Anonymous wrote:I don't think I'd just assume that Yarl is some sweet young teen. A teen, yes. But a kid like that coming up to your front door out of the blue, as you look upward from laying on your couch? Yeah that's scary.

I also think this grandson was pretty disloyal, taking advantage of the situation to build his street cred.

But both these things are beside the point. Gun control undermines the Republican Party far more than Democrat. Peaceniks by definition don't carry guns, and they vote Democrat. People who love guns vote Republican, and they rocket fuel the party's power. So if you take away the guns you take away the power of the party's most loyal and effective foot soldiers. That ain't right.

Translation: I'm scared of Black people and would have shot Ralph Yarl if he came to my door.

Interview with the neighbor who helped Ralph while they waited for EMTs
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/good-samaritan-helped-ralph-yarl-found-bloody-motionless-didnt-deserve-rcna80116?fbclid=IwAR2JnK7G9p1isdGLpHPCziJonthXHlmtR-5owEE9dEktBmtGd1S8SAuAoX4&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

Anonymous wrote:My best friend's mom was murdered in a similar way about 8 years ago.

She volunteered for a service that delivered meals to elderly people. The guy had a gun that his family members didn't know about. She knocked on his door to deliver his daily meals and he shot her through the screen door. He was in his 80s with the beginnings of dementia. The prosecutor brought charges against him but eventually dropped them.

OMG I am so sorry. My DH and I had to coordinate with his sister to get my FIL’s 45 and shotgun out of the house once he had symptoms for this reason. He was also an old Fox-watching racist just like the shooter, and had several mini strokes that made the guns in the house untenable.

Anonymous[b wrote:]I don't think I'd just assume that Yarl is some sweet young teen. A teen, yes. But a kid like that coming up to your front door [/b]out of the blue, as you look upward from laying on your couch? Yeah that's scary.

I also think this grandson was pretty disloyal, taking advantage of the situation to build his street cred.

But both these things are beside the point. Gun control undermines the Republican Party far more than Democrat. Peaceniks by definition don't carry guns, and they vote Democrat. People who love guns vote Republican, and they rocket fuel the party's power. So if you take away the guns you take away the power of the party's most loyal and effective foot soldiers. That ain't right.

Implicit bias much?

First of all, all accounts (besides those of his own relatives) are that he is just that--a good kid. Here are some testaments to his intelligence, talent, and good character. What have you read to suggest otherwise?

*Megan Lilien, who taught Ralph at the Missouri Scholars Academy, a three-week residential program for academically gifted students, said he was a "highly intelligent" and observant student, curious about the world. He was among 330 rising high school juniors chosen last summer to attend the prestigious program, which requires a nomination, at the University of Missouri’s Columbia campus. “He was curious, intelligent. He’s quiet, but he’s literally taking in the world. You just notice. He’s just observing everything,” Lilien said. She taught a college-level chemistry-based science class and spent about three hours in the lab with Ralph and about 17 other students every day of the program. “He has this sweet face. He wasn’t the one who was talking all the time or answering all the questions, but you knew he was learning at all times. He was kind. He was definitely respected by everyone in the group,” Lilien said. He was still working, still trying to figure out the problem, when we had to wrap up,” she added.

*Brad Hudson, the Missouri All-State Band coordinator, said that 1,500 students auditioned in December to be part of the Missouri All-State Band and that Ralph was recognized in the Honorable Mention Band for bass clarinet. Musicians in that category do not perform but are recognized in the program, he said. Ralph, a junior at Staley High School in Kansas City, is an excellent student and a talented musician, the superintendent of North Kansas City Schools said in a statement Monday."He maintains a stellar GPA while taking mostly college level courses," Dan Clemens said. "While he loves science and hopes to pursue that career path, his passion is music."

*Another classmate, Elianna Brannlund, described Ralph as a “very kind and caring person” and "the smartest person I know.” Elianna recalled Ralph’s staying with her a few months ago during all-district orchestra auditions, after his own auditions ended, as she waited for her later callback time. “Ralph stayed with me all five hours to talk about music, school and life,” she said. “Even when he had the choice to go home.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ralph-yarl-shooting-victim-highly-intelligent-gentle-soul-former-teach-rcna8002

Second, what do you mean by "a kid like that?" Do you just mean a "black youth"? Sounds like you're buying into the same stereotypes of black males as being dangerous and menacing that the old shooter did. Ralph is 5'8" and skinny.

"But researchers say Lester’s description of Yarl, who is 5-foot-8 and 140 pounds, according to his family, fits a pattern among shootings of young Black males. Lester said the teenager was a “Black male approximately 6 feet tall” — several inches off Yarl’s actual height, according to the criminal complaint. “Lester stated that it was the last thing he wanted to do, but he was ‘scared to death’ due to the male’s size.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/04/19/ralph-yarl-andrew-lester-shooting-black-fear/

If the shooter was that scared, he should not have opened his front door. Period.

Anonymous wrote:I don't think I'd just assume that Yarl is some sweet young teen. A teen, yes. But a kid like that coming up to your front door out of the blue, as you look upward from laying on your couch? Yeah that's scary.

I also think this grandson was pretty disloyal, taking advantage of the situation to build his street cred.

But both these things are beside the point. Gun control undermines the Republican Party far more than Democrat. Peaceniks by definition don't carry guns, and they vote Democrat. People who love guns vote Republican, and they rocket fuel the party's power. So if you take away the guns you take away the power of the party's most loyal and effective foot soldiers. That ain't right.

This sounds like a personal issue. I don't agree with you.