From a comment Big Gill made…
The other day when all of the Colorado shootings were being reported, I had the same thought about Suspect A (no I don’t know his name and don’t really care to)
What would you do if he was your son?
Support him?
Disown him?
What?
I hope I’ll never know what I would do for sure, but I think I was go see the boy. Ask him why? Tell him I loved him and walk away.
I’m not a father, yet… but considering what I know now I’ve got to support him, not what he did. As a father, I would still support any punishment that comes of it, be it death or whatever. At this point, there are more families that need some kind of closure and the ultimate sacrafice may be necessary. Whether he lives or is put to death, it would be hard to live with either way.
I saw on the news that there is a group that is helping protect the families of individuals that commit crimes like these. It’s really unfortunate for them because they had absolutely no part in it, but they have to live with the consequences.
Pray for him and Love him, but ask Why, Where did we go wrong? Then Pray some more
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I’ve got to support him
Really? 71 people injured with 12 dead? I’m not sure I could support even my son.
Gawd, I get chills just thinking about it.
Not sure I would support him/her after something like this. As a parent, I don’t think you could ever quit loving your kids.
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It’s really unfortunate for them because they had absolutely no part in it, but they have to live with the consequences.
Not sure I agree that they had absolutely no part in it. They had a part in raising him and teaching him about morals and right verses wrong. If I were in their shoes, I would be dealing with quite a bit of guilt thinking about what I could have done differently.
Nothing is thicker then blood.
That said, caring about and praying for is far different then condoning or understanding.
Just pray nobody here ever has to go through it. 
Ill just ditto BK’s thoughts on this one. I cannot think of anything that could drive me to support my own son if he were to have committed acts such as this. Not only did that kid ruin these people’s quality of life but he too destroyed his parents life. Anywhere those parents go they are going to be labeled and treated as such and according to what has been written, they did everything they could to get this kid headed in the right direction in life. Selfish [censored]!
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Just pray nobody here ever has to go through it.
X TWO!
WOW! Tough question! I think asking him what he was thinking and tell him I love him but what he did was so wrong I can’t even speak the words. He took innocent peoples lives and there is NO excuse. He deserves what the law does to him which won’t be nearly enough. I will always love you as you are my son!
Thoughts and prayers to all the people involved!
Too bad the theatre bans guns on their premises I think things would have been different!
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I hope I’ll never know what I would do for sure, but I think I was go see the boy. Ask him why? Tell him I loved him and walk away.
As a father, I’d almost rather not know why. Wouldn’t seem to matter in such a significant situation like that. It would likely make me wonder what I did.
As an outsider, I really want to know why.
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That said, caring about and praying for is far different then condoning or understanding.
That’s how I would support them. You can raise a child perfectly and this can still happen.
Believe it or not, insanity does exist, it is not just a defense. There are mental problems where people really aren’t living in the real world. If you are lucky you can catch it and get them in an institution where they can’t harm anyone and with treatment can live out a some what sane life.
I’m sure I’ll take some heat for this response, but that is fine. Its not a sympathetic post, but some will interpret it that way. I think he deserves more than what he has coming to him be it life or the death penalty.
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I hope I’ll never know what I would do for sure, but I think I was go see the boy. Ask him why? Tell him I loved him and walk away.
As a father, I’d almost rather not know why. Wouldn’t seem to matter in such a significant situation like that. It would likely make me wonder what I did.
As an outsider, I really want to know why.
As a outsider I really, really don’t care what happens to him. I never want to hear his name, never want to see his face. Try him, convict him, punish him, bury him, forget about him.
But, thats just me. 
If it was my son he would be thanking the lord almighty the police got to him before I did.
Like many others here, I have a son. He’s 10. He and my daughter are the absolute best things that have ever happened to me, period. They are the one constant that keeps me moving forward all the time. My son, and I’m admittedly biased here, is a very respectful, fun-loving, and nice young kid. Unless some horrible event, or series of events in his life were to throw him way, way off base, I can’t even remotely imagine him doing anything like what happened in Colorado. But, what would I do in 13 years from now, if he were to actually do something like this?? Like Brian said, It gives me chills to even think about it. Based on the kid he is now, I say I would love him no matter what. But love and support are two different things. At the point he becomes a man, he needs to own up to his actions, and deal with the consequences.
