Jared Loughner’s friend says suspect ‘Did not watch TV … disliked the news’

[RamboLiberal]

This morning on “Good Morning America,” ABC’s Ashleigh Banfield sat down with Zach Osler, a high school friend of Jared Loughner, the suspect in the Tucson massacre.

Osler says his friend wasn’t shooting at people, “he was shooting at the world.” Regarding the high-pitched talk radio and cable news political rhetoric, Osler says his friend didn’t even watch the news.

He did not watch TV. He disliked the news. He didn’t listen to political radio. He didn’t take sides. He wasn’t on the left. He wasn’t on the right.

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/jared-loughners-friend-says-suspect-did-not-watch-tv-disliked-the-news_b48040

Of course that earned a big f'ing Sludge headline and the flashing siren!

[Cleita]

1. That means nothing.

Apparently he was a fan of YouTube, putting up his own videos as well. He didn't need to watch television to be able to watch a lot of videos from television.

[warrior1]

2. but he had a computer

[hlthe2b]

4. I still wonder if he didn't post on FR---given how quickly they went

down after the first reports of the shooting and his name was mentioned.

[Broderick]

27. He was a 911 truther

do they post about that over there? Maybe scan for rambling stuff on lucid dreaming in that section?

[hlthe2b]

29. They were furiously scrubbing I'm sure when their site went down

all day on Saturday... Others reported, at least, as I wouldn't go over there on a dare.

[Broderick]

35. I am curious what the other side thinks,

but I get that from the alphabet news anyway so no need to travel down that road either.

[earth mom]

44. Where did you hear that he was a 9/11 truther? Was he a fan of Alex Jones?

edited to add that you can believe in LIHOP/MIHOP of 9/11 and still think Alex Jones is a whack job for the most part. :yoiks:

[Broderick]

48. AP profile

Interesting stuff here to google the AP article
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gutbUc8KWEv3iMUewPN445D4uSYw?docId=c09a07a17e1b4aaa82815779cbf6f758

[hlthe2b]

3. Ashleigh Banfield? She's on ABC? since when?

Sorry to get off topic, but I haven't seen her since her anti-war honesty got her booted from MSNBC?

[sabrina 1]

12. Yes, I noticed that also. She was silenced for telling the truth

about the war. Glad to see she's back. I hope she is free to tell the truth on this network.

As for this friend's opinion, I can believe that Loughner did not like the news, but to not like, he would have to have experienced it.

He can't have been opposed to the wars, eg, since he was trying to join the military.

Also, he lived with his parents. If they watched it and commented on it, he most likely heard them. It would be interesting to know if his parents were Repubs or Dems, or political at all.

[Cid_B]

5. Maybe the bad thoughts were beamed from the EIB satellite?

....

[MadHound]

6. *GASP* You mean that the shooter was motivated by the demons in his own head,

And not the political rhetoric of the right?

Boy, that's not going to go over well here, though in the end it is probably much more truthful than the whole "Beck, Limbaugh, Palin made him do it" speculation.

[elocs]

14. Likely correct, but this apparently is an opportunity too good to pass up

for those who want to blame the right and the hatred talk for this specific tragedy. Lots of speculation, but you won't see anyone who speculated wrong posting about how they were mistaken.

I think that was has actually scared the right the most about this is that it could have been one of their own, a fanatical idealogue in their right mind who willingly and anxiously drank the kool aide and embraced the hate doctrine. A person who listened to Limbaugh and Beck and went to the Tea Party rallies. I think the right knows that it could have been that way, so they are relieved it was not.

[Kali]

23. I did, kind of.

I jumped right on it when I first heard and then saw that Palin scope graphic, then the stupid ad from Giffords' repuke opponent, Jesse Kelly. But as soon as I read (or rather TRIED to read) his you tube text videos...

since then I have been following all the new info coming out from the investigation and reporting and it just isn't there

I still think the attention to the rhetoric is good, the dog whistling is so obvious yet unreported and maybe they will start to notice more (and thanks for giving a pop quiz to the media today, quitter!)

[Cirque du So-What]

16. I hope that clinging to assertions from someone who hasn't seen Loughner in years

brings you comfort, but we haven't yet heard the findings from the FBI's cyber forensics unit. If they discover that Loughner frequented hate sites where the demons in his head received validation, I hope the DUers in those threads treat you with more respect than you've shown with your 'boy, that's not going to go over well here' gloating snark.

