America used to be a great country. I grew up during what are now known as the Wonder Years, because the world was a place of wonder and America was leading the charge. Yes, we were going to put a man on the moon within ten years and by golly we did it. It was exhilarating to hear a young JFK, filled with “viguh” talk about it and it was a somber and amazing moment when it happened. I have both events etched in my memory.
Then the guns took over. Some kind of insidious madness crept over this country and a subculture grew, stockpiling weapons, fearful of a day when it would become necessary to wage civil war — or something — and we are now at some kind of a bizarre tipping point, where we literally can’t get through a day without somebody killing an innocent stranger(s).
Take a look at what has happened in just the past twelve hours. Another “mass shooting” occurred, this time in Philadelphia. I put it in quotes because technically, it’s not a mass shooting yet, so all the news services haven’t kicked out those headlines. They need one more person to die before that happens, but hey, this only happened at midnight eastern time and 14 people were shot, so odds are good one more will die. Patience.
Here’s a link to the local NBC affiliate describing how the shooter shot out a window. The story is developing, but you can see the video.
Now here’s another developing story, and this way lies madness.
The domestic arms race continues, as one gun shop owner says AR-15 sales in Georgia have tripled after Uvalde. “The way this president is driving this country, everyone needs to be carrying at this point.” pic.twitter.com/Og3vnM4ydE
— Ron Filipkowski ?? (@RonFilipkowski) June 5, 2022
Theres 14 people shot every week in Philly. pic.twitter.com/E1BQAr91RB
— ScootOG (@YouAskedForIt4) June 5, 2022
That’s the loop. That’s how it is. We are stuck like flies in amber in this loop.
And here’s a perfect statement about who we are.
14 people shot…all these red flags just becoming white noise in the background…until we all finally wake up… pic.twitter.com/PV1fRbBcxG
— Davine Ker (@DavineDC) June 5, 2022
Here’s the part that got clipped off.
America is a gun. America is an open air lunatic asylum where everybody is armed.
And who does that benefit, exactly? I wonder…..
Remember the connections between the NRA and Russia?
Who benefits from a more divided, less democratic, more authoritarian-leaning United States?
Russia.
Who benefits (profits) from a more heavily-armed/militarized United States?
The NRA/gun lobby.
Let's unpack… 1/ https://t.co/JhFDA9xIbV pic.twitter.com/u5BA8wCgzH
— Nick Carmody JD, MS Psych (@Nick_Carmody) June 2, 2022
Nikita Khrushchev said Russia would take us over without firing a shot. Turns out, a lot of shots have been fired, but not by Russia in an act of war against the United States. No, by Americans, in an act of war against America, serving the purposes of Russia.
They’re so afraid of something that hasn’t happened, is unlikely to happen, but really needs to happen – taking away those military-type weapons that they can’t safely keep in their own homes.