeting in the middle to do something special to us. As a couple of comic book nerds, we decided our yearly meet-up would be the Dark Knight Rises. We have been talking about it for months, really making it into a big deal, something we are both really looking forward to. Now, when I go to the movie, instead of just enjoying some time with my friend and having a great time, a part of me will be thinking about this horrendous, senseless act of violence, and how heartbreaking it is for the victims and their families.

    This is the kind of event that effects so many people. It’s nice to see the comic book community expressing their sympathy for the victims. I’m sure they will be in all of our thoughts.

  40. Yep, the comments on the NY Times article are already overflowing with political arguments: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/21/us/colorado-mall-shooting.html?_r=1&hp. Sigh…HOW can people be so selfish and self-righteous this SOON after an event like this? Makes me almost as angry as the tragedy itself.

    • Its only going to get worse. This being an election year we are going to see all kinds of politicing on this tragedy. Within a day the event itself will be lost in the rush to either defend or destroy the second amendment. The worst part is how eager the 24 news channels are for a story like this, its like they turn it into tragedy porn or something. The immediate politicizing of events like this is what leads to desensitization in my opinion, not violent comics or movies. Taking a horrible event that happend to REAL PEOPLE and turning it into a political platform is what causes desensitization. This whole situation is jut awful.

    • I sometimes post over at the Huffington Post (different name there though), and I know I had at least one of my posts removed after I got mad at someone trying to turn this into a political talking point. I just got too angry. Can’t even let people grieve or mourn? That’s a different type of tragedy, but certainly sad in itself.

    • @meta: I can’t even look at the comments sections when I read articles about this tragedy, they just make me angry.

    • I think (and I am by no means an expert in the field of psychology and have no really concrete proof to back up my opinion) that people often immediately look at events like this in a political context as a way of coping with the horrific tragedy of such a shocking and senseless loss of life. By associating news like this with their own political views (whatever they may be) people can avoid having to think about the deeper, answerable questions that horrible events like this raise, find a place to direct their anger, and convince themselves that such things are easily avoidable.
      By no means am I apologizing for the behaviour I describe and I too find it to be upsetting, but I think the causes maybe deeper than simple political opportunism.

    • IBlagden: I’d like to believe that but honestly, I think there are many who do indeed use it simply as political opportunism. Because there will always be those who exploit people in a vulnerable time. It’s terrible, but true.

      I imagine you are right in some cases… but not all. Sadly, not all.

  41. I went to sleep last night after watching the news state that Dark Knight Rises was on its way to beating the Avengers 1st weekend ticket sales and was pleased to know that comic book characters to get this sort of recognition. And woke up this morning to and things had gone sideways.

    The people that lost their lives, its just such a tragedy. I feel like a stupid child wishing it hadn’t happened.

  42. there are no words its just sad lets hope the families of the victims.find peace

  43. My daughter and son in law live outside of Denver. I was just there last week.

    Being in the area really brings home the reality of this tragedy.

    Denver is a wonderful place, with mostly great people. It only takes on bad apple to turn what should be a fun experience that the community shares into something devastating.

    I feel horrible for the victims and sad for FAMILY of the poor, deranged soul that performed these unspeakable acts.

  44. It takes a lot to make me cry, but this news did it. My heart goes out to the victims & their families.

  45. Thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.

  46. My wife asked me why someone could be compelled to commit such a horrible act. We had just done the Batman marathon and Alfred’s story to Bruce in TDK instantly came to mind, “Some men just want to watch the world burn.”

    There is no sense in a senseless act. The man is clearly a sociopath looking for infamy of the worst kind. With a large enough population of human being’s were bound to get some bad egg’s. We can, as society, only hope that those egg’s don’t crack.

    I like to hope the best of my fellow Earthicans. I hope that a senseless act won’t be politicized so that the focus can be on helping the victims heal. Inevitably though, many people are too weak minded to just accept that shit happens and instead force some “meaning” to an insane situation. To those people that have to reach for understanding through making someone else’s tragedy their own soap box I pray they see the absurdity of their actions and stop them. Their efforts would be better suited in aiding the process of healing.

  47. Oh my god, this is terrifying and tragic. I’m glad they caught this fucker and my heart goes out to the families of those wounded or dead. Just a group of people who wanted to see a movie.

    • My thoughts exactly. They just wanted to have a good time and watch a movie. That’s it. And now look what happened. I don’t even know what else to say.

  48. First thing i did before i commented here was to read every single comment on this post. I don’t know why, but it feels right to share in the collective grieving before speaking. This is a very sad day for everyone. I don’t care who you are but, this is just , i don’t even know. All i can say is my reflection on this.