[MadHound]

20. At this point I'm doing what any smart person does, going with what the evidence shows

The evidence, from friends, family, acquaintances, administrators, faculty, are all saying that politics was a secondary motivation to Loughner, if any sort of motivation at all. Some of his friends state that his politics were of the left, others are saying he wasn't political at all.

But the one thing that they are all saying is that this young man was deeply, dangerously disturbed, and that he needed the help of mental health experts, and they feared for him, themselves and others if he didn't get that help.

Now if that evidence changes, my opinion will change. But what I'm seeing here at DU is that a lot of people have jumped on the "RW rhetoric made him kill" bandwagon, not because of any evidence, but because it vindicates their world view and opinion. Trouble is, it makes people look like a bunch of fools when that turns out to not be the case.

If you don't want to go with the evidence, fine. But me, I'll stick with where the evidence will lead me.

[ladjf]

24. So, the Congresswoman just happened to be a Democrat in the

teabaggers hit list? He probably intended to go out and shoot a Republican next time.

It doesn't matter one bit what his high school friends think. His actions obviously show a serious hatred of Democrats, regardless of how that feeling was generated.

[HuckleB]

49. And more...

A Democrat (in AZ!) was shot, after facing ugly criticism for her votes on HCR, as well as her criticism of the AZ immigration bill. She had spoken out against Palin's ugly attacks. She had shared her fears. She had just been through a campaign against an opponent who used events such as this: "Get on Target for Victory in November. Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office. Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly."

See: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/01/flashback-gi... for more.

Further, we were given information, and that information stands, even if some choose to ignore it.

Jared Lee Loughner: erratic, disturbed and prone to rightwing rants
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/09/jared-lee-l...

Finally, knowing the MSM, we can also make a safe assumption that if he were on the left, they would have advertised that fact loud and clear.

Nothing is set in stone, but it makes no sense to pretend that there is no evidence to date.

[bettyellen]

26. you;re "going with" anecdotal stuff that is four years old instead of his own recent rantings

whatever suits your needs.

[Cid_B]

41. It did shift.. kinda...

Initially the whole bandwagon was full to capacity with the "He's a right wing assassin. He did this because he heard Beck and Limbaugh and Palin telling him to do so" group

As the days pass and more evidence comes out that just isn't the case it shifts a bit..

The original group is still there but another bandwagon has pulled up for the "Well, he may not have been affected by their speech directly but their inflammatory rhetoric created a world where this could happen" crowd. Basically a case of not letting the political opportunity go to waste...

You can see the hope lingering even in this thread. "Forget what you hear from that guy who knew him 3 years ago! The FBI just hasn't found his FR posts yet! Then you'll see!"

[Kali]

25. I don't have any problem admitting when I'm wrong.

and I admit, with a little bit of shame, that if that comes to pass I will gloat about it too. But I am not going to see things that just don't seem to be there for political gain. Not even for the good that actual discussions may engender. And I have no problems with the actual discussions about the discourse in this country.

I do have a problem with looking foolish for seeing a teabagger, crazy as most of them seem to be, where there is only a broken human being that has committed a horrible act of violence.

[DoBotherMe]

21. Auditory hallucinations are not made from whole cloth

The thoughts and the voices have a locus outside the self and become jumbled communications that the sufferer trys to rationalize. He got his ideas from somewhere in the outside world. Dana ; )

[Democrats_win]

7. That was when he was in high school--maybe after expulsion he watched Fox 24/7

He probably had enough time on his hands to watch a lot of TV. He was even fired as a volunteer dog walker according to Wikipedia.

[arcticken]

13. And maybe he WAS being

mind controlled. :tinfoilhat:

[reformist2]

8. He hadn't talked to Jared in years!

[HuckleB]

32. +1

Exactly. This guy is being shoved in our faces because it allows the media to get off without having to explain its own behavior.

[justiceischeap]

9. So, if Loughner was fixated on Giffords since '07, how did he keep up the fixation?

Through snail mail? I doubt very seriously this man didn't take in the news or watch TV at all. We're surrounded by news, there's no way to avoid it.

[RamboLiberal]

10. Amazing isn't it how the media takes this crap as gospel

And of course the RW punditry & bloviaters!

[DJ13]

11. Didnt watch the news, but knew a political event was at the Safeway that day?

[disillusioned73]

19. Ding, ding, ding,,

:dem: We have a winner ;)

[pintobean]

28. Maybe through her online presence?

[mimitabby]

15. he didn't have a gun either

he changed. He bought a gun.

