(no subject)

[theweaselking]

Not news: argument on the internet lead one participant to call the other a nerd.
Still not news: Recipient of nerd-calling retaliates with death threats.
News: follows through on threats, driving cross-country to burn down insulter's home.

For bonus points, guess who employed him when he freaked.

Comments

[interactiveleaf.livejournal.com]

I was guessing NASA. Boo to me.

I do wanna know when "nerd" became fightin' words, though.

I think I've actually encountered Tavares on line years ago

[dakiwiboid.livejournal.com]

in the Trek community. His name sounded really, really familiar, so I did some searches. Back when I used to read more in that fandom, I'd see his name a lot. According to at least one of the stories, the man he attacked was allegedly sending out viruses as well as calling names. That hardly justifies burning down the man's home, but it's more than the very slight provocation that the original summary suggests.

Re: I think I've actually encountered Tavares on line years ago

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

"sending viruses" is always a bullshit claim, though. Always. Either you're the accidental infected host, or you're not going to be "sending" anything in any way that anyone in a fandom community will see.

[kalieris.livejournal.com]

Yes, definitely someone I'd want on a ship as the fire control officer (fire in the sense of missile, rather than pyromania).

[mrbankies.livejournal.com]

I guessed Postal Service. Never would have guessed USN FCT.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Armed psycho, easily provoked, insane overreaction... you didn't think post-2001 no-standards we-accept-everyone US Military?

I did.

[mrbankies.livejournal.com]

I deal with US Military personnel on a regular basis for work, and they're all well adjusted. Makes it easier to forget about the low admissions standards.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

I know a lot of current and past US, Canadian, and (oddly enough) German military.

Every last one of them, I could see *seriously contemplating* doing what this guy did. Very few of them would really do it, but that's not the point. The point is that they'd all think about it, and the current US standards mean that drug addicts, violent criminals, fundamentalist Christians, and all kinds of other people who don't exactly exemplify "impulse control" get in.