RSS

Tag Archives: Chandler

The Wild West…

Well, it’s Tuesday, so it must be another self-defense shooting in America

An Arizona man who shot and killed an unarmed man during a fight in a Walmart store has not been charged after arguing that the shooting was in self-defense, according to police.
Kyle Wayne Quadlin, 25, told Chandler police that he shot Charles Belinte Chee, 36, after their argument at the service counter Sunday turned into a fight he didn’t think he could win.

Unless you’re facing Ivan Drago in the ring after a night of carousing with James Brown, how likely is a “fight you can’t win” going to result in death?

Does a potential bloody nose justify fatally shooting someone?

This also presupposes the deceased started the fight. Apparently, it doesn’t matter who started the fight, just that the shooter felt that he was in fear for his life. In that case, if someone initiates a physical confrontation, what is the average person supposed to do to not wind up dead and have his or her killer walk free? I have the right to defend myself but even if I choose to retreat, what if I don’t have the option? The only reason I’d get into a fight is to defend myself and even then I’m just trying to stop someone from continuing the fight. How can I do that but also persuade him that just because he’s losing, I don’t mean to kill him?

The shooter might claim his life was in danger and he had to kill me, but I tend to question the rationality of people who start fights in public places, who yell at kids about their music choices in a parking lot, or confront someone who is texting in a theater. They’ve already demonstrated that peaceful resolutions to situations are beyond them.

 
1 Comment

Posted by on February 19, 2014 in Social Commentary

 

Tags: , ,