Oh shit, I'm channeling Pope Peabrain. Forgiveness is a fucked up Christianity concept. By forgiving, paraphrasing Nietzsche, we assume we have righteous power over the sinner.

And thru God's wrath you were attacked in the first place.

God waiting for the attacker to kill a person and injure several others before helping this guy tackle him doesn't seem very graceful.

These are significant comments. Is there any way the Slogmeister can italicize all of them?

Gotta love a reference to Nietzsche.

Nietzsche, the self-absorbed and self-contradictory moralist, who never completed his liberal arts degree but insisted on instructing others; who contracted syphilis in a brothel; lived-off his family and was finally committed to a mental institution.

(Sound like most of the Sloggers on Capitol Hill.)

Back to your nihilism.

That is such a powerful statement. Here's one part that really got to me: "However, what I find most difficult about this situation is the devastating reality that a hero cannot come without tragedy. In the midst of this attention, we cannot ignore that a life was taken from us, ruthlessly and without justification or cause." Wow. I'm so glad he didn't say this was God's will.

Good stuff is GOD. Bad stuff is because Adam fcked his Sister.

@6. Nietzsche wasn't a nihilist. Part of his critique is demonstrating that Christianity is nihilistic and anti-life. Have you even read Nietzsche?

For the topic on hand, I'm overall impressed with Meis's statement, especially that he's acknowledging his lack of forgiveness while still referring to a religious tradition that places so much emphasis on tradition. It's a more significant statement than it looks on its face, and I appreciate the honesty.

I wish I could write, that should read "while still referring to a religious tradition that places so much emphasis on forgiveness."

God doesn't use guns.

Meis is correct. Unlike a lot of Christians I could name, he's absorbed his lessons in compassion well. The shooter was a victim too, not just of his own demons but of the gun lobby too.

Nietzsche wasn't a nihilist?

This Nietzsche: 'Hope in reality is the greatest of evils because it prolongs the torment of man."

That fucking Nietzsche?

The nihilsm I was referring to was that of @1, who doesn't see good as a manifest truth, that somehow "good" is merely something that masks mans' perverse desire to have power over others.

Any-whooooo...I'm not gonna' have a HoneyBearBakery-wothy philosophy exchange with someone on Slogger over Nietzsche.

If you went to a half-decent high school you read Nietzsche.

Next up, Fnarf will lead a discussion of his thesis: "The National Rifle Association's Subversion of Existentialism: "Kierkegaard In the Age of the 30-round Clip."

6,13-Zok, I think you have sound arguments, and are more worthy to read than my initial comment. To squeeze out a defense, I will say that I prefaced my statement with "Oh shit, I'm channeling Pope Peabrain."

@13. I'll assume you didn't go to a half-decent high school then, and that you "reading Nietzsche" amounts to reading excerpts. Nietzsche address nihilism explicitly in several of his books, and its always in opposition and contrast.

I'm really impressed with Meis. I admired what he did, and after this statement, I admire him even more. He sounds amazingly grown up for a 22-year-old. The statement is framed in the sort of overt religiosity that doesn't do much for me, but the actual content is quite thoughtful. Good on you, Mr Meis, and may you one day move past this event and on to a life that you find fulfilling and makes you happy.

@15

You missed my prior comment about Nietzsche's self-delusions and self-contradictions. (He makes Obama look clear-eyed.)

Our zany German (errr... Pole?) denied the objective value of societal, religious, political traditions. So, I'll put him in the nihilist camp.

And while an occasional slave to aphorisms, you would be incorrect about my reading habits.

Back to you journaling now...

I'm just glad that God made sure Mr. Meis had a canister of pepper spray on him. Way to go God! Too bad that one guy had to die, but we all know you work in mysterious ways.

@17, that denial is necessary to his central project of revaluation of values, while nihilism admits no value. As with most people, your reading of Nietzsche reveals more about you than about his ideas.