    These people died in anticipation of what they loved (watching movies or enjoying batman in general). Their lives should be praised and remembered. We should all have a moment of silence. Let’s not give this madman the horrible infamy he craves. Do not use this tragedy as a vehicle for your political agendas. Let the judicial system do its work and if god be willing let the courts personally escort this man to the gates of hell where he belongs or in a cell where he will never taste freedom ever again.

    May they all rest in peace but as long as their memory lives on, they will never truly die. God bless to all of them.

  49. Such sad news. Everyone affected by this horrifying tragedy will be in my prayers.

  50. Condolences to the families of the victims.My heart goes out to them and i hope that justice is served.

  51. I’m truly disgusted by this… I really hope that none of the ifanboy fans had family or friends involved but my heart goes out to the family’s that did. I just can’t get past the idea that people who did nothing but go see a movie have this happen to them

  52. My thoughts and prayers go out too all the victims involved in this horrible tragedy. Makes me sad at the kind of world we live in where we can’t even feel safe in a movie theatre, trying to have a fun night.

  53. Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

    Horrifying and senseless. The definition of senseless.

  54. This is absolutely horrible and this man better be punished fully.

  55. Terrible…..words can’t make this better, I just hope the families of those lost find a way to see it through and no copy cats start this now. Crowded places and what was he thinking with the tear gas or smoke bomb then opening fire, that he was a super villain? Does Colorado have the death penalty?

  56. ‎”right to bear arms” is only as sensible as our most irresponsible citizen. I may be over reacting this morning to the Colorado shooting, and I love my country and it’s constitution. But it was written when “right to bear arms” meant “shot ONE musket ball and then reload”. Technology to conceal, carry, reload, murder has increased while our capability for intelligence, responsibility and empathy has probably regressed. The founding fathers would all think we were walking around with “ray guns” if they saw our handguns and rifles. Okay…I’m done on the soap box I think. It just sucks the spirit from us all when some idiot does something like this… I’m taking my wife and kids to see TDKR this weekend.

  57. Horrific, sickening and tragic. Obviously, there are a lot of gut reactions to be had, but at this time it transcends politics or anything even remotely comic book related. I have strong feelings about gun rights ( namely, no one should have guns) and about how the media and politicians use tragedy to place blame unnecessarily as well, but let’s keep this in focus for now. There are people who have gone through something truly traumatic and experienced great loss. Let us thing of them first and foremost. Also, let’s remember the bravery and professionalism of all emergency responders who will willingly put themselves in harms way in order to help their community. The police were there within 90 seconds and did a damn fine job getting as many people to safety as quickly as possible. Never let the horrible acts of one individual outweigh the goodness of those affected by them.

  58. Such a horrible and depressing story.

    What’s even more horrible is the reactions I’ve seen and heard on the news. So many people rushing to judgement on so many things. Instead of paying respects I had to hear that people who went to this showing were ‘freaks’, the people rushing to defend gun laws, a tea-party conspiracy theory, and a hell of a lot more terrible shit.

    So let’s all be respectful the the victims and their families and let’s stop talking political b.s. here.

  59. I’m just shocked at this terrible event that happened today. It’s especielly bad that this happened when all the victims of the shooting just wanted to go have a fun time and see a movie. RIP to the lifes lost and I hope that the families and friends of the victims pull thourgh.

  60. Why do we fall down? So we can learn to get back up.

  61. I went earlier today to buy some comics. Here in Greece, the comics are less than the comics in USA and people don’t know many things about them and they aren’t really familiar with the term nerd. So, as I was giving the money to the guy who owns the place, another guy who was buying his newspaper came and asked, in a humorous way, asked me if I was related to the incident with the shooter. I wanted to hit him so hard, because he laughed with such a serious incident and made those thoughts because he saw me hold a goddammit Batman comic!

    • I know exactly how you feel @Dark_Chris _GR, & he would have deserved it, but I feel that we have to be better than the dicks of the world. Take care.

  62. I am a bit late in posting this, but my heart and prayers go out to any one of the I-Fanboy community that may have been effected by this tragedy, and my heart and prayers do go out to all of those effected by this tragedy. Such a loss and sadness that this would happen with anything associated with a Super Hero or Comic event.

    The Super Hero and Comic community is very diverse in its nature with many of different cultures, religions and politics, however this community for the most part seems to co exists with one another allowing each other to have their views and opinions.

    My hope is that this tragedy does not tear apart this community with fear and loathing of those with different opinions. I would hate to see this communtiy go down the path of the so called US political parites.