I think I might be a little sick to my stomach even thinking about all of it.
You can NOT take blame for ANOTHER PERSONS actions !
When that person decided to do whatever, they made that decision on their own.
Disown him = NO
Support him as a “PARENT” = YES
I dont think even as his parent one will ever know “why”.
We can only pray for those hurt/lost and all families involved.
I believe their son is already dead and this stuff that is left, just needs to go away…
Just imagine the guilt and shame his Parents are going through.
Now pile on top of that not trying to help your own child.
How as a parent could you handle that.
Glad it is not me….I honestly have no idea how I would react.
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You can NOT take blame for ANOTHER PERSONS actions !
When that person decided to do whatever, they made that decision on their own.Disown him = NO
Support him as a “PARENT” = YESI dont think even as his parent one will ever know “why”.
We can only pray for those hurt/lost and all families involved.
well stated 
think back to the few interviews with Jeffrey Dahmer’s father. I say kudos to him for going forward in public and talking about what his son did. I could never imagine being in his place. The scariest part of these types of situations is that it is mostly a random act of violence. Typically, people don’t see the trigger points until well after it happens.
Larry King
My first reaction to the question was, I’d sit down with him and encourage him to tell his lawyers to bypass the appeals process and move directly to the death sentence.
Then the father in me kicks in and I remember the first time I held him or her in my case. The times my kid ran up to me and told me she loved me for no reason. The times when you realize just how innocent children are would flood my mind. The self doubt would probably eat me alive wondering how I didn’t see this coming. But then when I think about how deliberate and cruel of an act she just committed, I’m not sure I’d be able to “support” her in any way.
To answer your question, I have no clue how I’d react.
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I say kudos to him for going forward in public and talking about what his son did.
That would be the second thing I would do after talking to him.
I don’t believe (in my world) the love between father and child could ever be broke…no matter what. But I don’t think I could be in the same room with him thinking about what happened without throwing up.
I think I would go back before the capital punishment was being carried out.
(I’ll have to watch the video later, sounds interesting)
I would stand beside him and support him. I would never understand what he did and would feel guilt for what he did but I would not disown him. Even if he got death, I would stand with him to the end. No matter what, he’s your son.
At least that’s what I believe. It could very well be that if my child did something like this it would sicken me to even look at them.
I pray to never find out which would happen.
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I don’t believe (in my world) the love between father and child could ever be broke…no matter what. But I don’t think I could be in the same room with him thinking about what happened without throwing up.
I think its human nature to want to know why. At some point we all do some very stupid things. Fortunately, the vast majority have a sense of rational thinking that prevents us from this type of actions. Not to make light of the situation for the victims of this horrible event, but turning away from my daughters would be like having my heart just ripped right out of my chest. They are the sole reason I get up and work every day. The concept of loosing one of them would kill me. Most likely drive me insane to be in a position to make that decision.
All we can say is “what we think we’d do”. Even that is likely very much dependent on things we don’t know.
I.e. Was he a model citizen up to this point, and recently something broke in his brain… In that case any of us would be more supportive (hopeful that we could reconnect with the person we’d known most of his life)
Or was he a sociopath most of his life, where I imagine feelings would be different.
Believe in the Lord and what He believes? Then you have to forgive. Tough proposition.
You can pick your friends but not your relatives.
I don’t know what I would do, none of us do
I did sit down with my kids (9 and 12) after this and have a heart to heart conversation with them. I told them we can’t always understand the WHY or HOW a person does something so horrific.
I also said that if either of them ever felt doing something like this to themselves or to another person, please come talk to me FIRST.
During my senior year, my school had 4 suicides, one of which was a very close friend, and three others that die in a car crash. I have had my share of conversations with counselors about depression.
Prayer to the families that are dealing with this tragedy.
Ron
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I’ve got to support him
Really? 71 people injured with 12 dead? I’m not sure I could support even my son.
Gawd, I get chills just thinking about it.
SO why do you ask on this post? 
b
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What would you do if he was your son?
Support him?
Disown him?What?
Guess I’d have to know the “Complete Truth” first, and then make the next decision.
That would take on something that would be more than that could be discussed here.
if it were my son. He must be gone. No support. Let his/ones god deal with him.
This to me is a purge in a society respect.
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