Any explanation for this?

[sp1814]

http://www.dailymail....iller-Raoul-Moat.html

Really?

[Greedyfly]

People need their heads checking?

[Greedyfly]

There is huge amount of support for this guy online also, Facebook etc... What a a strange world we live in!

[jno]

it came pretty close to being a killing showed live on TV, complete with days-long build-up and handled in much the same fashion as a drama series. Considering that blurring of boundaries, it's probably not too surprising that viewers got emotionally involved. I won't be laying any wreaths, but he seemed to me to be a sick man, and hunting him down in front of TV cameras left me with a queasy feeling.

[thetruthhurts]

This is as bizarre as the many women who write and strike up friendships with convicted rapists.

[jackthehat]

I rather think the blame for that lies with the media rather than the police............

I have no idea why some people view Moat as some sort of 'hero'. It sickens me, to be frank.

[rowanwitch]

Not totally unexpected, people who feel powerless or threatened by the constraints of living in a civilised society may well be drawn to 'anti hero' figures who they percieve as standing up against their 'oppressors' however to most people these characters are at best sad/sick/damaged at worse psychopaths/murdering scum 1500 entries isn't a lot in the great scheme of things, many of these will also be mentally ill or sociopathic types sad creatures mostly unable to function in a world with rules

[LoftyLottie]

I agree jno. It was totally unnecessary in my opinion to have coverage like this and it made me feel uneasy as well. No different from sitting knitting at the gallows.

[thetruthhurts]

Another thing to take into account is, once the facebook group has received significant publicity, others will join simply because it's popular and the thing to do.

[Greedyfly]

As I said strange world we live in...

[thetruthhurts]

I'm sure if I set up a 'Moat was a scum bag murderer' facebook group, it would be as,if not more, popular.

[sophie_1003]

What he did can't be forgiven or excused but I can see where they are coming from, he was failed by the system and so many people go through that sort of situation so they know how he was feeling at the moment he killed himself, I don't think they are trying to condone murder.

[Greedyfly]

It would more than likely be removed

[LoftyLottie]

Yes, he was failed by the system, but aren't we all in one way or another? That is just life. We can't make that an excuse for our behaviour though and the police did their best to protect others from Moat. The system is run by humans and while humans run everything there will be mistakes. The police are damned if they do and damned if they don't.

[Garmard]

WHAT!! Revered for being a criminal......Is this atypical of the UK these days or is it just a passing phase?

[Greedyfly]

Many people are failed by the system, it is what you do with your life after that defines who you are. I haven't chosen to go postal and shoot people.

[Garmard]

I prefer the taser.

[sophie_1003]

Yes we are Lofty but I'm talking about people who have been in and out of foster care when they are children, to young offenders institutes where they still don't receive any help, been to schools that have written them off as a trouble maker and finally when they have children of their own, how on earth are they meant to know how to look after them properly when they've never had anyone care for them? There are some scary statistics out there e.g. 50% of the prison population have been in care at one stage of their lives, in 2008 there were 60,000 children being looked after by their local authorities and there are 4 million children living in poverty in the UK at present. Again, I'm not saying this excuses what Raoul Moat did and what other people do but it just gives an idea of the huge differences in lifestyles that some people face.

[horselady]

It's a bit like the way people used to see the Great Train Robbery and think that Ronnie Biggs etc. were folk heroes, totally forgetting that the train driver was very badly hurt in the robbery. Very strange.

[123everton]

we've become a very violent nation, our media glorifies violence and violent people, it vilifies them (occaisonly) in an equal measure.
There are in Britain a huge caste of people who believe that the only way is violence, doesn't matter if they're right or wrong just so long as they won the fight.
Moat epitimises this sickness that is prevalent in our country, a violent bully who was misunderstood?
I beg of you....

[Seadragon]

I think its always shocking how so many people are screwed up. I'm referring to the supporters of Moat.

The fact is that the guy was a dangerours cold blooded murderer. Why people sympathize with him I don't know, they are losing their touch with reality. People who have and continue to face worse circumstances than Moat don't pick up guns and callously kill people. The guy was a violent attention-seeking pysco who was determined to be remembered after his death as some sort of 'hero' - Michael Douglas in 'Falling Down' comes to mind?
Although he referred to 'Hulk'.