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2016 Darwin Award

Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2016 9:11 am
by william

Re: 2016 Darwin Award

Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2016 11:48 pm
by GaryN
Unfortunate to loose a gun supporter, under any circumstance.

Re: 2016 Darwin Award

Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2017 1:50 am
by shaky hands
"Darwin Award" usually refers to a voraciously inane conduct by the deceased person. The article referenced provides no details about the accident and suggests only that Michael D. Harmon, 71, was shot by another person. A veteran, a gun rights supporter, a Reverend, a father and grandfather has died. RIP.

Re: 2016 Darwin Award

Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2017 8:29 am
by william
shaky hands wrote:"Darwin Award" usually refers to a voraciously inane conduct by the deceased person. The article referenced provides no details about the accident and suggests only that Michael D. Harmon, 71, was shot by another person. A veteran, a gun rights supporter, a Reverend, a father and grandfather has died. RIP.
I can't even translate "voraciously inane" into English. But here's the second paragraph of the article:
"Police say Michael D. Harmon, 71, died at his home on Brunelle Avenue after a handgun he was showing to a teenage boy went off while the 16-year-old was handling it."
He handed a loaded gun (What, did he think it was not loaded?) to another person who had no reason to suspect it wasn't safe. Whatever else he was, he was an irresponsible knucklehead who violated a basic rule of gun handling.

At least the teenager was physically unharmed, although I don't want to think about his psychological wounds.

Re: 2016 Darwin Award

Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2017 9:19 am
by JFuller
[quote="william"][quote="shaky hands"]"Darwin Award" usually refers to a voraciously inane conduct by the deceased person. The article referenced provides no details about the accident and suggests only that Michael D. Harmon, 71, was shot by another person. A veteran, a gun rights supporter, a Reverend, a father and grandfather has died. RIP.[/quote]

I can't even translate "voraciously inane" into English. But here's the second paragraph of the article:
[color=#BF0000]"Police say Michael D. Harmon, 71, died at his home on Brunelle Avenue after a handgun he was showing to a teenage boy went off while the 16-year-old was handling it."[/color]
He handed a loaded gun (What, did he think it was not loaded?) to another person who had no reason to suspect it wasn't safe. Whatever else he was, he was an irresponsible knucklehead who violated a basic rule of gun handling.

At least the teenager was [b]physically[/b] unharmed, although I don't want to think about his psychological wounds.[/quote]
+1

Re: 2016 Darwin Award

Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2017 9:36 am
by Dr. Jim
Well maybe you can nominate it for the next award year at darwinawards.com but since a second individual was involved, I don't think it will pass the test. The awards are given only after a nomination and voting over a year. If it does not involve direct stupid action resulting in self death it would not qualify. This might be equivocal, I'll leave it to the judges.

Dr Jim

Re: 2016 Darwin Award

Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2017 11:16 am
by shaky hands
william wrote:But here's the second paragraph of the article:
"Police say Michael D. Harmon, 71, died at his home on Brunelle Avenue after a handgun he was showing to a teenage boy went off while the 16-year-old was handling it."
He handed a loaded gun (What, did he think it was not loaded?) to another person who had no reason to suspect it wasn't safe.
No, the article does not state that he handed a loaded gun to another and also has nothing about that other person's state of mind. You are making inferences here which might be true or might be not. Usually waiting for more information is prudent.

“The circumstances under which the gun was introduced is still under investigation,” said McCausland, who did not know why the gun was loaded. “It is just one of the many questions we have.”

If everything is so clear, may be you should contact investigator McCausland and resolve his many questions.

Re: 2016 Darwin Award

Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2017 3:20 pm
by Chia
FYI Shaky, while you're right, it's standard practice in all newspaper and law enforcement to avoid reporting the details surrounding suicides and accidental deaths. That's to prevent imitators from getting ideas.