[pintobean]

34. How do you know the Glock was his first gun?

[Horse with no Name]

17. But I thought he was a loner?

And High School was 4 years ago.

People change.

[Broderick]

53. Here is some more on why he was a loner

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41014125/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

and increasingly paranoid.

'Friends of Jared Loughner told The New York Times that his behavior had become increasingly erratic over the past year. He feared that two of his closest friends were planning to kill him, one of those friends told the Times on Tuesday.
“He did not have many friends,” Zane Gutierrez, 21, told the newspaper. “We stopped talking to him in March of 2010. He started getting weird.”
He said Loughner would call at 2 a.m. and ask, “Are you hanging out in front of the house, stalking me?”
“He thought we were plotting to kill him or steal his car or something,” Gutierrez said. “It got worse over time.”'

[femrap]

18. Then why did he attend a

Political Event hosted by Giffords in 2007 if he wasn't interested in politics??? Makes no sense.

He could simply not like seeing women in positions of power for all we know.

[WinkyDink]

22. "Disliked the news" because it was TOO "LIBERAL", maybe? This "friend" is so aware, he didn't

foresee the murders?

Yeah, another fame-ho.

[GreenTea]

30. Then how did he know about the congresswoman's agenda-Where did he get over a $1000. bucks for guns

and ammunition?

[HuckleB]

31. Uh, "high school?" That was four years ago, right?

:shrug:

[GreenTea]

33. Exactly- This is what they want us to believe!!

[slackmaster]

36. Not possible. Doesn't fit the established narrative.

:sarcasm:

[seabeyond]

54. especially as he hadnt seen him at least two years. he is as clueless as the rest of us. go figure

oh wait... that does not fit the "established" narrative either....

[nc4bo]

37. So the Sheriff is a liar? Didn't know what he was talking about?

Osler says his friend wasn’t shooting at people, “he was shooting at the world.” Regarding the high-pitched talk radio and cable news political rhetoric, Osler says his friend didn’t even watch the news.

He did not watch TV. He disliked the news. He didn’t listen to political radio. He didn’t take sides. He wasn’t on the left. He wasn’t on the right.

[pintobean]

38. The sheriff has said that he was expressing his opinion

and has no evidence to tie this crime to radio or political ads.

[nc4bo]

39. What an odd thing for him to say. nt

[Cid_B]

43. Shhh....

You're f'ing up the narrative. How can people validate their beliefs if you keep reminding them of this stuff?

[pintobean]

46. Ok

But everything he says is the truth, so I don't understand why that statement would be considered odd.

[Cid_B]

51. In his OPINION...

and in yours as well.

I'll help...

Belief = A feeling or guess based on your own biases and faith and hopes

Fact = Something not in dispute because evidence has shown otherwise

[pintobean]

52. I think you misunderstood

We agree on this. I should have noted my sarcasm.
During the height of the feeding frenzy, many here were saying he was being attacked for telling the truth (when he was giving his opinion).

[Cid_B]

55. Sorry bout that...

My sarcasm sensor was on it's last legs and this last weekend just fried it into a solid mass of molten plastic...

[sunnystarr]

40. He was out of high school for 4 years

How did this high school friend have any idea of what Jared Loughner did at home? Also Loughner registered to vote in 2006 when he would have been 18 and registered as an Independent. Obviously, as is often the case, he changed a lot in the last 4 years - including his cited deterioating mental state.

I just love how these high school acquaintences are coming out of the woodwork and I'll bet they know very little about Loughner.

On edit I was just thinking about my 18 year old grandson who is a high school senior. In his Freshman year he was a Republican. His Sophmore year he declared he was a Libertarian. Last year as a Junior he discovered Buddhism and philosophy. Now as a senior he thinks he's a Marxist. I figure in another year he'll see he's a Democrat. So when I hear about Loughner's high school "friends'" descriptions, I wonder how my grandson's friends would describe him. Guess it depends on which year he spoke to them.

[HuckleB]

50. +1

[AsahinaKimi]

42. Why are they using HIGH SCHOOL FRIENDS ..when he is 22 and

Was in College??? My HS friends don't know crap about me now..

[Evoman]

45. I'm just surprised he had friends,

[HuckleB]

47. Well, this had been a while ago.